Vol. Issue
Your True Colours
Pay the Farmer or Pay Big Pharma By Stan Gardner, M.D., CNS Photos by FreeDigitalPhotos.net GENERALLY SPEAKING, EACH OF US HAS REMARKABLE POWER TO CHOOSE THE QUALITY OF HEALTH WE CAN ENJOY. MUCH OF OUR HEALTH OUTCOME IS DETERMINED BY WHERE WE SPEND OUR TIME, MONEY AND ENERGY. This article describes the long‐term benefits gained when we choose (sometimes) higher cost, higher quality food short‐term (today). An interesting fact, however, is that it may not necessarily cost more to consume higher quality food.
What is the Difference between Organic and Conventional Food? I remember the year my family planted 15 tomato plants a few weeks too late in Montana. Toward the end of September, anticipating a freeze soon, we pulled all the tomato plants and piled them gently in the garage. All of the tomatoes on the plants were green; we had not yet enjoyed a single tomato that year. But to our delight, the tomatoes ripened on the vine in the garage and we enjoyed garden tomatoes through the end of December. The last tomato was small, wrinkled and looked rather sad. But we carefully cut it up and ate it. It tasted great! We could not bring ourselves to buy a store‐bought tomato for a month; but finally we craved a tomato enough to buy one. That first store‐bought tomato did not taste like our last tomato. Not at all. From that time on, we call store‐bought tomatoes 'rubber' tomatoes. Since then, I have learned much about the production and distribution and marketing of food. Organic food does not have harmful chemicals on it; nor do organic farmers let the chemicals into the soil and water. The foto76 farmers who handle the food are also not exposed to those chemicals. Ripening agents are not used with organic food. Animals are not fed rBGH (recombinant bovine growth hormone), nor are they given antibiotics routinely. When we consume food that has been grown with additives and chemicals, a percentage of what the plants and animals consume becomes what we consume as well.
Why is Organic Food More Expensive than Conventional Food? Colby College students went to 5 grocery stores in their area in 2011 and found a 68% increase in cost between organic and conventional food. Why would that be? Let's explore some reasons: • Although supply is increasing, demand is still greater • More labor‐intensive
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