Organic food has become popular in recent years. Grocery stores have organic sections, health magazines highlight the importance of eating organic, and several farmers are making the switch to organic farming. Organic food is grown without the use of synthetic materials. Because it is produced without using chemicals such as herbicides, insecticides, and fungicides, it is often viewed as healthier.
A booklet of statistics put together by the Canadian Association of Agri-Retailers titled, "Did You Know…(Volume II)” contains interesting data about agriculture and the use of pesticides. Organic food is often seen as the angel of foods, meaning that one can't go wrong as long as it's organic, but this booklet presents another case. While the booklet does not suggest that non-organic food is healthier than organic food, it does bring some issues surrounding organic food to light.
To purchase the booklet, one may contact CAAR.
The Effects of Pesticides
Are all the pesticides sprayed on crops harmful? "A person would have to consume 2,200 heads of lettuce every day for the rest of his or her life, or 9,000 apples a day, to feel any effects of pesticide residues." (Source: Food For Thought, CropLife Canada) How safe are some of the pesticides that are being used on crops? "Scientific surveys repeatedly show that pesticide residues in foods are 100 to 1,000 times lower in Canada than levels considered safe by the World Health Organization." ( Source: PestFacts.org website)
Is natural always better? "Does organic = safer? Rotenone, a natural insecticide from the extracts of flowers, is used widely by organic farmers on fruits, and vegetables. It is 21 times more toxic than malathion, and has been linked in two separate studies to Parkinson’s Disease." (Sources: Worman & Gribble. “Herbicides and Chemophobia,” Journal of Arboriculture; and Canada Food Safety Network)
Non-organic Production on a Global Scale
What would happen if pesticides weren’t used? According to the booklet, farmers would lose 20-40% of their production every year because of weeds, pests, and diseases. The crop losses could be as high as 70% without the use of pesticides. This source is from the Food and Agriculture Organization report and Oerke, et. al. Crop Production and Crop Protection: Estimated Losses in Major Food and Cash Crops. 1994.
How has fertilizer helped? "Each season, crops draw the nutrients they need from the soil. Nearly half of all farmland in North America does not contain the nutrients necessary to keep pace with growing world demand for food. Fertilizers replenish these vital growing ingredients." (Source: Fertile Minds. Potash Corp.)
Have fertilizers and chemicals helped with global hunger? "Globally, we are currently feeding more than twice as many people as lived in 1950, and doing it from essentially the same 37% of the planet’s land area that we farmed in 1950." (Source: Why Greens Should Love Pesticides, Dennis Avery)
How can synthetic materials prevent famines? "The Irish potato famine of the 19th century, which killed over one million people, was caused by a fungal disease on potatoes called late blight. The development of crop protection products has prevented any similar catastrophic crop losses from happening again." (Source: The Grower, April 2005)
Tennille Simmonds - Born: North Battleford, Saskatchewan, Canada. Current Residence: Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. Formal Education: Bachelor Degree ...
