• Ddhuud@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Even the most transgenic plant, grown in the techiest greenhouse ever cared for with the nastiest fertilizers and pesticides is organic in the most widespread and commonly used meaning of the word.

    The air quotes are well deserved.

    • Random_user@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Wait, what’s the most widespread and commonly used meaning of the word?

      Organic is a term certified by the USDA.

      To use “organic” on packaging, a product must contain at least 95% organically produced ingredients.

      • Astroturfed@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        When not talking about US food it just means living matter. Basically anything you eat is organic by the traditional definition. The USDA organic definition is honestly a joke though. Most pesticide other than the new age shit is made out of plant directives. Doesn’t make it safe to consume. The range of shit they can use and do, while still calling things organic is pretty laughable. You just have to avoid a few products that are widely used today. Nitrogen fertilizer and shit like roundup.

      • Space_Jamke@lemm.ee
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        1 year ago

        Meaning one could hypothetically spray a tomato with dioxins up to 5% of its body weight and it would still qualify as organic.

        And slip some cash over to the FDA when one of their interns asks too many questions.

  • TechLauren@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    My definition of organic =contains carbon so = all food uless you are eating sand for some reason. Just another meaningless tag on US foods imo.

    • SolidGrue@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      My own definition is: 30% upcharge for the same damned thing in a differently labeled package

      You’re paying for the label

      ( looking at you too, “non-GMO” 👀 )

      • Sotuanduso@lemm.ee
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        1 year ago

        No, no, my food’s not genetically modified. It’s just been developed via artificial selection for thousands of years.

        • LukeMedia@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          To be fair, genetic modification and selective breeding are not the same thing. It is funny how one is totally normal and the other is considered negative when they’re quite similar

          • PreachHard@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            I think some reservations can come out of the idea that the natural environment isn’t producing these genetic changes. Just to play devil’s advocate.

            Edit: does nobody fucking know what devil’s advocate means? This isn’t my opinion christ. Also there’s a bit more depth to the argument though that you guys seem to be really obtuse about.

            • Hobo@lemmy.world
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              1 year ago

              The natural world tries to kill you all the time. Why are you trusting that!?! Seriously though, both of these arguements are somewhat fallacious. Saying that GMOs are safe because, “It happens all the time in nature.” Is the same fallacy that it isn’t safe because, “It isn’t natural to accelerate the process with genetic modification.” Both are just mental shortcuts for people so they don’t have to think about the insanely complex topic of GMOs, the effects, and what the right path forward is for all of us.

              https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appeal_to_nature

              • PreachHard@lemmy.world
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                1 year ago

                I think this is somewhat strawmanning what the point of the argument in this specific case is. They’re not appealing to nature being good, that’s not the argument.

                The point is that if you are genetically selecting for specific genes through modification then you are circumventing the typical process for genetic change. There are lots of unintended effects of genetic changes and there are lots of corrective mechanisms built into DNA when genetically modified through selective processes rather than direct gene splicing. Science is always slow to catch up with analysis of an entourage effect where many other small factors may influence results long term.

                I’m not anti GMO and this isn’t my opinion as I think GMO products have amazing potential. I’m just sick of people on my side totally misrepresenting this argument as “hurr durr nature good.” It’s such a smooth brained take.

      • nudny ekscentryk@szmer.info
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        1 year ago

        ( looking at you too, “non-GMO” 👀 )

        I’ll let someone correct me if I’m wrong but I believe carrots were never orange, as in every orange or yellow carrot you buy is GMO

        • SCB@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          Nearly every food you could theoretically consume is a GMO. The label is intentionally misleading.

        • solstice@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          Virtually everything we eat now is GMO after countless generations of selective breeding and all that. Ever read about the wild versions of common foods? Bananas, watermelons, corn, all that stuff in their completely natural wild form is unrecognizable from the monstrosities on sale in every grocery store.

      • Excrubulent@slrpnk.net
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        1 year ago

        Not quite the same. I couldn’t get my normal soy milk recently and opted for a more expensive organic type from the same company. It tasted baaaaad. Like idk what the material difference is, but it sucked. The smell was really strong. I think I actually tossed a bunch of it out it was that difficult to drink. Now I just get light if the regular stuff is gone.

    • ShadyGrove@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Do you consider a tomato a fruit as well? Organic has different meanings depending on the context, just like the culinary vs botanical version of fruits and vegetables.

    • Flying Squid@lemmy.worldOPM
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      1 year ago

      The farmer’s markets here are pretty legit, but I live in the midwest, so we have a ton of farms. I got some amazing goat cheese the other day at the farmer’s market. The problem is the prices are ridiculous so we only go once in a while.

      We did discover the lady we get our dog treats from though.

      • Num10ck@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Lifehacker tip: instead of buying dog treats by the ounce, just use another type of dog food as treats and buy it by the tens of pounds. If you’re excited they’re a real treat.

        • Apathy Tree@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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          1 year ago

          I do this with my cats. I get kitten kibble for them as treats. I can give them several bits cuz the kibbles are small, they love it, and even though kitten grain free food is wicked pricy, still cheaper than treats!

          They normally eat wet food, but have a mix of dry stuff available at all times, so it does really work. They don’t know the difference.

        • Flying Squid@lemmy.worldOPM
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          1 year ago

          Oh we’re more bougie than that. Like I said, we get dog treats from a local baker. Trust me, my dogs like them so much more than treats you could get from a store, and definitely more than a 10 pound bag of different food.

          • jscummy@sh.itjust.works
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            1 year ago

            I have a local “Barkery” that makes amazing dog treats. Definitely way better than store bought, and it’s nice to support a local business. They also give my dog freebies worth more than what I’m buying most times I stop in, so I can’t complain about price too much

            • Flying Squid@lemmy.worldOPM
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              1 year ago

              Yeah, I’m really happy to help this lady. She’s super nice and she just does this as a business out of her home. Every time I order, I tell her to mail it to me (and pay the extra for shipping) because I just don’t want the hassle of arranging a pickup and every time she says, “are you sure? I hate to charge you extra!” Plus, she makes dog treats that look like Indiana- where we live- which is just fun.

  • Ertebolle@kbin.social
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    1 year ago

    I for one am happy to know that the food I purchase is strictly carbon-based and doesn’t contain fillers made up from ground-up Horta carcasses or whatever.

  • rjs001@lemmygrad.ml
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    1 year ago

    I always try to avoid buying organic. I specifically will avoid purchasing something if it says organic on it

      • HalfJack@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        How are older organic pesticides more dangerous to the environment??

        Neem oil for example is completely safe afaik.

        • Retix@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          The newer pesticides are designed to work as effectively as possible. Due to their effectiveness, a limited amount is required to be applied to the soil. The FDA approved organic pesticides aren’t as effective. This requires additional applications and more being applied each time (vs the newer non-approved pesticides). More pesticides being applied means more runoff and possibility of contamination to streams and ground water. The soil can also be over saturated and be damaged by the increased concentration.