h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Who is really benefiting from the rapid increase in the organic market? I think the organic production of vegetables helps the growers more than the purchasers. The prices are astronomical, and are not worth the charges.

Surely vegetables were never meant to be liberally doused in pesticide before being reaching our dinner tables? Couldn’t agree more. And I would prefer my fruit and veg to be grown in combination – some natural and organic means and some pesticides and fungicides. I do not see why it has to be an all or nothing solution here. I mean, the more chemicals we use the more resistant blights and bugs become, so the natural ways may be more successful.

Just because natural is believed to be better, does that naturally make it more expensive? Well, in strict economic terms, yes. Organic production requires more time to care for the crops and to nurture them to the standards of perfection which our supermarkets demand. So I am not surprised that they are more expensive.

Is going organic a cunning marketing ploy to make us happy to pay more for our food? I don’t think it is a cunning marketing ploy. I think it is a function of the capitalist economy and the workings of supply and demand. Plain and Simple.

Or is it simply a sensible return to growing food the good old fashioned way minus all the nasty chemicals? I think the clincher about the “good old days” is that food never travelled thousands of miles before hitting our plates, rather than organic growing. Have you ever tasted a tomato straight from the plant? Or a carrot which was growing in the ground two minutes before you cleaned it and boiled it? If you haven’t then you don’t know what you are missing. Being organic doesn’t matter. It is freshness and food miles that count.

Good point. I have a couple of apple trees in my back garden, and I do absolutely nothing to encourage their growth. No pesticides, fungicides, or fertiliser, natural or artificial. They yield big, huge, yummy apples, and only have to travel a few metres from the tree to my plate.

I have become increasingly disappointed in the organic food movement. A lot of people buy it thinking it is somehow healthier than non-organic. This is simply not true. It has a New Age, pseudospiritual spin to it. I used to be in favor of organic techniques. I am a horticulturist by trade and I know quite a bit about agricultural pesticides and fertilizers, and I don't use manufactured products on my plants, mainly because I don't want to expose myself to them, also because they are so energy intensive to produce. Organic farming here in the States has become a big business, and is mostly controlled by the same companies that bring us all our other food. They use massive amounts of natural pesticides, rotenone and natural pyrethrins mostly, which are no better for anyone and, while less energy intensive to produce, take space to grow in massive quantities. Yields on even industrial organic farms are lower than with what became in the latter half of the 20th century 'normal' industrial growing techniques.

I have come to the conclusion that it is best to buy local produce from sensible farmers, organic or not, fresh and not brought in from thousands of miles away. I am fortunate to live in an area where the growing season is year 'round. Very few pesticides persist on plants, so even treated plant material is usually safe. It is in the mixing and application of them where you have problems.

Yeah, I've come to a similar conclusion. Local food is generally the best all round, 'organic' or otherwise.