Let’s talk about ORGANIC.

Robert Paarlberg’s new book on the food system is out today, and here’s an excerpt.

He’s not a fan of organic, and he makes some good points but misses others.

Here we go.

Organic's biggest shortcoming is that you need more land to grow the same amount of food.

The yield penalty happens in almost every crop, in almost every study.

The gap could narrow with more research/varieties, but it won’t go away.

This has big, bad climate implications.
The second issue I have with organic, which Paarlberg shares, is that its basic criterion is naturalness.

Natural doesn’t mean safe, or even safer. A farming standard based on it forces farmers to sometimes use more dangerous, less effective tools.
https://t.co/Kh8TCgPEBp
On human health, there’s scant evidence that pesticide residues on conventional produce are harmful to consumers (though it’s possible farmworkers could be at risk).

What I don’t want is for folks who can’t afford organic to worry about feeding their kids conventional produce.
On the plus side, Paarlberg acknowledges that the organic standard has some real advantages for animal welfare.

This is why I buy organic animal products.

Many in the organic world would like more regs ensuring animals have decent lives.
Now, what Paarlberg misses. First, there are some environmental advantages. I wrote this a while back, and have since seen some evidence that organic systems may sequester carbon deeper in the soil, where it’s less likely to be re-released.
https://t.co/s1VfzlOmgK
He also misses organic’s success for farmers.

It enables growers to find like-minded consumers willing to pay a premium, and organic farmers are more profitable. This is good for a couple of reasons.
First, as a farmer, but also as a human, I'm in favor of farmers making a living.

If they all could, maybe we wouldn’t have to subsidize them to the tune of $20 billion a year.

But profitable farmers also have the cushion to experiment with new ways to farm better.
The last thing Paarlberg misses is an opportunity.

There has been, in the conventional ag community, a tendency toward sneering superciliousness about organic. Some call to boycott it!

Why? Because SCIENCE!
And I have to say that Paarlberg kicks off his piece with some smugness that I find off-putting.
Why does ORGANIC vs. CONVENTIONAL have to be war?

Because organic is a small slice of ag, I'll trade off its yield penalty for farmer livelihoods & the benefits from the experimentation I’ve seen on farms.

No, we can’t turn all acres organic, but I don’t think that’s a risk.
Bottom line:

ORGANIC: Some enviro benefits; better conditions for animals; farmers make a living

CONVENTIONAL: Better yields; unconstrained by “naturalness,” so can sometimes use safer/better practices; more affordable

I want a food supply with both.

Thanks for listening.

More from Health

On 18.12.2020, computer engineer @FitTuber shared @YouTube video titled "10 Safe & Useful Ayurvedic Tablets to Replace Allopathic Pills (Instant Relief)". The drugs he promoted were by @baidyanathgroup, not sure if it was paid promotion. I bought them:
https://t.co/w6Sh2pMvJf


10 drugs, details, batch numbers R given in pic👇. All by @baidyanathgroup exept 1 by https://t.co/tg46sBhJr2
We did GCMSMS, ICP-OES and FTIR analyses on these samples. Here are my 10 safer modern medicine alternatives 2 @FitTuber's untested, potentially harmful #Ayurvedic drugs


Kanthsudharak Vati by Unjha Pharma
@FitTuber: 4 sorethroat, cold, cough
Analysis: Lead 0.54 mg/kg, Cadmium 0.4 mg/kg, Thallium 0.71 mg/kg and industrial phenols.
Low values, but not ideal.

Safe alternative: Levocetrizine & non-sedative cough syrup Levodropropizine


Baidyanath Rajbati
@Fittuber: for bloating, gas
Analysis:
Mercury 1.2 mg/kg
Arsenic 2.25 mg/kg
Male anabolic hormone - hydroxy testosterone+
Curcumin
Talc powder

Safer alternative: activated charcoal+simethicone (non-absorbed, no side effects) or short course esomeprazole.


Baidyanath Bilwadi Choorna
@Fittuber - 4 diarrhoea
Analysis
Thallium 3.68 mg/kg
[fun fact: 10-15 mg/kg is lethal dose for humans. Death can occur at lower dosages] https://t.co/9ozOKROhCK
Fenretinide - synthetic anti-cancer drug
Liver toxic chromium phosph.

Safer: Racecadotril
No-regret #hydrogen:
Charting early steps for H₂ infrastructure in Europe.

👉Summary of conclusions of a new study by @AgoraEW @AFRY_global @Ma_Deutsch @gnievchenko (1/17)
https://t.co/YA50FA57Em


The idea behind this study is that future hydrogen demand is highly uncertain and we don’t want to spend tens of billions of euros to repurpose a network which won’t be needed. For instance, hydrogen in ground transport is a hotly debated topic
https://t.co/RlnqDYVzpr (2/17)

Similar things can be said about heat. 40% of today’s industrial natural gas use in the EU goes to heat below 100°C and therefore is within range of electric heat pumps – whose performance factors far exceed 100%. (3/17)


Even for higher temperatures, a range of power-to-heat (PtH) options can be more energy-efficient than hydrogen and should be considered first. Available PtH technologies can cover all temperature levels needed in industrial production (e.g. electric arc furnace: 3500°C). (4/17)


In our view, hydrogen use for feedstock and chemical reactions is the only inescapable source of industrial hydrogen demand in Europe that does not lend itself to electrification. Examples include ammonia, steel, and petrochemical industries. (5/17)

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