He sabido q te amaba Javier solis Whats wrong with organic food and organic agriculture?

Organic food is expensive Unfortunately, at the moment retailers are charging artificially high prices. I was in Tesco last week which is a rare occurrence as I shop locally where possible, and I nearly died when I saw the prices being charged for organic yogurt and eggs compared to the non-organic brands. I understand that we have to pay more for organic produce because there are more crop failures due to the fact that the farmers cannot use pesticides, but what is an acceptable percentage and does this vary from product to product. Should organic fish be 10 percent more expensive than non organic fish and vegetables 20 per cent etc? If we have to pay more for crop failures how does this work with processed food that uses less fresh ingredients and higher volumes? Should we still have to pay a premium or are they just jumping on the band wagon and making us pay higher prices? At the moment most organic items are too highly priced to be affordable to most people. Furthermore, many argue that there is not enough evidence that supports the benefits of eating organic food to warrant the additional cost. For example its difficult to quantify; can organic potatoes be 10% better for us, should we then pay an extra 10% on the price? Or are we paying for a lifestyle choice? Is this not the same as any branded clothes, toiletries, cars? We could buy cheaper clothes, toiletries or cars as they all do the same as dearer branded ones yet we choose them because it makes us feel better and due to peer pressure and advertising. Organic food safety and benefits There is evidence that organic farms are more sustainable and environmentally sound, among other benefits. These claims, however, are subject to dispute and are not settled among scientists. Another contentious issue surrounding organic produce is the fact that nearly 70 per cent of produce sold in UK supermarkets is imported, generating thousands of food miles to get to its destination and causing damage to the environment. Often organic food produced in England is sent from one side of the country to the distribution warehouse at the other side, only to be sent back again to the Supermarket. One supermarket has been run a pilot where the farmer and his tractor deliver the organic produce to the supermarket direct. Now that is progress! Non organic food does contain pesticides of varying amount. Many toxicologists and scientists consider the amount to be so low as to have no effect on the consumer. For example, have you fallen ill the past due to the chemicals in your food? I doubt it! Only those that have an allergic reaction or eat vast quantities of the same food may do so. Food is not allowed to be sold by law that is unsafe.

In todays society, it is virtually impossible to grow produce pesticide free and even organically grown foods do not claim to be completely free of chemical residues. Pesticides are carried in the air and rivers. Non GM crops around the world have been found to contain Genetically Modified seedlings as these have been carried in the air from GM farms miles away. Organic food has sold out Organic food began as a small movement decades ago with gardeners and farmers rejecting the use of conventional non organic practices. With the growth of the organic food market now outpacing much of the food industry many big companies have moved into this market. With these large often multi national companies, and with the creation of a legal certification framework such as the Soil Association, there is worry that the very definition of organic food will change from what it used to be and become just another mass produced brand which will over time be replaced by another emerging sector. For example, Heinz is producing an organic version of baked beans and has different ingredients and packaging, it uses 100% certified organic vine-ripened tomatoes. The label will also reflect an organic quality with Heinz traditional red label replaced with a green version. Another difference: the organic 50 percent more to buy when bought in bulk, I doubt it! By keeping it small are we not keeping it beautiful and under control? A final thought.Organic is more than just a brand; its a way of life!

Mastronardi Produce received the 2010 Food Quality Award at the 2011 Food Safety Summit. The company demonstrated integrity in product quality and innovate ways supporting sustainability. The Mastronardi Produce/SUNSET traceability program allows the tracing of all products back to the country of origin, state or region within that country and the greenhouse within that state or region. At the greenhouse, produce is identified with a product labeling unit (PLU) indicating the growing farm, date of harvest and commodity name. The information is labeled on each product box or container along with the country of origin. Mastronardi Produce. Though he didnt mention it in his acceptance speech at the 10th Annual Food Quality Award presentation held during the recent Food Safety Summit, Joe Darden, Mastronardi Produce vice president of food safety , could have said something about integrity, which certainly played a role in his companys winning the 2010 Quality Award. The award presentation was cosponsored by Dupont Qualicon, Food Quality and BNP Media. Mastronardy Produce began as a greenhouse aperation in the 1940s in Kingsville, Ontario. Today, its a family-owned business that is employee managed with locations throughout the US, Mexico and Canada. With a supply chain distributed throughout North and Central America, the company distributes and sells to the 25 top retailers in North America.

Mastronardis distribution centers are certified to the Safe Quality Food (SQF) standard SQF 2000 Level 3, and its greenhouse growing centers are certified to SQF 1000 Level 2. The processor has its own employee staffed labs. One microbiology lab tests inbound and outbound products and packages, and a second lab specializes in shelf life, product quality and package testing. In addition to quality certifications, the company has products meeting both USDA and Canadian organic standards. Mastronardi Produce is committed to food safety and food quality. We have a solid team of dedicated professionals leading our food safety department and maintaining the programs that continue to keep us ahead of the game, says Paul Mastronardi, president. Our goal is to provide the highest level of food safety and quality, and to continuously exceed government requirements. Our mandate is to constantly be proactive. Innovation, according to Darden, has been responsible for several new products and packaging, traceability and environmentally related projects. In his talk , Darden described the processors packaged, small, sweet tomatoes that are being sold to kids as a nutritionally healthy substitute for candy. New packaging concepts produced thermal-wrapped cucumbers, plastic-packaged tomatoes and a clear, laminated, shear-resistant, resealing produce pack.

Qu pasa con los alimentos ecolgicos y la agricultura ecolgica? Los alimentos orgnicos son caros Desafortunadamente, en este momento los minoristas estn cobrando precios artificialmente elevados. Yo estaba en Tesco semana pasada que es un hecho poco habitual ya que comprar localmente siempre que sea posible, y casi me muero cuando vi los precios que se cobran por el yogur y los huevos orgnicos en comparacin con las marcas no orgnicos. Entiendo que tenemos que pagar ms por productos ecolgicos porque hay ms prdidas de cosechas

debido al hecho de que los agricultores no pueden utilizar pesticidas, pero lo que es un porcentaje aceptable y lo hace variar de producto a producto. En caso de peces orgnicos del 10 por ciento ms caros que los peces no orgnica y verduras 20 por ciento, etc? Si tenemos que pagar ms por la prdida de cosechas cmo funciona esto con los alimentos procesados que utiliza ingredientes frescos menor y los volmenes ms altos? Hay todava tenemos que pagar una prima o son simplemente saltar en el carro de la venda y hacindonos pagar precios ms altos? Por el momento los elementos ms orgnicos estn muy muy caros para ser asequible para la mayora. Por otra parte, muchos sostienen que no hay suficiente evidencia que apoya los beneficios de comer alimentos orgnicos para justificar el costo adicional. Por ejemplo, es difcil de cuantificar; puede papas orgnicas del 10% mejor para nosotros, hay que pagar un extra de 10% sobre el precio? O estamos pagando por un estilo de vida? No es esto lo mismo que la ropa de marca, artculos de higiene, los coches? Podramos comprar ropa ms barata, artculos de higiene o coches como todo lo que hacen lo mismo que los de marca encarecimiento An elegimos porque nos hace sentir mejor y debido a la presin social y la publicidad. Inocuidad de los alimentos orgnicos y los beneficios Existe evidencia de que las granjas orgnicas son ms sostenibles y ecolgicamente racionales, entre otros beneficios. Estas afirmaciones, sin embargo, son objeto de controversia y no se liquidan entre los cientficos. Otra cuestin polmica que rodea los productos orgnicos es el hecho de que casi el 70 por ciento de los productos vendidos en los supermercados del Reino Unido es importado, lo que genera miles de millas de alimentos para llegar a su destino y causando daos al medio ambiente. A menudo, los alimentos orgnicos producidos en Inglaterra se enva desde un lado del pas al almacn de distribucin en el otro lado, slo para ser enviado de nuevo al supermercado. Un supermercado se ha ejecutado un proyecto piloto donde el granjero y su tractor entregan los productos orgnicos del supermercado directo. Ahora que es progreso! Alimentos no orgnicos no contienen pesticidas de diversa cantidad. Muchos toxiclogos y cientficos consideran que la cantidad sea tan baja que no tienen ningn efecto en el consumidor. Por ejemplo, ha cado enfermo el pasado debido a las sustancias qumicas en los alimentos? Lo dudo! Slo aquellos que tienen una reaccin alrgica o comer grandes cantidades de un mismo alimento puede hacerlo. La comida no se le permite ser vendido por la ley que no es seguro. En la sociedad actual, es prcticamente imposible cultivar productos libres de pesticidas e incluso los alimentos cultivados orgnicamente no pretenden ser completamente libres de residuos qumicos. Los pesticidas se realizan en el aire y los ros. Se ha encontrado que los cultivos no transgnicos en todo el mundo para contener semillas genticamente modificadas ya que se han realizado en el aire de GM granjas millas de distancia.

Los alimentos orgnicos se ha "vendido" Los alimentos orgnicos comenz como hace dcadas pequeos movimientos con los jardineros y agricultores que rechazan el uso de las prcticas convencionales no orgnicos. Con el crecimiento del mercado de alimentos orgnicos ahora superando a gran parte de la industria alimentaria muchas grandes compaas han entrado en este mercado. Con estas grandes empresas nacionales a menudo mltiples, y con la creacin de un marco de certificacin legal, como la Soil Association, se preocupan de que la definicin de los alimentos ecolgicos cambiar de lo que sola ser y llegar a ser simplemente otra marca de produccin masiva que se con el tiempo ser reemplazado por otro sector emergente. Por ejemplo, Heinz est produciendo una versin orgnica de frijoles al horno y tiene diferentes ingredientes y envases, que utiliza 100% certificadas tomates maduros orgnicos. La etiqueta tambin reflejar una calidad ecolgica con etiqueta roja tradicional Heinz reemplazado por una versin verde. Otra diferencia: el 50 por ciento orgnico para comprar ms si se compran a granel, lo dudo! Por mantenerlo pequeo no estamos guardando lo bello y bajo control? Un pensamiento final .... orgnica es ms que una marca, es una forma de vida!