Organic farm denies using the chemical "water"

[LOL!]

I got a kick out of this:
Organic Farm Denies Use of Dihydrogen Monoxide

Basically, they denied using dihydrogen monoxide which most people know is water.

[ERD50]

As the blogger points out, the lack of knowledge was one thing - the thought process behind it is what is scary. It's all about perception - facts and science have no bearing on them. They can 'prove' whatever they like, because it just has to 'feel' right.

-ERD50

[Midpack]

Whole countries have passed legislation based on highly sketchy science. It's one thing for individuals or small groups to be fooled, but whole countries?

List of Countries That Banned Genetically Modified Food

[JoeWras]

Ha, the DHMO people at Dihydrogen Monoxide Research Division - dihydrogen monoxide info must be laughing their behinds off.

The whole point of this satire site is to show just how gullible people are. It is usually the "inhalation of DHMO kills x number of people per year" that throws people over the edge.

Growing up, I loved science. I am dismayed how our culture is using science in such twisted ways. Like most causes these days, there is little talking, little reading, little research: instead, just a lot of yelling, boycotting and angst.

[DrRoy]

Awesome. It was my first laugh of the day and will likely remain the best.

[ERD50]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Midpack Whole countries have passed legislation based on highly sketchy science. It's one thing for individuals or small groups to be fooled, but whole countries? List of Countries That Banned Genetically Modified Food

Well, the politicians often bow to public pressure (or actively seek it out, even create it, to show they are 'responsive' to the public?). And the squeaky wheel gets the grease. So there you go.


I had a discussion with a family friend about "GMO". I think people really mean "GEO" (Genetically Engineered Organisms) - all our crops have been genetically modified (naturally or through traditional selective breeding), or they would all be the same algae-like slime! You can only go so far with a discussion like this in a social setting, and of course I got all the weak, uninformed, backwards 'arguments' full of all the usual suspects of logical fallacies, ad-hominem and straw man attacks.

I thought it about it, and decided if I ever got a chance to discuss this again like that, I'd approach it differently. I'd say that it is clear that this person is passionate about this subject, and if she wants to actually influence people and 'change the world', it would help her to have arguments that will actually influence others. I'd point out that starting with "You must have stock in Monsanto!" is not going to sway others. That is an ad-hominem attack, with no substance, it doesn't help your cause, and you just alienate the other person - they probably stop listening at that point.

And in the process of helping her with each argument she offered, the weakness of each point should become apparent. But maybe she will continue to listen for a while, since it isn't a direct challenge?

-ERD50

[harley]

Words. It's all just words. Federal Judge Rules Skim Milk Isn't 'Skim Milk' - Reason.com

[keegs]

I'll pass on the insecticides, herbicides and fungicides.

[ERD50]

Quote:

Originally Posted by keegs I'll pass on the insecticides, herbicides and fungicides.

Well, Genetically Engineered crops can help reduce dependence on those.

Do you realize that organic farmers use insecticides, herbicides and fungicides? And sometimes they use far larger quantities than regular commercial farmers, because their old "GRAS" (generally regarded as safe) formulations are not very effective.

I don't have time for links now, but I can find them later if you wish. But if you do some searching, you'll find there is a list of approved pesticides for organic farming. IIRC, some that were GRAS labelled have been removed from the approved list in some countries. After they actually tested them, they found they were not safe enough!

New forms of pesticides are designed to break down faster, and be safer for the environment. But the organic farmers have to stick to the old 'natural' formulas. I think we should take advantage of modern technology, if it is better.

-ERD50

[jetpack]

"organic" does not automatically mean "pesticide-free" or "chemical-free". In fact, under the laws of most states, organic farmers are allowed to use a wide variety of chemical sprays and powders on their crops.

[youbet]

My garden lately consists of only a few tomato plants. Last year I purchased a couple of heirloom plants (can't remember the exact variety) and they were delicious. Not as pretty to look at and not as consistent in size (would be harder to factory process and package) as state of the art, engineered tomatoes, but tasty just the same!


I took a few to the weekly breakfast meeting I attend with some old work chums. When they saw the "mis-shapen" and inconsistently sized and colored tomatoes, they went crazy criticizing me for not growing genetically modified tomatoes which would have a more consistent size and appearance.


After giving the tomatoes to the waitress (who seemed to think they were great!), I still had to listen to a lecture on "modern, engineered agriculture." What's with these people? It's my garden, my sometimes hobby. If I want to grow heirloom instead of modern engineered varieties, my business. Still, they persisted accusing me of sabotaging scientific progress.


When I came back the next week, I lied and told them I tore the old fashioned tomatoes out and promised to go only high tech in the future. (In actuality, we enjoyed them the balance of the summer and early autumn.) And I apologized for telling them to stick their fancy hybrids up their butts the prior week. That seemed to satisfy them and our meals arrived so all was well.


These high tech gardeners are amazing..........

[ERD50]

Quote:

Originally Posted by youbet My garden lately consists of only a few tomato plants. Last year I purchased a couple of heirloom plants (can't remember the exact variety) and they were delicious. Not as pretty to look at and not as consistent in size (would be harder to factory process and package) as state of the art, engineered tomatoes, but tasty just the same! I took a few to the weekly breakfast meeting I attend with some old work chums. When they saw the "mis-shapen" and inconsistently sized and colored tomatoes, they went crazy criticizing me for not growing genetically modified tomatoes which would have a more consistent size and appearance. After giving the tomatoes to the waitress (who seemed to think they were great!), I still had to listen to a lecture on "modern, engineered agriculture." What's with these people? It's my garden, my sometimes hobby. If I want to grow heirloom instead of modern engineered varieties, my business. Still, they persisted accusing me of sabotaging scientific progress. ...

Odd reaction from your chums, almost unbelievable. How does a hobbyist choice interfere with 'scientific progress'? For home gardeners, I think heirloom varieties can be wonderful. They fell out of fashion with commercial growers, because consumers and economics favor consistent size, good shipping qualities, disease resistance, etc. Trying to reach those goals overall often means flavor is compromised - it's only one of the goals.

But hobbyists (gardening or just about any other hobby) can throw all that out the window, and go for whatever they want. Often, these heirloom varieties will have superior flavor - they haven't had to choose between flavor and other qualities, like appearance and shipping quality.

On our family farm, back in the 60's we started growing a 'high tech hybrid' variety of sweet corn that had a really superior flavor. The problem with it was that the the ripening of the ears was more spread out over time than most other commercial sweet corn varieties at that time. That meant you had to go through the same field many times, several days apart, rather than getting them all in just one or two passes. But with cheap child labor (me and my brothers!), that wasn't a big deal. I think that further progress has resulted in even better sweet corn that also ripens evenly, making it more available to more consumers. Now that's progress!

-ERD50

[Fedup]

My heirloom tomatoes taste the best, I gave some to my massage therapist who went on and on about GMO this and that. But what I hate is when I was at a farmers market, some sellers went far enough to rant at me for purchasing non organic fruits, she said I might get cancer. Can you believe the nerve. I never go back there again. I personally grow everything organic for the last 20 years. I use my own vegetable waste and compost them, but enough is enough.


Sent from my iPad using Early Retirement Forum

[harley]

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

Quote:

"Good judgment comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgement." - Will Rogers

WOW! I got that from a Ziggy cartoon (which I framed above my desk and many other places). Now I know the origin. Thanks!

[misanman]

Heard a strange "organic" story last week. A friend has a daughter and son-in-law that are big into "organic". They recently ordered 8 bags of "organic sand" to fill their child's sand box. "Organic sand" seems like an oxymoron to me but what do I know.

[Philliefan33]

Quote:

Originally Posted by misanman Heard a strange "organic" story last week. A friend has a daughter and son-in-law that are big into "organic". They recently ordered 8 bags of "organic sand" to fill their child's sand box. "Organic sand" seems like an oxymoron to me but what do I know.

Hmmm, organic SiO2?

Won't it be funny if they neglect to cover the sandbox, and their precious child winds up digging in the sand after it has been used by the neighborhood cats!

[Philliefan33]

I encountered the "GMO is poisoning us" mindset from some members of the bookclub I joined. Most of them have college educations, but I am the only one with a science degree. When one woman started spouting off about the evils of chemicals and GMOs I tried to discuss science with her but I don't think I changed her mind. It's annoying when the general public is swayed by pseudoscience and media hype, but I hope that eventually the truth will come out. It happened with Jenny McCarthy and the anti-vax crackpots.

[Midpack]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Philliefan33 I encountered the "GMO is poisoning us" mindset from some members of the bookclub I joined. Most of them have college educations, but I am the only one with a science degree. When one woman started spouting off about the evils of chemicals and GMOs I tried to discuss science with her but I don't think I changed her mind. It's annoying when the general public is swayed by pseudoscience and media hype, but I hope that eventually the truth will come out. It happened with Jenny McCarthy and the anti-vax crackpots.

Don't bother me with the facts, my mind is made up...

old adage, seems more and more common as the decades pass

[SecondCor521]

Quote:

Originally Posted by misanman Heard a strange "organic" story last week. A friend has a daughter and son-in-law that are big into "organic". They recently ordered 8 bags of "organic sand" to fill their child's sand box. "Organic sand" seems like an oxymoron to me but what do I know.

I have been told that the definition of "organic" is "contains carbon". So since sand can contain calcium carbonate, it would be organic.

Other things that would be organic are diamonds and Tums antacids. And probably cat poop.

One cannot equate "natural" with safe, either. Arsenic and radioactive elements occur naturally but are fatal to humans.