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Going crazy for organic

J

JohnV2000

Member
It seems more and more people keep buying organic foods, and they are willing to pay sky high prices. Just last week while on vacation, I saw my aunt and uncle buying absolutely everything organic, even sunscreen for my young cousin.

To me, it seems ridiculous that people pay so much more money for an organic apple that is soft. Things like organic milk, organic honey, organic eggs, are these things even that much healthier for you?

From your perspective, perhaps as a farmer growing fruits or vegetables, what do you think about organic produce? Obviously eating healthy is good, but it seems like a lot of this is just a marketing scheme.

I do not mean to ruffle any feathers, I am actually just curious about what actual farmers think about everyone buying everything organic.

John
 
I think eating healthy is good.

We humans like fats, sugars, and salts, and we like quick and fast. Our foods have reflected that since the 1960s perhaps, and it turns out that probably isn?t so good
for us!

That people care and want to find a healthier deal is a good thing.

However, food processors figured out a setup for themselves.

They continue to make the quick and basic salt, sugar, fat stuff for most buyers, and they created the ?organic? divisions where they charge outragoius prices for a fancy
label and advertising. Much of the food is almost the same, processed and all. But it ?feels good? to be doing something, and affluent people can throw extra money at
their organic food labels and make higher profits for the food processors.

Farmers don?t have much to do with any of this. They grow generally the same food and feed grains and veggies as always.

But, between some rabid foodie people, and the marketing of the food processors, they have created this story that farmers are evil and are trying to kill you all.

It?s really quite shocking to us farmers? Huh? What all are you talking about with your organic mumbo jumbo?

So, it seems to me we all were lazy and wanted cheap fast bad food; after getting that for a few decades we now want cheap fast healthy food, but are lost and don?t
understand what that would be.

Shysters have latched onto the ?organic? and ?sustainable? and ?natural? label buzz words and are trying to cash in.

It makes no sense.

But it?s goid folk are caring a bit about their food. They just need a better education of what it is that goes on in the food world.

Paul
 
Like anything there is good and bad. It's good that people are eating healthier it's also good that "small" farmers have a market that they otherwise wouldn't. However it's not so good the almost scam that organic has become. The govt. getting even more involved in an industry. The ever creative ways to get around that regulation and still be "organic," lastly as you have said the price gouging.

Sod Buster
 

A few ears back when it was very wet in June and July and all the vegetables were getting fungus and rotting I asked my friend that has a big vegetable farm if he was properly sorry for the organic people. Hes response was "They made their bed, let 'em lie in it", LOL.
 
I think it has some benefit, but not enough for me to pay the price.

Just being organic is not as important as portion control and food selection.

My concern, how do you know it really is organic? Unless I grew it, or watched it being grown and harvested, impossible to know.

Organic honey? How could you know where the bees had been?

I suspect a lot of organic produce becomes organic on the way from Walmart to the farmers market once the labels are pulled off!

Just my take...
 
I agree it is great market for small
farmers and be able to make living on.
Also people are getting more conscious of
what they eat, but processed is processed
and is not something you want in your
system. So just because it says organic
doesn't mean it is still good for you.
Food from the garden or field strait to
the kitchen is still the best for you.
 
If you were an organic farmer wouldn?t you like the fact people
are paying stupid prices for organic food???? I?ve never seen
or heard of organic farmers around here complaining about
the prices at the store.
 
Thanks for the replies.

I totally agree that eating healthy is great, I personally try to eat as many fruits and vegetables as possible, and I hardly ever get fast food except for road trips.

I guess my point is, is there really a difference in terms of health between an organic Apple and the standard Apple you find at a grocery store? I think it is great people want to eat healthy, but is it necessary to pay double for healthy food when regular apples and honey, non organic, would be just fine?
 
It is all about insecticides and herbicides and commercial fertilizer. You get the worm with the
apple in organic. I can see someone's aversion to sprays for disease and bugs, but really have a
problem with the fertilizer bit. All the same fertility is in the ground already, it is being
supplemented to replace what is being used by plant life.

I never buy organic as that is what we had all my young life and I feel things have improved since
then.
 
Small Farmers? I bought a tractor from a fellow down in NC that raise over 1000 acres of organic wheat and green peppers.Walk into a Farmers Joes or Whole Foods nothing 'small
time' about those operations.
 
First off why would you care or be any of your business how someone spends their money? The dumbest thing about organics is what the people have to say about organics that don't
know the first thing about what they are talking about.
 
Who is 'WE'? Got a mouse in your pocket?People are becoming more and more educated about the food system in the USA that is why more and more people are buying organic.
Most rational people don't want farm chemicals in their food.
 
As far as I know there has
never been a scientific test
that says organic is better in
any way.
 
OK
cvphoto27359.jpg
 

being a certified organic product versus being a product labelled organic are two different things differentiated by???
 
But if its GMO theres no worm or chemicals! Tell me how that is bad? I grown Obsession2 sweet corn. Its round up ready plus root worm and ear worm resistant. People love it especially when it tell them I dont spray insecticide in it.
 
For whatever reason, organic foods are just another thing like recycling and climate change, that some people just feel compelled to be against.

(quoted from post at 14:24:07 06/24/19) I guess it depends on your definition of 'better' for me food without ag chemicals in it is 'better' if you're OK eating ag chemicals then its all the same.
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Exactly.

Doesn't matter what I or anyone else "thinks". The free market has already answered the question.

People want food raised without synthetic chemicals, growth homone, or massive doses of antibiotics. And they are willing to pay what it costs to get it. End of story.

I have to laugh at comments saying there's no scientific proof that organic is any better. So people doubt the science that proves clmate change, but say there's no science to prove organic is better. Yet another case of taking a position and then cherry picking your science accordingly.

I say it's still a free country, let people do what they want to do. I don't blame anyone out there who has doubts as to the safety of food that has been sprayed with gallon after gallon of herbicde, insecticide, fungicide, etc, etc, etc. You guys think I'm wearing a mask and gloves when I use this stuff because I have absolutely no doubts that it's perfectly safe? Well then only an idiot would blame somebody for doubting it's safe and wanting none of it on their food.

Grouse
 
You bring up an interesting point. When I first heard about genetically modifying crops, it was to develop crops that would resistant to diseases and pests so the need for various sprays would be reduced or even eliminated. I thought that was a great thing and still do. Then a certain big chemical company got the bright idea of producing crops that were resistant to herbicides that previously killed them. That is when the health and safety issues came into play.
 
Our son is a produce inspector at a Walmart distribution center. The parameters that he has to go by are
totally different between Commercial/All natural, as compared to Organic. He says that a large percentage
of the organic produce comes no where close to the specifications for commercial produce. Those perimeters
include temp, condition/freshness, bruising, shape, color, and so on. Other words eye appeal when in the
retail dispensers. He says the organic stuff is poorly shaped weird colors, often damaged requiring
rejection.
We grow a large garden and rely on it year round, but we would not be successful without
the use of commercial fertilizers. The nutrients in the soil need to be replenished each crop year. We all
know that beets for example are high in Iron. Beets absorb iron from the soil. If the soil runs low on
iron, the beets are also low on iron and not as healthy for a person.
I also wonder how any producer
can label honey as organic. Who tells the bees which fields they can gather nectar in?????
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Last year an organic beef farmer rented the field next to me which has been organic since the word became common, and plowed it
and seeded it to wheat. The weeds grew taller than the wheat and he never harvested it. It is now just
setting there again waiting to be bushoged to insure there will be a continued crop of weeds. This year
with all the wet weather we have had, the field has become a breading ground for hard shelled snails. They
are overrunning us. In my opinion, this is a total waste of 20A that could be producing good usable
crops. I am far from being a fan of organics. It might work for someone with a roadside produce stand if
they enjoy pulling weeds 7 days a week.---------Loren
 
I think this year is going to
be a great test of the organic
industry. In recent times any
crop failure has been a lack
of water, that give the
organic farms an advantage
since weed control is easier
so their loss is less. This
year with all the rain they
are going to be at a
disadvantage since weed
control is going to be much
more difficult than normal.
Add to that what could be the
shortest crop in recent memory
driving up prices we may see
the point where those organic
stores loose those customers
to more cost effective
alternatives. Be an
interesting year for sure.
 
Organic food sales have risen between 4 and 11% every year for the last decade. That market segment has experienced a fantastic growth rate. But what % of all food sales are organic ? In 2018 organic was about 5.5% of all food sales in U S. That says that either organic food is too expensive for the average consumer to purchase. Or that American consumers have confidence the US farmer is producing quality raw commodities to process into food for the 94.5 % of consumers buying non organic in 2019. Organic food as much as we discuss it is a very small slice of total food sales in this country.
 
Ya all I said is that it was good for the small farmers! Are you disputing that? I know there are larger organic farms out there, most famous not far from me is Gary Zimmer's Otter Creek Farm. He wrote the books biological farming.
 
Go into a Whole Foods store they have great organic produce.And Walmart is Walmart they fish for the bottom feeders in society no matter what they are selling which is fine but its always something to keep in mind when dealing with them.I don't go into Walmart expecting to find the top of the line anything.Do you?
 
The produce from the local Amish was terrible last year in part due to drought. A lot of the soil they farm is poor for vegetable crops. Wish I had an acre close to the house that was honest Ontario loam soil for vegetables.
 
Traditional Farmer,

As I said in my post, I did not want to ruffle any feathers, I was just curious about what actual farmers think about organic food.

I agree that no rational person wants to intentionally eat pesticides and chemicals, but at the same time, can t a rational personal have a polite discussion about organic food?

I apologize for even starting this topic, but I was just curious what farmers opinions were on organic food.

Clearly it is a good thing for small time farmers. The discussion about GMOs is very interesting, because it seems to me that might be a good way to get higher crop yields without using pesticides. However, I am a layman when it comes to agriculture, and most everything, seeing as I just graduated from high school this month.

John
 
Anybody that says they have organic honey is a great lier as there is no organic honey because the bees have to go where the flower is to get the pollen to make the honey and they cannot control where the bee flies to get that pollen. And no idea what was put on that flower that is carried with the pollen by the bee. And for having produce without any spray it would have to be raised in climate controled greenhouses brcause you cannot control what that farmer 10-20 or even 50 mile away uses on his place because that spray will travel with the wind. You can raise the produce as organic but cannot guarentee that it has no sprays on it.
 
I can't believe we're having this discussion yet again. I farm conventionally and do some custom organic farming for the neighbor. I couldn't care less how you farm or what you eat.
You do your thing and I will do mine.
 
I was just curious about peoples opinions, I was not trying to start a heated debate. Apologies for starting the thread.
 
(quoted from post at 16:21:56 06/24/19) Anybody that says they have organic honey is a great lier as there is no organic honey because the bees have to go where the flower is to get the pollen to make the honey and they cannot control where the bee flies to get that pollen. And no idea what was put on that flower that is carried with the pollen by the bee. And for having produce without any spray it would have to be raised in climate controled greenhouses brcause you cannot control what that farmer 10-20 or even 50 mile away uses on his place because that spray will travel with the wind. You can raise the produce as organic but cannot guarentee that it has no sprays on it.
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Leroy, bees will rarely travel over four miles for nectar, but just like you they won't bypass sweet delectable flowers to keep going to distant flowers. So an organic honey producer, knowing what he needs for flowers, as well as what the organic certifiers tell him what he needs for flowers, can easily place his hives so that they have no desire to go off into the nasty flowers.
 
John V, you don't need to apologize for anything. Some guys just can not stand it if someone else
has a different opinion than they do. We are free to buy organic or not and free to have our own
beliefs. Like I said, I was raised on organic. We never had a weed sprayer on the farm, no
commercial fertilizer, and we cultivated a lot, pulled weeds a lot and if I was farming, I sure
would NOT want to do it that way again. I do not like worms in my apples so I spray. Don't like
blight, so I spray. I don't like worms in the sweet corn, so if the guy I get it from has GMO corn
that resists insects, I am all for it. No argument, just my opinion.
 
(quoted from post at 20:56:48 06/24/19) Nothing to apologize for I love it when things like this are brought up.(LOL)
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Traditional Farmer, I enjoy lively discussions, and it is great to hear different opinions. Thanks for being understanding.
 
(quoted from post at 20:16:36 06/24/19) John V, you don't need to apologize for anything. Some guys just can not stand it if someone else
has a different opinion than they do. We are free to buy organic or not and free to have our own
beliefs. Like I said, I was raised on organic. We never had a weed sprayer on the farm, no
commercial fertilizer, and we cultivated a lot, pulled weeds a lot and if I was farming, I sure
would NOT want to do it that way again. I do not like worms in my apples so I spray. Don't like
blight, so I spray. I don't like worms in the sweet corn, so if the guy I get it from has GMO corn
that resists insects, I am all for it. No argument, just my opinion.
Click to expand...

Thanks Pete, it is nice to hear opinions on this topic, that is exactly what I was looking for.
 
Ok. I needed to go shopping today and stopped in my local ShopRite. Over in the
produce isle there was a shelf stocker busy at work. I chatted with him for a
bit and we discussed how he and other stockers are refilling the shelves all
day long. "All day." I sort of chuckled a little and asked how the ORGANIC
stuff works. After we both chuckled and he rolled his eyes. Lastly I asked him
how much gets thrown out back in the dumpster. He just said an awful lot. Hope
this answers some questions. The little section in the corner is about 15 feet
long and is organic. All the rest of this is regular stuff and goes on for
another 10 feet to the right. Folks are saying how many people pay extra but
this is a VERY large store and those were the answers I got from a department
stocking person. Just letting you guys know. Have no idea how the trafic cones
got in there.
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My dad an I farm conventionally, but I
buy organic stuff. Not really much
different in price. If a couple bucks
here and there are gonna break the bank,
you have more serious things to worry
about. I can choose what I want to eat
and buy, so I do. Part of our farm is
rented out to an organic farmer, he does
a good job, clean crops. I personally
don't really want to eat a ton of stuff
that has been loaded with herbicide. We
try to use as little herbicide as
possible, one time per season, with as
light of application as possible. Some
guys will spray the same fields numerous
times even after harvest to keep the
weeds down during the fall, or spray in
the spring before planting and then after
planting, using flood nozzles so they can
spray in 20 mph wind. If crops are
sprayed at the optimum time, it works a
lot better than the guys that you watch
spraying in the wind where the liquid
leaves the nozzle and immediately is
blown away from the flood nozzle at a
right angle. But a lot of guys do it that
way. Ever see how many times potatoes and
sugar beets are sprayed for bugs, blight,
diseases? Just about every week. The
spraying of foliar feed doesn't bother me
as much as the other stuff though. You
spray enough of that stuff into the dirt,
it's going to be there permanently in
some form or another. Why do you think
you aren't supposed to just drain your
engine oil into the dirt? Superfund
sites? Have one of those near me, that
used to make all sorts of chemicals that
are now embedded in the soil. I know I
eat some stuff that is conventionally
grown, and I'm ok with that, but I get to
choose what I want to eat for the most
part. Some people don't care what they
eat, and I'm ok with that too. I've been
exposed to enough chemicals in my
previous jobs when I was younger and
didn't know any better, and still am when
I'm working on someone's truck, tractor,
etc. I get oil on me sometimes, covered
even, but I sure don't make it a point to
stick my hands in used engine oil for no
reason, or swallow gas if I can help it.
There's a few orchards around me. There
has been a couple older fellows that used
to work in the orchards that ended up
with nerve damage and Parkinson's
disease. The doctors told them it's a
more common thing, or something they have
seen among orchard workers around here
when exposed to the sprays that are
used/used to be used in orchards. Back in
the day, these guys sprayed on open
station tractors, at the mercy of the
wind and drift, and some pretty nasty
stuff back in the day. They're gone now,
but they both said looking back they
wished they'd been more careful in what
they exposed themselves to. I'm not
saying anyone is right or wrong, everyone
is allowed to do and buy what they like,
but when you spray water on a plant, it
absorbs it. When you spray water with
chemicals on a plant, it absorbs it. I
don't feel like absorbing what was
absorbed into that plant intentionally if
I can help it. I do eat Cheerios for
breakfast though, and I think we all know
how they say Cheerios contain glyphosate.
 
Marilyn and I have to eat gluten free and Marilyn can not eat eggs or dairy so we are forced to shop health stores for some of our food needs. It bothers me to no end to read the labels in those stores but what bothers me the most is NON GMO listed first and foremost on the label, then they go on to list the real allergens in smaller print. It is very clear the health food companies are not interested in the customer s health as much as they are interested in their bottom line. At the present time non gmo shown prominently on the label is what sells. Listing real allergens that can make people sick is of lesser importance to them.
 
I buy Orville's popcorn and sure enough, prominent letters, non GMO, like I give a hoot. If they had
both kinds, I would buy GMO just to be ornery.
 
(quoted from post at 23:33:36 06/24/19) I buy Orville's popcorn and sure enough, prominent letters, non GMO, like I give a hoot. If they had
both kinds, I would buy GMO just to be ornery.
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Pete, your last sentence there about buying the GMO just to be ornery is great, gave me a good chuckle this morning. Sometimes I feel the same way.
 


Jeffcat, No I don't see any questions answered. What you are telling us is common knowledge.

Rboots, VERY THOUGHTFUL GOOD POST.

Everyone, There is nothing significant being said here, it is pretty much all common knowledge, and we all, myself included, are entertaining ourselves poking fun at the "organic enthusiasts" while at the same time performing our YT duty of carrying the banner for conservatism and skepticism.
 
LOL Here we go again. One side ridiculing the other.

I DO NOT BUY ORGANIC. SO I'M NOT ON THEIR SIDE.

OK so a store throws stuff out. They do that all the time. Don't matter non-organic or organic. Produce gets to a point and they have to toss it. Same with meat and dairy products. And very few stores can sell everything they put out. So I call BS on that. So your store has 15 feet of organic? How about adding in free range? Or grass fed? Or pasture raised?

How about Natural Grocers? Place looks like a regular run of the mill grocery store.....all organic. How about it being so popular that one survives nicely in Fargo ND with an area population of under 200,000. Decent sized building too. 50,000 square foot or so. Don't look like no hippy shop to me.

Yuk it up boys. The consumer hasn't trusted companies in a long time. They really don't trust chemical companies. Now they don't trust you. That what you want? Don't matter who's right or wrong. Lot of well educated people out there think you are all to willing to poison them and their kids all for a buck. That how you want to be perceived?

How about instead of ridiculing the customer base you clean up your image?

Now here is the real kicker. I know a small organic farmer 80 acres of which he uses about 40. Yea a lot of work. This guy will show you the books. He's clearing about 70K a year. How are you chemical guys doing? :lol: Can you turn a 70K profit on 40 or so acres?

Rick
 
(quoted from post at 09:18:38 06/24/19) It seems more and more people keep buying organic foods, and they are willing to pay sky high prices. Just last week while on vacation, I saw my aunt and uncle buying absolutely everything organic, even sunscreen for my young cousin.

To me, it seems ridiculous that people pay so much more money for an organic apple that is soft. Things like organic milk, organic honey, organic eggs, are these things even that much healthier for you?

From your perspective, perhaps as a farmer growing fruits or vegetables, what do you think about organic produce? Obviously eating healthy is good, but it seems like a lot of this is just a marketing scheme.

I do not mean to ruffle any feathers, I am actually just curious about what actual farmers think about everyone buying everything organic.

John
Click to expand...

"Organic" means the price has been jacked up. NOTHING else.
 
So what is the answer?

Re educate the public, or go back tot he stone ages and create food shortages and poor crops?

A cherry picked location, soil type, and cheap labor (kids) can make a pretty good organic farm.

Too feed the masses, it takes something else.

When corn went to $7, earlier when wheat went to $20 briefly, there was a hue and cry and calls for action to lower prices, we farmers were breaking the bakers, we
were forcing people to starve.....

But that is what organic stuff costs, that would be the regular price......

People answer surveys one way, then shop the store shelves a different way.

How do you reconcile that?

Was a big outcry when Hostess went out of business briefly and people couldn?t get their Ho-Hos.

We need to eradicate the bad infor people like Traditional Farmer puts out, and re educate people to make wise choices that match what is possible.

I?m not against organic, I feel we need a sustainable, plentiful, wholesome food supply and we won?t get that with just organic.

Bigger scale organic needs to pull nutrition from somewhere, they often are gathering manure from conventional farms, or seaweed and fish from the waters to
replenish their farm land. These things are not sustainable, and are very hard to create a balanced soil.

Weed and insect infestations come and go, exposing us to year to year shortages as there is nothing in the organic toolbox to react to such things.

And so on.

I?m glad people have choices, and organic will always be a nitche market for some affluent people. That?s cool, it helps out some small farms as mentioned here often.

For a national food supply year in and year out, one would have to be daft to think it works out well. Look around, the countries that don?t have modern Ag are the ones
importing feed and food from those countries that ipise modern practices.

Think folks hate farmers now, let them get hungry and then we are in for a ride......

Paul
 
(quoted from post at 06:09:44 06/25/19)
(quoted from post at 09:18:38 06/24/19) It seems more and more people keep buying organic foods, and they are willing to pay sky high prices. Just last week while on vacation, I saw my aunt and uncle buying absolutely everything organic, even sunscreen for my young cousin.

To me, it seems ridiculous that people pay so much more money for an organic apple that is soft. Things like organic milk, organic honey, organic eggs, are these things even that much healthier for you?

From your perspective, perhaps as a farmer growing fruits or vegetables, what do you think about organic produce? Obviously eating healthy is good, but it seems like a lot of this is just a marketing scheme.

I do not mean to ruffle any feathers, I am actually just curious about what actual farmers think about everyone buying everything organic.

John
Click to expand...

"Organic" means the price has been jacked up. NOTHING else.
Click to expand...

Can you prove that statement? In other words back that up with provable facts? If so you better get that out to the buying public.

People are not really concerned with organic. What they want is non GMO foods that haven't been sprayed with Roundup and other chemicals. If if organic is the only way to get that? People in general WITH GOOD CAUSE do not trust the chemical companies. Good luck convincing them that all of a sudden they are to be trusted.
Rick
 
(quoted from post at 07:38:51 06/25/19) So what is the answer?

Re educate the public, or go back tot he stone ages and create food shortages and poor crops?

A cherry picked location, soil type, and cheap labor (kids) can make a pretty good organic farm.

Too feed the masses, it takes something else.

When corn went to $7, earlier when wheat went to $20 briefly, there was a hue and cry and calls for action to lower prices, we farmers were breaking the bakers, we
were forcing people to starve.....

But that is what organic stuff costs, that would be the regular price......

People answer surveys one way, then shop the store shelves a different way.

How do you reconcile that?

Was a big outcry when Hostess went out of business briefly and people couldn?t get their Ho-Hos.

We need to eradicate the bad infor people like Traditional Farmer puts out, and re educate people to make wise choices that match what is possible.

I?m not against organic, I feel we need a sustainable, plentiful, wholesome food supply and we won?t get that with just organic.

Bigger scale organic needs to pull nutrition from somewhere, they often are gathering manure from conventional farms, or seaweed and fish from the waters to
replenish their farm land. These things are not sustainable, and are very hard to create a balanced soil.

Weed and insect infestations come and go, exposing us to year to year shortages as there is nothing in the organic toolbox to react to such things.

And so on.

I?m glad people have choices, and organic will always be a nitche market for some affluent people. That?s cool, it helps out some small farms as mentioned here often.

For a national food supply year in and year out, one would have to be daft to think it works out well. Look around, the countries that don?t have modern Ag are the ones
importing feed and food from those countries that ipise modern practices.

Think folks hate farmers now, let them get hungry and then we are in for a ride......

Paul
Click to expand...


What? "Re educate the public, or go back to the stone ages and create food shortages and poor crops?" Really? With American farmers only producing about 45% of the worlds food, THE US importing 15% of it's food and with MILLIONS of acres in the US alone no longer in production I don't see the potential for a food shortage. Add in the billions of acres of unused/underused land in the world? Smoke and mirrors. "The sky is falling"!!! And guess what? The general voting public, the folks buying? The educated ones? They know that! The rest know that food comes from the grocery store.

Really again? "Think folks hate farmers now, let them get hungry and then we are in for a ride......" Prices are in the tank because of what? OVERPRODUCTION! Grow too much and you get poor prices. And you can only store it so long before it goes bad. So please explain to me just how people are going to go hungry?

As far as people hating the farmer? You GMO/Roundup guys are no longer part of us. You are one of them. Them being the greedy corporations with the "anything for a buck" mentality. Or at least that's how the end customer sees you. They want safe food. You want to force a product on them claiming it's safe. That makes you a corporate hack to most consumers.

There is some evidence that at least Roundup is questionable. Maybe GMO's too. Want to dispute that? Clean, no strings research. No researchers claiming their research was canceled because of money threats. Because for every study you present saying it's safe they can present studies that say they are not. And most of the studies saying they are safe? Come out of research they (the companies) paid for (questionable by anyone's standards". And yea, Cargil and Monsanto (now Bayer) donated millions to colleges and universities. Follow the money. You may choose to believe them. I don't. Not at least as far as the Roundup.

Heck I've said it time and again. I don't go the organic route. I do avoid soy and corn products when possible. We only use olive oil. Only pop I buy is made with cane sugar. Mostly eat meat and veggies (can't even remember last time I ate cob or can corn). I don't even partake of liquid corn from TN very often. I even buy non ethanol gas when legally possible. Not because I'm afraid of ethanol. But because I don't think the government should be able to force me into it.

Rick
 
When most people think GMO they think chemicals, plants bred to resist certain chemicals are indeed genetically modified and the big culprit is (gasp) glyphosate. GMO is also extensively used to grow a plant that produces a protein that kills insects. Without GMO s we would be using MORE chemicals.
 
(quoted from post at 07:42:28 06/25/19)
(quoted from post at 06:09:44 06/25/19)
(quoted from post at 09:18:38 06/24/19) It seems more and more people keep buying organic foods, and they are willing to pay sky high prices. Just last week while on vacation, I saw my aunt and uncle buying absolutely everything organic, even sunscreen for my young cousin.

To me, it seems ridiculous that people pay so much more money for an organic apple that is soft. Things like organic milk, organic honey, organic eggs, are these things even that much healthier for you?

From your perspective, perhaps as a farmer growing fruits or vegetables, what do you think about organic produce? Obviously eating healthy is good, but it seems like a lot of this is just a marketing scheme.

I do not mean to ruffle any feathers, I am actually just curious about what actual farmers think about everyone buying everything organic.

John
Click to expand...

"Organic" means the price has been jacked up. NOTHING else.
Click to expand...

Can you prove that statement? In other words back that up with provable facts? If so you better get that out to the buying public.

People are not really concerned with organic. What they want is non GMO foods that haven't been sprayed with Roundup and other chemicals. If if organic is the only way to get that? People in general WITH GOOD CAUSE do not trust the chemical companies. Good luck convincing them that all of a sudden they are to be trusted.
Rick
Click to expand...

ALL food is organic. None is artificial. Food cannot be created without using natural, god given ingredients.
 
5% of food is organic, that
doesn't add up to wholesale
hatred of farmers to me. And
as I said earlier, I think
this year and a few to come
will test that percentage
pretty hard. If this year
turns out as bad as it looks
like it will, and if the wet
hurts the organic farmers as
much as I think, prices will
go up a lot. If that happens
we will see just how much more
folks are really willing to
pay for organics. Time will
tell. But to claim that the
public has spoken over 5% of
the market that was at several
percent already is over
stating the situation.
 
In Sweden a group of supermarkets were taken to court for claiming the organic food was helthier. They lost the case and were fined for false marketing.
 
They really don't trust chemical companies. Those same people that by organic, grass fed and free range products are the same people that are buying Roundup (glyphosate) and spraying all around their property. To them Roundup is bad but glyphosate is ok. They don't make the connection.
 
(quoted from post at 19:28:04 06/25/19) They really don't trust chemical companies. Those same people that by organic, grass fed and free range products are the same people that are buying Roundup (glyphosate) and spraying all around their property. To them Roundup is bad but glyphosate is ok. They don't make the connection.
Click to expand...


Nope not even close. The folks buying organic? They are not the ones buying roundup for their lawns.

1st place they ain't trying to burn down the grass. 2nd place most of those folks will pull weeds, not spray.

Guys these are customers. They get to pick what they want. Is the rejection hurting that bad? Get over it.

You ridiculing them is not going to make they buy what you think they should. Like any normal human it's going to anger them and they (heck of a lot more voters than the pitiful 3.5 million farmers) are going to use politics to shut you down. Will they regret it in the long run? Maybe. But so will you.

Here is the thing you guys ain't seeing. It's single young men, construction workers, in a convenience store buying snacks to take to a job site. Reading labels and refusing to buy anything that may contain GMO's. You mothers like the one here. Nice kid. Not very intelligent. With a 5 year old. She's real careful about what she buys and she too is reading labels.

And all this cause some chemical/seed company told you it was good and safe. And they presented you with studies to prove it that they paid for. So that makes you either gullible, trusting or greedy enough to risk others health for profit? And that's how the buying public sees you. As being greedy enough to risk their health for profit.

And to show you just how well you are working at overcoming negative news/perceptions? You get on a forum where you and your buds can yuck it up, make fun of them and accomplish absolutely NOTHING! And you do it over and over and over. You need to get on other public forums and get your message out. You ain't getting a darn thing done here.

Rick
 
I have worked the consumer forums for some years, actually even way back when it was Fidonet, there was t an official internet yet. I paid my dues.

What we have here are fad chasers.

They want an easy life, but they are guilt driven and want their easy life while doing it ?right.?

A little secret - you and me and most on here are kinda exactly the same on that, we want the easy button, but we wish we would do better at stuff.....

So, they read on social media this or that is 100% bad, and they say well it?s easy to just not do that, and then my life means something.

A couple months or years later, they hear this or that is good, and the other is bad.

And so they flip flop, going to be a good person and do what I heard on the internet.....

Because it?s easy, but I believe I?m making a real difference in the world.

When I spray herbicides on my corn and soybeans this week, and the grain grows another couple months before setting grain, then another couple months to harvest,
then it sits around from November through next October being slowly used to feed hogs or beef or poultry, then the livestock grow a few weeks to many months, gets
butchered and cut up and shipped and back to a grocery store.... might be a couple years since I used herbicides on immature crops until it ends up on your plate.

I used a couple ounces to maybe possibly 2 gallons of herbicide per acre, that is 4 thousandths of an oz of herbicide per ear of corn or less. Two years ago.....

Along the way that corn was exposed to fuels, exhaust, plastics, metals, processed with numerous chemicals preservatives, and on and on.

But you are saying the real concern is .004 of an ounce of herbicide that was sprayed long before an ear was even out of the whorl of the corn plant?
That is the intelligence we are supposed to follow this year?

The young guys, the millennial that I make fun of for other reasons, are actually quite accepting of science as a group, and are not so worried about all the gmo and
herbicide stuff. They have moved on.

They get it again.

So, what group am I supposed to chase after?

In general, people shop with their pocketbook, and unless you have some good location or special soils or nitche or location that suits, the best effort is to chase after
the common folk that spend the most and vote with their pocketbook.

Nothing wrong with chasing after a small market that pays better, but it is a very fickle market that jumps in and out of fads, it?s not very stable for your farming career.
Glad it works out for some, nothing wrong with it, but certainly not an answer for the masses.

Paul
 
(quoted from post at 08:37:26 06/26/19) I have worked the consumer forums for some years, actually even way back when it was Fidonet, there was t an official internet yet. I paid my dues.

What we have here are fad chasers.

They want an easy life, but they are guilt driven and want their easy life while doing it ?right.?

A little secret - you and me and most on here are kinda exactly the same on that, we want the easy button, but we wish we would do better at stuff.....

So, they read on social media this or that is 100% bad, and they say well it?s easy to just not do that, and then my life means something.

A couple months or years later, they hear this or that is good, and the other is bad.

And so they flip flop, going to be a good person and do what I heard on the internet.....

Because it?s easy, but I believe I?m making a real difference in the world.

When I spray herbicides on my corn and soybeans this week, and the grain grows another couple months before setting grain, then another couple months to harvest,
then it sits around from November through next October being slowly used to feed hogs or beef or poultry, then the livestock grow a few weeks to many months, gets
butchered and cut up and shipped and back to a grocery store.... might be a couple years since I used herbicides on immature crops until it ends up on your plate.

I used a couple ounces to maybe possibly 2 gallons of herbicide per acre, that is 4 thousandths of an oz of herbicide per ear of corn or less. Two years ago.....

Along the way that corn was exposed to fuels, exhaust, plastics, metals, processed with numerous chemicals preservatives, and on and on.

But you are saying the real concern is .004 of an ounce of herbicide that was sprayed long before an ear was even out of the whorl of the corn plant?
That is the intelligence we are supposed to follow this year?

The young guys, the millennial that I make fun of for other reasons, are actually quite accepting of science as a group, and are not so worried about all the gmo and
herbicide stuff. They have moved on.

They get it again.

So, what group am I supposed to chase after?

In general, people shop with their pocketbook, and unless you have some good location or special soils or nitche or location that suits, the best effort is to chase after
the common folk that spend the most and vote with their pocketbook.

Nothing wrong with chasing after a small market that pays better, but it is a very fickle market that jumps in and out of fads, it?s not very stable for your farming career.
Glad it works out for some, nothing wrong with it, but certainly not an answer for the masses.

Paul
Click to expand...

LOL Paul, thing of it is it ain't a fad anymore and hasn't been for some time. This is not something that you can ignore and it will go away. Like I keep saying. Got to a Super Center. Don't just look at organic. Look at just how much space is dedicated to free range/grass fed/pasture raised/cage free stuff they carry. And the more people who demand it? The more and more the food processors are going to demand non GMO product to keep the customer happy. The only people still trying to push GMO's are farmers, Bayer and Cargil. So to the consumer you are a greedy person willing to do harm to their families for a buck. And your response is "they are just dumb". THESE ARE THE FOLKS WITH THE CHECK BOOK! The customer is not always right. But the customer is the CUSTOMER spending money that you want to put into your pocket. Now everyone else in the world tries to keep customers happy. And they make money doing that. You don't care if the customer is happy. How's that working out for you?

As a farmer you like to think you are your own boss. But that isn't true and it's never been true. A farmer is a slave to the season and weather not to mention crops and livestock. And of course the markets.

Rick
 
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