I grew up on a farm in Iowa during the 80’s and 90’s. I’m autistic, and have a multitude of health issues, autoimmune complications, and illnesses that have always been labeled “idiopathic.” As I have moved toward carnivore and organic eating, most of them have begun to ameliorate. This needs investigation.
Every time I drive through the countryside I think of all the poisons being sprayed on corn and soy fields. So pretty to live there but so toxic and dangerous.
Interesting. I have a friend who also grew up on a farm in Iowa and she has major health issues. Namely, multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis. She is in bad shape. 😞
If you moved toward a carnivore diet and your condition improved, one question would be: do the meats you're consuming contain higher levels of pesticides, herbicides, other pollutants than your previous diet? If so, maybe these pollutants were not the cause of your problems after all. This idea may sound backwards. I don't know.
Presently reading Stephanie Seneff's "Toxic Legacy". Highly recommended. Glyphosate is literally everywhere and in everything. It is the DDT of our time. But worse.
Monsanto claimed humans can’t be harmed by glyphosate because it only kills plants. Well, the guy microbiome (bacteria) is essentially a complex plant. Glyphosate lowers Testosterone in males. And leads to breast cancer in females as it screws with estrogen too.
I used Round Up up until 10 years ago when I realized how harmful it was. I used to get it all over me when spraying, not on purpose but I would definitely get over spray on my legs or get It on my hands. I believed it would not hurt me, only effected plants. Now I know better.
Glyphosate effects our gut flora. We never tested this consequence since we did not realize the extent of benefit from our flora activity
Organic foods contain less glyphosate and pesticide residues. Following the new paradigms, gov regulations of organics will be eroded to feed us their GMO crap. Future Bug proteins may be highly allergenic. human health will continue to be a faked prioriy by our rulers.
RoundUp accumulates in human tissue. So while a single exposure isn’t dangerous, getting hundreds of thousands via food over your lifetime IS. It doesn’t go away!
I’m 64, one of our past times as kids was chasing the mosquito control truck. Sucking in clouds of DDT. My uncle a pest control man, lived into his 90’s. DDT, chlordane, etc., no mask, goggles, or PPE. 🤔
Well maybe DDT wasn't as bad as they say it was. I heard the studies about bird egg fragility were fraudulent, for example. And perhaps the mosquito born illness it controlled were far worse. I don't know about glyphosate. I used it a few times over the last 12 years on my backyard patio pavers, usually barefoot and sometime some got on my feet, which I washed off when done, anywhere up to 10 to 15 minutes later. But I haven't done that for about five years. I recently had my gardener spray the patio with it. The weeds just come back in a few months anyway.
I am also currently reading it and have heard her in several interviews. A brilliant woman and her words need to be heeded. There are methods to help detox the glyphosate from your body. I am investigating those and trying my best to not add any further to the damage, i.e. only organic.
Aug 6, 2022·edited Aug 6, 2022Liked by Robert W Malone MD, MS
Thank you for addressing this important topic, Robert. The more people eat whole, organic, *real* food, the better their health and the less likely they are to wind up a victim of the medical-pharmaceutical complex.
If people are fortunate enough to live near a growers market or have access to a CSA, the best option is to buy your food from local farmers and producers. Many of these farmers cannot afford the organic certification process but still grow according to organic guidelines, so if you have the opportunity to meet them in person or call them, you can find out if they are unofficially organic.
Supporting local farmers and producers not only makes you healthier but also makes your local economy more robust, resilient, and self-reliant in times of scarcity.
Farmers markets are the best. Supporting the farmers directly. I like to belong to a CSA, (Community supported agriculture). Many of the farmers who are new and or cannot afford the organic certification will use integrative pest management practices that are far superior to conventional farming and definitely steps in the right direction.
I’ve joined CSA with our local farmer for over 10 years and have enjoyed eating seasonable organic food. Dr. Maloney’s article on Victory/Patriot Garden strike a cord with me to go further in supporting my community of farmers. There is a non-profit group that supports local farmers in our area and I am now looking into supporting their mission. Thank you Dr. Malone for your bravery and strength fighting this fight against the evilness of this world, while also providing tools and encouragement for us. My heartfelt gratitude to you and other brave doctors/people who have been fighting for humanity.
I can't find a CSA to save my life and the one I did find was booked solid! Lol I did find an organic farm though but lord are they expensive! I will say I bought their organic eggs and they were so different than organic store bought. Bright beautiful yellow yolks. Crazy. Going this weekend to get more. 😜
My orchard was USDA certified organic for about 10 years. In the beginning, it was small growers working hard and petitioning the USDA for recognition. When we finally got it, big ag moved in and threw us under the bus. The organic/conventional differential premiums became just much for them, I guess, esp when when they could write the rules, and have retailers force us out. Certification soon got too expensive, and the rules were a joke. Cases in point--transitioning guides for conventional to organic. And what stuck in my throat are crop boundaries. In some of the windiest orchards in the nation (think pesticide drift), grower organic and conventional plots are side by side. New regs allow this, but growers are told that the crop of the first 6 organic rows will be marketed conventionally. Yep, the honor system, rows are quite narrow, depending on rootstock, and the main tool of the orchardist is the sprayer/mister.
I 100% agree with buying from someone you know, whether certified or not.
I did some for a bit, loved them, but the diseases were too much for me to control organically, and quite a few trees died each year. Generally, I could get a whip grown out and have 2-3 years of production, then Katie bar the door. The last of the trees were cut down this spring, not worth it.
There are organic peach growers, I think variety selection is crucial. I had selected for heirloom and new cultivars climatically adapted for my site. Talk with local, reputable nurseries for disease resistant cultivars suited for organic production in your area.
Selecting for disease resistance is tantamount for the home grower, especially for tree fruits. If their care becomes too much, or you grow tired of the work, or whatever, cut the tree down. Otherwise, your trees become the reservoir for the fruit's pathogens.
Thanks for the tips. I learned over the years that peach trees are replaced every few years. I have 2 now, one has already had curly leaf fungus despite my best efforts to buy a tree that would be resistant! I'll keep trying. I haven't noticed other diseases however, not even the borer worms.
I have 2 plum trees, Italian or German variety that bear fruit late in the season and find them easy to grow and care for. My neighbour has pears, bosc and bartlett grafted onto 1 tree that are also easy care.
In my area, I don't know of any growers growing organic peaches. I'm in southern Ontario.
I regularly buy from local farmers and have learned the delicious benefits of eating what's in season, not possible in winter months in Canada mostly. However, I think most of the local farmers are not organic officially or unofficially. I made the trade off between 'buy organic' or 'buy local' to the local side.
Chickpeas -- only eat organic. This has the highest amount of Roundup! Check your hummus labels too & make sure it is organic! I find organic chickpeas at Trader Joes for 99 cents!
Peanut butter is another item you should only eat if organic!
Bonus points for flagging peanuts which are rotation crop for cotton that's technically 'not a food' crop so it can have more lethal chemical applications. Next season the peanuts grow in the hyper toxic soil and instead of drawing nutrients they are steeped in toxins.
I didn't know that about peanuts. They used to say a similar thing about cottonseed oil. Peanuts have another problem, which is the toxic mold, aflatoxin. Which also is supposedly carcinogenic. I wonder if it is also hallucinogenic--I haven't eaten regular peanut butter for decades, but sometimes, but not always, after I eat Reese's peanut butter cups I tend to have nightmares.
For Gods sake!! Really?? I had no idea!! My boys eat PB like it’s going out of style!! Does that happen with organic peanuts as well?? I am donating our unopened jars and bought Organic. I wonder now if I should limit it to once a week or so. Well, looks like I have some research to do. Thank you for the heads up.
Ugh. I thought they were protected due to shell. Yikes! It should be illegal! I have 4 teen boys eating me out of my house right now. I get “natural” no GMO big jars of course but now won't be able to allow it. I'm filling them with toxins. It just makes me so angry!
About a decade ago activists got 1 million signatures at FDA to require GMO ingredients be labeled & put Prop37 on the ballot in California to require gmo labeling.
FDA deleted the million signatures from their site & Industry spent $35 million to defeat Prop37 so consumer group created Non-GMO labels. This is NOT the same as organic it does not mean no chemicals are used in growing only that the seeds are not genetically engineered.
Once consumers embraced the Non-GMO label big food started adding the label to products that do NOT have gmo crop equivalent to suggest to consumers it is like organic when it's not. There is NO Legal definition for "NATURAL" in food it's a marketing term not a disclosure.
The entire American system is as toxic as our foods and consumers health takes a back seat to profiteers. You need to be flippin Sherlock Holmes to find toxic ingredients. We are ruled by criminals and eat ^%$# is prevailing policy.
Yes Bill Gates wants the entire world swallowing their patent protected products from cradle to grave & push idiotic ideas under the guise of feeding the world. Irony is currently there's more nutrition in the average bug than Monsanto-Gates Big Ag packaged crap on store shelves.
Yeah, I know the difference between organic and GMO. I just didn't know peanuts were that toxic. I wrongly assumed the shell protected the peanut. I however did not know the rest Of the story. FDA has always been rotten! Thanks for sharing.
Maybe not in total roundup residue, but I believe conventional potatoes still come out #1 for the most herbicides and pesticides applied per season. And organic potatoes are real hard to find.
EWG publishes a yearly guide to pesticide intensity and potatoes have never made the list but my own bias is to be most wary of foods that grow in toxic soil. Here in NYC organic potatoes are almost everywhere including the farmers markets, Trader Joe, Whole Foods and local markets and they are super easy to grow if you have any yard at all.
That potato availability is great for northeast folks. I'm in the northern Rocky mountains, and conventional production in Idaho, eastern Washington, Utah, Dakota dominates the markets. I was a weekly vendor at 4 farmers markets, organic potatoes were as scarce as hen's teeth. They never penciled/sold.
Consider conventional potato culture-before planting the ground is fumigated to a depth of 12-18 inches, they are sprayed with fungicides while growing, then sprayed again before harvest to kill weedy competition, and finally sprayed with another chemical to retard sprouting/rot after harvest.
Here's a list of 35 pesticide residues found on spuds by the USDA Pesticide Data Program that EWG relies on.
The former chair of the National Organic Standards Board, Jeff Moyer, said he's talked with potato growers who say point-blank they would never eat the potatoes they sell. Ditto for me.
Soy is the top gmo crop with over 90% of US acreage. Unless it's fermented like soy sauce I wouldn't feed it to my dog even as organic and the tofu products are even worse. Before WWII soy was grown for animal bedding and Nazi science stripped the odor for processing filler. I consider the marketing of soy as a healthful food & vegan staple on par with marketing campaign for safe & effective mRNA jabs.
Organic is better but they are very different. Almonds are tree nuts that grow with a very thick shell so they are naturally protected unlike peanuts that are tubers and spend their entire growing in toxic soil.
That said the big nut producers do fumigate the harvested nuts so there is a trace residue that is left between harvest and packaging. In the shells is more protected like an orange is more protected than a strawberry.
It's never good to eat toxins but conventional peanuts are about as toxic as real food gets..
Love to see a study for that including the funders because even mainstream folks like Harvard recognize the anti-inflammatory role of nuts. It's not as though there is more research I miss than I can see but this hit on almonds is a new one. Almonds are also a fantastic source of calcium especially important for folks who avoid dairy.
Consider signing Dr Zach Bush's petition "Ban Glyphosate: Keep harmful chemicals out of our foods". He just met with 6 senators in DC about this critical issue.
Great article. People think that organic is some kind of leftism or wokism, but this is totally wrong. The left is aligned with big poisoning corporations now, including the agrochemical. Permaculture and regenerative farming is the freedom, libertarian way.
Thank you for this comment. I think an important word you used is "regenerative" - not sustainable. Perhaps Dr. Malone could write a follow up article on the significant differences.
Amen to regenerative farming! I am a big fan since the Soil Health Academy and Understanding Ag have made the business case. See my comment on soybeans, since soybeans are nitrogen “fixing” plants which are symbiotic with bacteria in the root system. How is the “health” of these bacteria affected by glyphosate? Reduce costs by using nitrogen fixing “cover crops” between rows and allowing the rubble from harvest to lay on the ground. This form of “no till” farming reduces the need for fertilizer, herbicides and water while building topsoil containing nitrogen and carbon.
We cannot any longer. Robert has coined the phase "regulatory capture" which is John Ralston Saul's : "a slow moving corporate coup d'etat" from 1997. Guess how far it has advanced in 25 years. Three guesses and the first two don't count, alas!
Hate to break it to you, but organic- as it's practiced in the US- is far from the gold standard.
Yes, for many of the reasons you listed, organic is much better than conventional practices...BUT organic still requires a lot of organic inputs for fertility, still uses organic pesticides, still involves a lot of tillage as well as bare fallows. So what really is the ideal is regenerative forms of plant and meat production that optimize soil health.
This blog includes a list of bullet points as to why organic Ag is far from the gold standard. The USDA Organic label has more to do with following rules than producing best outcomes.
I am trained in science but this was heavy even for a physician (retired neurologist). I love your focus on the gut microbiome as there is increasing evidence it has a major impact on the nervous system. And thank you for introducing the concept of the “soil microbiome.”
I grow food in my backyard, at the community garden, and in a wild setting, the only input is 1/2 square yard of both horse manure and wood shavings to make aerobic compost, and since this stores energy on the form of bi-phosphate, I really don't need to make any more since everything here other than what I eat recycles. I refuse to use the word organic and instead use natural. The fascists can't patent that word.
Organic is a co-opted term in US and one where producers have to pay to use it both for land certification and produce/meat certification. Compliance is a lot of bureaucratic paperwork. Recycling manures in composts is fine.... though not absolutely essential for nutrient cycling. Horse manures in particular can be problematic because horses are given so many drugs. Regardless, as this other blog https://lachefnet.wordpress.com/2020/12/28/restoring-the-soil-microbiome/ from the same source notes, in regenerative systems, the key for plant nutrition is soil health full of active microbiology. Tillage, especially frequent tillage, doesn't promote soil health. Most organic relies on a lot of tillage.
You are missing a lot of what I am actually doing, proving a small holder doesn't need anything. I only import the manure because I don't want to take care of animals, instead I want to go hunting and fishing. Regen ag is just a continuation of the fascist hierarchy and will fail.
The aerobic compost I make binds these chemicals and heavy metals with carbon becoming inert.
I'm doing it, this methodology I am applying works.
LOL, your comment about regen Ag is downright silly. Why? Regen Ag is the exact opposite of "fascist hierarchy" since it does away with the need for all the inputs from all the corporations that farm farmers. Anyway, thanks for the laugh.
Lol...now you're just being even more ridiculous....borderline mentally ill. ..though still very AMUSING. So ROTFLMAO. ...Thanks for the laughs. You're a regular Bob Hope.
https://www.realorganicproject.org The Real Organic Project is an add-on certification to the USDA certified organically grown or organically raised certification. The USDA certification has too many loopholes and has become compromised by big money corruption. The Real Organic Project inspection & certification is offered free to the farmer because people like you and me donate money and time and resources. I've donated hundreds of dollars. I convinced my local organic farmer to get certified, and she's now doubly certified.
In case no one else has admitted it, I use glyphosate (boo, hiss, boo): but, because I’ve been aware of concerns for a long time, I have strict rules: in the garden only use as a last resort, do not over use, even when keeping periphery clear, do not use when food is growing (trust the soil microbiology does it’s thing for the spring spraying, etc.
I am concerned when we genetically modify plants so that more glyphosate can be used.
Now, the argument for not being a strict organic person, nor trying to impose that on all growers, be they commercial or a goober like me with a large garden: we have 6B plus people all striving to put food in their bellies and without herbicides and pesticides were fighting a losing battle - as it is, even with the herbicides and pesticides, sometimes it’s a toss up.
I’ve tried "organic" methods keeping bugs at bay and I’ve found very few to actually work large scale. For my potatoes and asparagus the most effective treatment has been actually hand picking beetles off the plants (and getting that satisfying crunch letting me that pest is "darwined") and crushing the yellow-orange egg deposits on the potato plants. After several years, those plants generally have remained bug free - of those. But, that’s a relatively small garden compared to a commercial farm.
Bt has its uses on crucifers, if you’re diligent -but it works different that chems and it’s effects aren’t as long lasting.
Anyway, someday we might develop safe organic solutions to this daily battle; but until then I believe we have to accept the trade off between chems in our foods and enough food for as many as possible, or live with "pristine" food and accept mass starvation. And NO, going meatless ain’t the solution either.
One solution might be to accept a few more blemishes on our food. My brother, who is a farmer (yes, organic, but w/o the cert) has told me stories about how much food is tossed because it doesn’t look good enough - he’s the beneficiary of the tossed food as it can then be used to feed critters. If I kept only the produce from my garden that looked as good as that in the grocery, I’d be a lot skinnier.
The point I wanted to make is that about trade-offs.
And we all grew up consuming who knows how much of who knows what? All we can do to make things as best we can. No panic just continued effort on all fronts for our well being. ONWARD---->
Aug 6, 2022·edited Aug 6, 2022Liked by Robert W Malone MD, MS
I've been "debating" more like fending off idiotic attacks, from the pro agrichemical lobby for years, specifically about glyphosate, one active ingredient in roundup. What always stumped the trolls was the discussion about the shikmate cycle in plants, bacteria and fungi that is disrupted by the chemical.
When glyphosate was first introduced in the late 1970s, there was zero understanding of how the human and soil microbiomes worked hence the premise that since humans weren't plants or bacteria, they wouldn't be harmed by it.
Fast forward to the late 1990s when medical science actually began to understand the role played by the microbiome in health and the important role beneficial bacteria and viruses played.
Now Bayer (which bought Monsanto for $60+ billion) is constantly in court fending off thousands of lawsuits, was ordered to post a $10.9 billion US bond to handle a portion of claims, and seems to be losing case after case of NHL (Non-hodgkins lymphoma) cases.
I can't imagine what will happen to their balance sheet when folks figure out that glyphosate and the host of other chemicals likely also cause other types of cancers and health maladies!
Should be an interesting journey to say the least!
truly, I never buy organic because I never trusted non american companies to actually comply with the more strict regulation. After seeing this article I feel like I have no choice but to change my ways.
Too many confounding variables in the study cited. Those who spring for costly organic foods are MORE HEALTH CONSCIOUS, eat better, are WEALTHIER, less obesity, fewer co-morbidities. Perhaps also much more inclined to care about exercising.
Are there any RCT's? I propose 4 groups:
1. non-organic healthy (mediterranean diet?),
2. non-organic unhealthy (lots of fast food, sugar, fats, etc),
3. organic healthy,
4. organic unhealthy (Provide people with anything they want in "organic" form. Potato chips, soda, bacon, twinkies, beer, bourbon, McDonald style meals but with "organic" ingredients)
Does organic still --> less cancer?
Or perhaps eating a healthy diet --> less cancer?
HT: My intelligent vegan son who explained to me his rationale that organic is unnecessary and GMO's are a great innovation for the prospering of humanity.
In the US, government monitors the organics products to be sure they're following the rules. But lots of ways to screw that up. And organic donuts are still lethal. So you never can be sure, but you can improve your odds. For a price. Learning to read labels, and understanding what they mean, is a good start.
Often a bit more troublesome to find a vast selection in the north states in winter. You need to shift your choices to food items that you can rely on as an in season now, kind of item
We are so lucky to have so many wonderful good fresh things every day of the year.
There are lots to try for the first time. Even the fresh frozen is an excellent choice to buy.
I'm a very recent refugee from Oregon and have moved to rural eastern Tennessee. At first I was dismayed at the options: pretty much WalMart or Food Saver locally. But I quickly researched CSAs and found unbelievable bounty here for every kind of produce or grass finished beef, pasture raised pork, etc., imaginable. Plus, you get to know your farmers and can position yourself to help them if needed. No more farms for Gates!
I grew up on a farm in Iowa during the 80’s and 90’s. I’m autistic, and have a multitude of health issues, autoimmune complications, and illnesses that have always been labeled “idiopathic.” As I have moved toward carnivore and organic eating, most of them have begun to ameliorate. This needs investigation.
Every time I drive through the countryside I think of all the poisons being sprayed on corn and soy fields. So pretty to live there but so toxic and dangerous.
Interesting. I have a friend who also grew up on a farm in Iowa and she has major health issues. Namely, multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis. She is in bad shape. 😞
If you moved toward a carnivore diet and your condition improved, one question would be: do the meats you're consuming contain higher levels of pesticides, herbicides, other pollutants than your previous diet? If so, maybe these pollutants were not the cause of your problems after all. This idea may sound backwards. I don't know.
Thus my comment about this needing investigation
Presently reading Stephanie Seneff's "Toxic Legacy". Highly recommended. Glyphosate is literally everywhere and in everything. It is the DDT of our time. But worse.
I’m also currently reading it and do highly recommend it and anything she has published.
Monsanto claimed humans can’t be harmed by glyphosate because it only kills plants. Well, the guy microbiome (bacteria) is essentially a complex plant. Glyphosate lowers Testosterone in males. And leads to breast cancer in females as it screws with estrogen too.
I used Round Up up until 10 years ago when I realized how harmful it was. I used to get it all over me when spraying, not on purpose but I would definitely get over spray on my legs or get It on my hands. I believed it would not hurt me, only effected plants. Now I know better.
Glyphosate effects our gut flora. We never tested this consequence since we did not realize the extent of benefit from our flora activity
Organic foods contain less glyphosate and pesticide residues. Following the new paradigms, gov regulations of organics will be eroded to feed us their GMO crap. Future Bug proteins may be highly allergenic. human health will continue to be a faked prioriy by our rulers.
RoundUp accumulates in human tissue. So while a single exposure isn’t dangerous, getting hundreds of thousands via food over your lifetime IS. It doesn’t go away!
Monsanto doesn't care.
I’m 64, one of our past times as kids was chasing the mosquito control truck. Sucking in clouds of DDT. My uncle a pest control man, lived into his 90’s. DDT, chlordane, etc., no mask, goggles, or PPE. 🤔
Well maybe DDT wasn't as bad as they say it was. I heard the studies about bird egg fragility were fraudulent, for example. And perhaps the mosquito born illness it controlled were far worse. I don't know about glyphosate. I used it a few times over the last 12 years on my backyard patio pavers, usually barefoot and sometime some got on my feet, which I washed off when done, anywhere up to 10 to 15 minutes later. But I haven't done that for about five years. I recently had my gardener spray the patio with it. The weeds just come back in a few months anyway.
I have an electric glass tea kettle that boils water in a few minutes. I pour that on the cracks and it kills everything instantly.
This is like saying "my grandfather smoked 2 packs a day, lived until he was 98, killed crossing the road by a truck!"
I am also currently reading it and have heard her in several interviews. A brilliant woman and her words need to be heeded. There are methods to help detox the glyphosate from your body. I am investigating those and trying my best to not add any further to the damage, i.e. only organic.
Thank you for addressing this important topic, Robert. The more people eat whole, organic, *real* food, the better their health and the less likely they are to wind up a victim of the medical-pharmaceutical complex.
If people are fortunate enough to live near a growers market or have access to a CSA, the best option is to buy your food from local farmers and producers. Many of these farmers cannot afford the organic certification process but still grow according to organic guidelines, so if you have the opportunity to meet them in person or call them, you can find out if they are unofficially organic.
Supporting local farmers and producers not only makes you healthier but also makes your local economy more robust, resilient, and self-reliant in times of scarcity.
Farmers markets are the best. Supporting the farmers directly. I like to belong to a CSA, (Community supported agriculture). Many of the farmers who are new and or cannot afford the organic certification will use integrative pest management practices that are far superior to conventional farming and definitely steps in the right direction.
I’ve joined CSA with our local farmer for over 10 years and have enjoyed eating seasonable organic food. Dr. Maloney’s article on Victory/Patriot Garden strike a cord with me to go further in supporting my community of farmers. There is a non-profit group that supports local farmers in our area and I am now looking into supporting their mission. Thank you Dr. Malone for your bravery and strength fighting this fight against the evilness of this world, while also providing tools and encouragement for us. My heartfelt gratitude to you and other brave doctors/people who have been fighting for humanity.
I can't find a CSA to save my life and the one I did find was booked solid! Lol I did find an organic farm though but lord are they expensive! I will say I bought their organic eggs and they were so different than organic store bought. Bright beautiful yellow yolks. Crazy. Going this weekend to get more. 😜
Eat Wild has nationwide directory that might be helpful: http://www.eatwild.com/products/index.html
My orchard was USDA certified organic for about 10 years. In the beginning, it was small growers working hard and petitioning the USDA for recognition. When we finally got it, big ag moved in and threw us under the bus. The organic/conventional differential premiums became just much for them, I guess, esp when when they could write the rules, and have retailers force us out. Certification soon got too expensive, and the rules were a joke. Cases in point--transitioning guides for conventional to organic. And what stuck in my throat are crop boundaries. In some of the windiest orchards in the nation (think pesticide drift), grower organic and conventional plots are side by side. New regs allow this, but growers are told that the crop of the first 6 organic rows will be marketed conventionally. Yep, the honor system, rows are quite narrow, depending on rootstock, and the main tool of the orchardist is the sprayer/mister.
I 100% agree with buying from someone you know, whether certified or not.
Great comment & thanks for the info. Did you grow peaches? I'd still love to know if it's possible to grow organic peaches. I've never seen them.
I did some for a bit, loved them, but the diseases were too much for me to control organically, and quite a few trees died each year. Generally, I could get a whip grown out and have 2-3 years of production, then Katie bar the door. The last of the trees were cut down this spring, not worth it.
There are organic peach growers, I think variety selection is crucial. I had selected for heirloom and new cultivars climatically adapted for my site. Talk with local, reputable nurseries for disease resistant cultivars suited for organic production in your area.
Selecting for disease resistance is tantamount for the home grower, especially for tree fruits. If their care becomes too much, or you grow tired of the work, or whatever, cut the tree down. Otherwise, your trees become the reservoir for the fruit's pathogens.
Thanks for the tips. I learned over the years that peach trees are replaced every few years. I have 2 now, one has already had curly leaf fungus despite my best efforts to buy a tree that would be resistant! I'll keep trying. I haven't noticed other diseases however, not even the borer worms.
I have 2 plum trees, Italian or German variety that bear fruit late in the season and find them easy to grow and care for. My neighbour has pears, bosc and bartlett grafted onto 1 tree that are also easy care.
In my area, I don't know of any growers growing organic peaches. I'm in southern Ontario.
I regularly buy from local farmers and have learned the delicious benefits of eating what's in season, not possible in winter months in Canada mostly. However, I think most of the local farmers are not organic officially or unofficially. I made the trade off between 'buy organic' or 'buy local' to the local side.
Barbara Kingsolver’s “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle” is a great book about eating local and in-season.
Chickpeas -- only eat organic. This has the highest amount of Roundup! Check your hummus labels too & make sure it is organic! I find organic chickpeas at Trader Joes for 99 cents!
Peanut butter is another item you should only eat if organic!
Bonus points for flagging peanuts which are rotation crop for cotton that's technically 'not a food' crop so it can have more lethal chemical applications. Next season the peanuts grow in the hyper toxic soil and instead of drawing nutrients they are steeped in toxins.
I didn't know that about peanuts. They used to say a similar thing about cottonseed oil. Peanuts have another problem, which is the toxic mold, aflatoxin. Which also is supposedly carcinogenic. I wonder if it is also hallucinogenic--I haven't eaten regular peanut butter for decades, but sometimes, but not always, after I eat Reese's peanut butter cups I tend to have nightmares.
Almond Butter is a great sub for peanut better.
For Gods sake!! Really?? I had no idea!! My boys eat PB like it’s going out of style!! Does that happen with organic peanuts as well?? I am donating our unopened jars and bought Organic. I wonder now if I should limit it to once a week or so. Well, looks like I have some research to do. Thank you for the heads up.
The chocolate???
Ugh. I thought they were protected due to shell. Yikes! It should be illegal! I have 4 teen boys eating me out of my house right now. I get “natural” no GMO big jars of course but now won't be able to allow it. I'm filling them with toxins. It just makes me so angry!
About a decade ago activists got 1 million signatures at FDA to require GMO ingredients be labeled & put Prop37 on the ballot in California to require gmo labeling.
FDA deleted the million signatures from their site & Industry spent $35 million to defeat Prop37 so consumer group created Non-GMO labels. This is NOT the same as organic it does not mean no chemicals are used in growing only that the seeds are not genetically engineered.
https://www.nongmoproject.org/product-verification/
https://web.archive.org/web/20220208035720/https://www.organicconsumers.org/news/fda-deletes-1-million-signatures-gmo-labeling-campaign
https://sunlightfoundation.com/2012/10/24/influence-explored-big-ag-lobbies-against-prop-37-in-california/
Once consumers embraced the Non-GMO label big food started adding the label to products that do NOT have gmo crop equivalent to suggest to consumers it is like organic when it's not. There is NO Legal definition for "NATURAL" in food it's a marketing term not a disclosure.
The entire American system is as toxic as our foods and consumers health takes a back seat to profiteers. You need to be flippin Sherlock Holmes to find toxic ingredients. We are ruled by criminals and eat ^%$# is prevailing policy.
eat ^%$# but soon we will be expected to eat bugs.
Yes Bill Gates wants the entire world swallowing their patent protected products from cradle to grave & push idiotic ideas under the guise of feeding the world. Irony is currently there's more nutrition in the average bug than Monsanto-Gates Big Ag packaged crap on store shelves.
Yeah, I know the difference between organic and GMO. I just didn't know peanuts were that toxic. I wrongly assumed the shell protected the peanut. I however did not know the rest Of the story. FDA has always been rotten! Thanks for sharing.
Maybe not in total roundup residue, but I believe conventional potatoes still come out #1 for the most herbicides and pesticides applied per season. And organic potatoes are real hard to find.
EWG publishes a yearly guide to pesticide intensity and potatoes have never made the list but my own bias is to be most wary of foods that grow in toxic soil. Here in NYC organic potatoes are almost everywhere including the farmers markets, Trader Joe, Whole Foods and local markets and they are super easy to grow if you have any yard at all.
oops the link https://www.ewg.org/foodnews/five-lesser-known-foods-high-in-pesticides.php
That potato availability is great for northeast folks. I'm in the northern Rocky mountains, and conventional production in Idaho, eastern Washington, Utah, Dakota dominates the markets. I was a weekly vendor at 4 farmers markets, organic potatoes were as scarce as hen's teeth. They never penciled/sold.
Consider conventional potato culture-before planting the ground is fumigated to a depth of 12-18 inches, they are sprayed with fungicides while growing, then sprayed again before harvest to kill weedy competition, and finally sprayed with another chemical to retard sprouting/rot after harvest.
Here's a list of 35 pesticide residues found on spuds by the USDA Pesticide Data Program that EWG relies on.
https://www.whatsonmyfood.org/food.jsp?food=PO
The former chair of the National Organic Standards Board, Jeff Moyer, said he's talked with potato growers who say point-blank they would never eat the potatoes they sell. Ditto for me.
Excellent update and link.. always appreciate learning more, thanks!! :~)
Good point!
Soy - same deal. Only eat organic soy.
Soy is the top gmo crop with over 90% of US acreage. Unless it's fermented like soy sauce I wouldn't feed it to my dog even as organic and the tofu products are even worse. Before WWII soy was grown for animal bedding and Nazi science stripped the odor for processing filler. I consider the marketing of soy as a healthful food & vegan staple on par with marketing campaign for safe & effective mRNA jabs.
Miso is the only fermented soy I consume.
Does that apply to almond butter as well?
Organic is better but they are very different. Almonds are tree nuts that grow with a very thick shell so they are naturally protected unlike peanuts that are tubers and spend their entire growing in toxic soil.
That said the big nut producers do fumigate the harvested nuts so there is a trace residue that is left between harvest and packaging. In the shells is more protected like an orange is more protected than a strawberry.
It's never good to eat toxins but conventional peanuts are about as toxic as real food gets..
Yes! Everything!
Almonds are very high in Omega 6 and definitely an inflammatory food.
Love to see a study for that including the funders because even mainstream folks like Harvard recognize the anti-inflammatory role of nuts. It's not as though there is more research I miss than I can see but this hit on almonds is a new one. Almonds are also a fantastic source of calcium especially important for folks who avoid dairy.
https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/foods-that-fight-inflammation
Consider signing Dr Zach Bush's petition "Ban Glyphosate: Keep harmful chemicals out of our foods". He just met with 6 senators in DC about this critical issue.
https://www.change.org/p/ban-glyphosate-keep-harmful-chemicals-out-of-our-foods
Great article. People think that organic is some kind of leftism or wokism, but this is totally wrong. The left is aligned with big poisoning corporations now, including the agrochemical. Permaculture and regenerative farming is the freedom, libertarian way.
Thank you for this comment. I think an important word you used is "regenerative" - not sustainable. Perhaps Dr. Malone could write a follow up article on the significant differences.
Amen to regenerative farming! I am a big fan since the Soil Health Academy and Understanding Ag have made the business case. See my comment on soybeans, since soybeans are nitrogen “fixing” plants which are symbiotic with bacteria in the root system. How is the “health” of these bacteria affected by glyphosate? Reduce costs by using nitrogen fixing “cover crops” between rows and allowing the rubble from harvest to lay on the ground. This form of “no till” farming reduces the need for fertilizer, herbicides and water while building topsoil containing nitrogen and carbon.
We have learned we cannot trust ANY government entity. How can we trust the "USDA organic" label?
We can’t. Have to know your local farmer.
We cannot any longer. Robert has coined the phase "regulatory capture" which is John Ralston Saul's : "a slow moving corporate coup d'etat" from 1997. Guess how far it has advanced in 25 years. Three guesses and the first two don't count, alas!
"Oregon Tilth" is the best certification.
It's not a government entity. The organic consumer's associations are independent.
If it is regulated by the US Department of Agriculture, how can we trust it? Just like we cannot trust FDA regulated Pharma.
Hate to break it to you, but organic- as it's practiced in the US- is far from the gold standard.
Yes, for many of the reasons you listed, organic is much better than conventional practices...BUT organic still requires a lot of organic inputs for fertility, still uses organic pesticides, still involves a lot of tillage as well as bare fallows. So what really is the ideal is regenerative forms of plant and meat production that optimize soil health.
Here's a recent blog on this topic worth reading: https://lachefnet.wordpress.com/2022/07/31/soil-and-human-gut-dysbiosis/
This blog includes a list of bullet points as to why organic Ag is far from the gold standard. The USDA Organic label has more to do with following rules than producing best outcomes.
I am trained in science but this was heavy even for a physician (retired neurologist). I love your focus on the gut microbiome as there is increasing evidence it has a major impact on the nervous system. And thank you for introducing the concept of the “soil microbiome.”
I grow food in my backyard, at the community garden, and in a wild setting, the only input is 1/2 square yard of both horse manure and wood shavings to make aerobic compost, and since this stores energy on the form of bi-phosphate, I really don't need to make any more since everything here other than what I eat recycles. I refuse to use the word organic and instead use natural. The fascists can't patent that word.
Organic is a co-opted term in US and one where producers have to pay to use it both for land certification and produce/meat certification. Compliance is a lot of bureaucratic paperwork. Recycling manures in composts is fine.... though not absolutely essential for nutrient cycling. Horse manures in particular can be problematic because horses are given so many drugs. Regardless, as this other blog https://lachefnet.wordpress.com/2020/12/28/restoring-the-soil-microbiome/ from the same source notes, in regenerative systems, the key for plant nutrition is soil health full of active microbiology. Tillage, especially frequent tillage, doesn't promote soil health. Most organic relies on a lot of tillage.
You are missing a lot of what I am actually doing, proving a small holder doesn't need anything. I only import the manure because I don't want to take care of animals, instead I want to go hunting and fishing. Regen ag is just a continuation of the fascist hierarchy and will fail.
The aerobic compost I make binds these chemicals and heavy metals with carbon becoming inert.
I'm doing it, this methodology I am applying works.
LOL, your comment about regen Ag is downright silly. Why? Regen Ag is the exact opposite of "fascist hierarchy" since it does away with the need for all the inputs from all the corporations that farm farmers. Anyway, thanks for the laugh.
Your response is typical of someone captured by a messianic cult. You simply can't evaluate a critique.
Lol...now you're just being even more ridiculous....borderline mentally ill. ..though still very AMUSING. So ROTFLMAO. ...Thanks for the laughs. You're a regular Bob Hope.
https://www.realorganicproject.org The Real Organic Project is an add-on certification to the USDA certified organically grown or organically raised certification. The USDA certification has too many loopholes and has become compromised by big money corruption. The Real Organic Project inspection & certification is offered free to the farmer because people like you and me donate money and time and resources. I've donated hundreds of dollars. I convinced my local organic farmer to get certified, and she's now doubly certified.
Thank you for that link and info. I knew the term “organic” was being corporatized and muddled so I’m happy to now look for a new label.
In case no one else has admitted it, I use glyphosate (boo, hiss, boo): but, because I’ve been aware of concerns for a long time, I have strict rules: in the garden only use as a last resort, do not over use, even when keeping periphery clear, do not use when food is growing (trust the soil microbiology does it’s thing for the spring spraying, etc.
I am concerned when we genetically modify plants so that more glyphosate can be used.
Now, the argument for not being a strict organic person, nor trying to impose that on all growers, be they commercial or a goober like me with a large garden: we have 6B plus people all striving to put food in their bellies and without herbicides and pesticides were fighting a losing battle - as it is, even with the herbicides and pesticides, sometimes it’s a toss up.
I’ve tried "organic" methods keeping bugs at bay and I’ve found very few to actually work large scale. For my potatoes and asparagus the most effective treatment has been actually hand picking beetles off the plants (and getting that satisfying crunch letting me that pest is "darwined") and crushing the yellow-orange egg deposits on the potato plants. After several years, those plants generally have remained bug free - of those. But, that’s a relatively small garden compared to a commercial farm.
Bt has its uses on crucifers, if you’re diligent -but it works different that chems and it’s effects aren’t as long lasting.
Anyway, someday we might develop safe organic solutions to this daily battle; but until then I believe we have to accept the trade off between chems in our foods and enough food for as many as possible, or live with "pristine" food and accept mass starvation. And NO, going meatless ain’t the solution either.
One solution might be to accept a few more blemishes on our food. My brother, who is a farmer (yes, organic, but w/o the cert) has told me stories about how much food is tossed because it doesn’t look good enough - he’s the beneficiary of the tossed food as it can then be used to feed critters. If I kept only the produce from my garden that looked as good as that in the grocery, I’d be a lot skinnier.
The point I wanted to make is that about trade-offs.
steve
Hadn't a clue about about Roundup/desiccant use. Thanks for providing "News I can Use."
And we all grew up consuming who knows how much of who knows what? All we can do to make things as best we can. No panic just continued effort on all fronts for our well being. ONWARD---->
I've been "debating" more like fending off idiotic attacks, from the pro agrichemical lobby for years, specifically about glyphosate, one active ingredient in roundup. What always stumped the trolls was the discussion about the shikmate cycle in plants, bacteria and fungi that is disrupted by the chemical.
When glyphosate was first introduced in the late 1970s, there was zero understanding of how the human and soil microbiomes worked hence the premise that since humans weren't plants or bacteria, they wouldn't be harmed by it.
Fast forward to the late 1990s when medical science actually began to understand the role played by the microbiome in health and the important role beneficial bacteria and viruses played.
Now Bayer (which bought Monsanto for $60+ billion) is constantly in court fending off thousands of lawsuits, was ordered to post a $10.9 billion US bond to handle a portion of claims, and seems to be losing case after case of NHL (Non-hodgkins lymphoma) cases.
I can't imagine what will happen to their balance sheet when folks figure out that glyphosate and the host of other chemicals likely also cause other types of cancers and health maladies!
Should be an interesting journey to say the least!
The green Revolution was a German scheme and I think its appropriate that Germany pays the bill.
truly, I never buy organic because I never trusted non american companies to actually comply with the more strict regulation. After seeing this article I feel like I have no choice but to change my ways.
Too many confounding variables in the study cited. Those who spring for costly organic foods are MORE HEALTH CONSCIOUS, eat better, are WEALTHIER, less obesity, fewer co-morbidities. Perhaps also much more inclined to care about exercising.
Are there any RCT's? I propose 4 groups:
1. non-organic healthy (mediterranean diet?),
2. non-organic unhealthy (lots of fast food, sugar, fats, etc),
3. organic healthy,
4. organic unhealthy (Provide people with anything they want in "organic" form. Potato chips, soda, bacon, twinkies, beer, bourbon, McDonald style meals but with "organic" ingredients)
Does organic still --> less cancer?
Or perhaps eating a healthy diet --> less cancer?
HT: My intelligent vegan son who explained to me his rationale that organic is unnecessary and GMO's are a great innovation for the prospering of humanity.
In the US, government monitors the organics products to be sure they're following the rules. But lots of ways to screw that up. And organic donuts are still lethal. So you never can be sure, but you can improve your odds. For a price. Learning to read labels, and understanding what they mean, is a good start.
Often a bit more troublesome to find a vast selection in the north states in winter. You need to shift your choices to food items that you can rely on as an in season now, kind of item
We are so lucky to have so many wonderful good fresh things every day of the year.
There are lots to try for the first time. Even the fresh frozen is an excellent choice to buy.
I'm a very recent refugee from Oregon and have moved to rural eastern Tennessee. At first I was dismayed at the options: pretty much WalMart or Food Saver locally. But I quickly researched CSAs and found unbelievable bounty here for every kind of produce or grass finished beef, pasture raised pork, etc., imaginable. Plus, you get to know your farmers and can position yourself to help them if needed. No more farms for Gates!