Organic Foods

We've all heard the rage about Organic Farming, Free Range Chickens, and Hormone Free Beef. There seems to be a whole subculture developing for those that want to go all-natural. It has even been heard in pop culture music like the song "Big Yellow Taxi" by The Counting Crows that proclaim they don't care about "spots on my apples, leave me the birds and the bees". I think it begs the question, what does it take to be called an organic farm, and what are you really supporting when you purchase that Free Range Chicken?
Let me be the first to say that I am no expert in this area. There are however, very knowledgeable scholars in the agricultural field that work hard every day to keep our food supply safe. I think it only takes a moment to realize how fortunate we are in America that we can go to just about any store or restaurant and order anything off the menu and feel safe to eat it. That is truly a luxury that we should not take for granted. It was brought to my attention that even the rare occurrences of food related illnesses are the result of improper consumer handling, and not at all related to food source issues. Another issue that must be introduced is the difference between food safety and food quality, and that they are not necessarily synonymous. I would also like to point out the difference between acutely safe and chronically safe. While the double bacon cheeseburger may be safe to eat today, if you make poor choices and eat too many over a life-time, they have become unsafe.
Nonetheless, there is a large population in America that believes that our farmers and ranchers have polluted their food source and damaged the environment by overusing pesticides, antibiotics, and hormones.
(Again, let me remind you that I am not an expert in this field. However, I do know that the usage and control of these chemicals are well documented and studied. i.e. most people don't know that pesticides and herbicides photo-oxidize in the presence of sunlight. So, eventually the chemicals degrade into inert chemicals. Additionally, there are strict regulations that you must wait for a period of time after applying these pesticides and herbicides to your crops in order for the residual to photo-degrade. If you are truly interested in this topic, or other topics, contact someone from the industry and talk with them. They are more than happy to provide information and education to the public. They will give you facts and let you make your own decision - something that environmental, animal rights, and other controversial literature will not do.)
The popular solution to regain control of our food source (if you believe that it has lost its way) tends to be that people spend more money on groceries to buy foods labeled Organic, All-Natural, Hormone Free, etc. In addition, a similar movement (probably somewhat parallel to the food quality movement) is the animal rights movement. My favorite statement from people is that they only buy free range chickens because they like the thought of the chickens being out in the sun and scratching in the dirt. It seems easier to digest a chicken if you think that it was happy and healthy. Somehow, the connection between quality of life for the chicken is translated into quality of food source for us.
Let me also stop for a brief moment and say that I agree with the intent of many of these programs. Below is a quote from the USDA - National Organic Program brochure. You can read more about it at this website (http://www.ams.usda.gov/NOP/Consumers/Consumerhome.html).
"Organic food is produced by farmers who emphasize the use of renewable resources and the conservation of soil and water to enhance environmental quality for future generations."
I think this is a great idea, and intuitively, most farmers and ranchers do this. I can't think of people that are more genuinely interested in heritage (passing the family farm on to younger generations), and sustainability (conservation techniques, etc.) than America's farmers and ranchers. Most farmers and ranchers are very progressive thinkers and are ahead of the curve when it comes to sustainability.
My personal belief is that everyone should become closer to their food source. What I mean by this is to become involved and get educated. Learn where your food comes from, how it was produced, what verification is available that it was produced at a certain standard, and what that really means. One of the most important concepts in food purchases is understanding labels (nutrition as well as nomenclature). We have been given the luxury of going to a grocery store to do our shopping and given 17 different brands of milk each with 5 different percentages of milkfat packaged in 3 different sizes of containers and different materials of containers (yeah free market). Before you make the decision to go completely organic or completely free range, read both sides of the argument and understand what those labels mean and understand how they relate to food quality, food safety, and whatever other motivations you have.