Thoughts from the Middle of Nowhere

I tell you what, I've obviously missed some memo somewhere.

It comes as no surprise to anyone that the number of organic farms is booming to meet consumer demand for healthy food.

This is the opening sentence in this article. When did the decision come about that organic=healthy?

organic- of, relating to, yielding, or involving the use of food produced with the use of feed or fertilizer of plant or animal origin without employment of chemically formulated fertilizers, growth stimulants, antibiotics, or pesticides

Organic indicates the use all natural ingredients, but nowhere does that say or indicate healthier. Sorry if that bursts your bubble, but its the truth. There might be a perceived attitude that it is healthier but is it really. If I used arsenic in some organic sausage, it would remain organic while being not very healthy for you. Would you rather have meat or milk from a sick critter who can't be doctored for the disease because it would no longer be organic or would you rather have meat and milk from a healthy critter who could have medicine used on it? I know which I would prefer.

This attitude about organic food baffles me. Good quality food is good quality food no matter how it's grown. Simple. If you want to eat healthier, don't eat out anywhere, don't order food in, and don't buy any food that is pre-prepared. Cook everything from scratch yourself so you can control the ingredients. Whether organic or not, quality ingredients make a difference. (BTW quality ingredients aren't the cheapest thing you can by from stores like Wally World, you have to shell out for them)

It's interesting because on one level it's like a calculated marketing image; on another level they're dealing with something that's actually organic and part of a piece.
Matthew Shipp

I occasionally read stories about expensive hamburgers and they astound me. Here's another one.

Jakarta hotel puts $110 burger on menu

A hotel in Indonesia is dishing out a hamburger that costs more than twice the monthly minimum wage in some parts of the country.

The $US110 ($A141.27) hamburger offered by the Four Seasons is made of Kobe beef with foie gras, Portobello mushrooms and Korean pears - served with french fries, of course.

They're not exactly selling like hotcakes yet, but the hotel says it has sold 20 of the 1.0 million rupiah ($US110.1) hamburgers since they were launched this month.

I think people are crazy to spend this much for a burger. I admit, I have never tasted Kobe beef but I really doubt it is worth that much. I really like the part about the calves drinking beer and eating "pesticide-free grass." I don't drink beer myself, let alone feed any to the calves but " pesticide-free grass" is the only food available on the place to all the critters including the calves.

I don't use any "pesticides" on the crops I produce or on my grasslands. I guess if I had an agenda I would say I raise everything "organic." I don't have an agenda though, I just do what seems right and raise quality cattle. They don't sell for the prices listed here and I wouldn't want them too. I want everybody to afford my product, not just idiot rich people who can afford $110 for a burger. They need their heads examined.

It pisses me off, people are idiots, but what are you going to do? The world is full of idiots. That's why we'll never have flying cars. People don't know how to drive. Dustin Diamond

I found this over at The Center for Consumer Freedom and couldn't resist.

Hat tip to Randy for this one.

Wal-Mart's Organic Food Initiative: A Case of Hippie Capitalism Gone Awry?

Wal-Mart (WMT) has run afoul for potentially misrepresenting non-organic food as organic. Much skepticism about Wal-Mart’s true commitment to organic and whole foods greeted Wal-Mart’s original announcement that they are embracing the organic food sector. Traditionally Wal- Mart has been very demanding of its suppliers. They frequently have demanded and received substantial product changes. Such was/is their power with traditional consumer goods manufacturers. But the organic food industry has a passion that may match Wal-Mart’s purchasing behavior. In any event, there is now more doubt and skepticism about Wal-Mart’s entry into this food category.

The Cornucopia Institute based in Wisconsin leads this charge. Their announcement reads as follows:

The Cornucopia Institute, the nation's most aggressive organic farming watchdog, has filed a formal legal complaint with the USDA asking them to investigate allegations of illegal "organic" food distribution by Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. Cornucopia has documented cases of non-organic food products being sold as organic in Wal-Mart's grocery departments.

This doesn't surprise me one bit. I wondered about their organic initiative when they announced it. I just wasn't sure there was enough organic product to fill their shelves. I was concerned that they might come up with underhanded ways of filling this niche. Looks like my concerns were justified. It will be interesting to see.

BTW, I will point out that the Cornucopia Institute is not without it's detractors but that doesn't completely invalidate it's complaint, just makes it a little suspect.

The power to investigate is a great public trust. Emanuel Celler

'Organic' doesn't mean safer or more nutritious

It's a bad moment for believers in the mystical wonders of organic and natural foods. Deadly E. coli bacteria, lurking in spinach from one of the biggest organic farms in America, just killed one woman and hospitalized at least 29 other people with kidney failure. In all, the contaminated spinach sickened nearly 200, in at least 23 states and Canada.

Meanwhile, several California kids are on kidney dialysis with permanent organ damage from the same virulent strain of E. coli O157: H7 after consuming raw, unpasteurized milk or colostrum from the Organic Pastures Dairy of Fresno, Calif.

Tragically, the victims were all seeking greater food safety and the promised health benefits of vegetables and milk produced the "old-fashioned way."

The "Good Old Days." Don't you just yearn for them. People need to think, organic isn't intrinsically healthier when it comes to all food. You can blame Factory farms for the E. coli all you want, that doesn't mean it isn't a problem that needs dealt with today. People need to be careful with what they eat. It can keep you alive or kill you if your choices are wrong. Choose wisely.

It is health that is real wealth and not pieces of gold and silver. Mohandas Gandhi

Rancher has stake in organic beef

Cattle rancher Rod Morrison doesn't want to just sell you a steak.

Rather, he wants to sell you a choice cut of organic beef, letting you pick which ranch in the Bighorn Basin it came from. And he wants to let you make the purchase without leaving home, using the Internet.

Morrison is working on a plan to set up a U.S. Department of Agriculture processing facility in Powell that would specialize in marketing organic and natural beef.

This is interesting but I am not real sure it's for me. Why you may ask? The organic label on beef is pretty scary to me. The way I understand it if a animal gets sick, there is not much you can do for it. The only thing you can doctor it with is Natural items which are not as effective as something as simple as penicillin. Take this spring so far. I haven't had a large scour problem on the calves but I've doctored 15-20 calves for the problem. Under organic standards what I've done, use penicillin, would not be allowed.

How many of those 20 I would have lost without appropriate medication? I'm not sure but I would bet half of them would be dead now. Also the disease would have spread further through the calves infecting more than i have doctored causing more sick critters. That really cuts into profit margins when you lose critters that could be saved.

Overall my herd health is excellent so it would not be a big problem but if I quit doctoring sick critters the herd health would go down no matter how hard I try. No different than comparing the health of humans in a city like Denver with the health of humans living in a poor African city. The lack of health care in Africa means that diseases and medical problems are rampant and overall the people are not as healthy as those that have access to proper health care like most in the US do. It would be no different for my cattle herd. Lack of access to health care would cause overall herd health to go down.

I care for my animals too much to subject them to such poor health conditions the organic label could cause. I don't care if Wal-mart is getting in the organic business. Love and care for my animals would make this a tough decision to swallow. I've thought about it before and nothing here has changed my mind.

It's a bunch of bull. How do you know what's really organic? Today, there's all these impurities in the water and the air. The water for the fruits and vegetables has junk in it. Jack LaLanne