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Tony was taking me to task for voicing an opinion that I clearly was not presenting it as fact. It does happen online a lot, and as usual, I bluntly remind people that we all have opinions, are free to post them, and that precious few actual 'facts' are out there anyway. I find it very naive to challenge what people say (unless it's something as black and white as what movie an actor was in, for example). On the internet we are just words. The reader's job is then to decide whether they make sense or not, not to demand a proof that can't be produced, especially not in the short and anonymous format of YouTube or Hulu comments.When it comes down to it, and if we're being honest, the actual experts on whatever subject actually disagree themselves, and VERY rarely post their theories or research results online. So those arguing are mainly armed with little more than personal anecdotes and bias (sounds to me that Tony falls into that category too). In that context, you can disagree and state your own opinion, and that's helpful to other readers, but to challenge someone's comments is pointless in my view. Often, it is just posturing, not an honest attempt at reaching the 'Truth'.   See 13 other replies

Well, sure. To an extent, as you say. No one wants to go back to nature if that means filthy living conditions and early death from disease. The problem is when you introduce greed and inept and corrupt legislators (believe it or not, I'm a conservative who applauds capitalism and free enterprise, but I don't know how people can sell harmful products and sleep at night).
The organic movement has been co-opted by corporations that see it as just another way to charge more. In many cases, buying organic is a 'feel good' measure that doesn't amount to much, like recycling or driving a hybrid. This is why while I've turned to healthy food, I try not to overanalyze it (had a granola bar listing milk products today, when I'm off dairy - that's no big deal to me). Splitting every hair, counting every calorie, and tracing the origin of every product is so time intensive and fraught with loose ends that the pursuit is likely to make most give up on dieting. Some pesticide or wax residue on an apple is not going to kill me, I'm with you. The bottom line is that you're always left to your own devices, having to take your health into your own hands and to do your own research (and shopping around). As I said, the difficult part is that there is, wherever you look at, a wealth of research on each side of every issue. This is why I find some assertions disingenuous.
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I do, however, understand Tony's point. The reason there are so many regulations on our food and the reason commercial farms operate the way they do, has to do with the situation in the past when farmers had little education and there was no uniformity in production. Sanitation and food safety were a such a serious problem that the gov't had to step in for the sake of the public. There was also a tremendous need to increase production and shelf-life. But I believe things have gone a bit too far in this direction. Many of today's organic farmers are a different breed. Many have advance degrees in agriculture and animal husbandry. My only gripe is with those people who lack this professionalism and try to sell their poor quality goods at farmer's markets for higher than supermarket prices. These people are going to doom the movement.   See 13 other replies