AP: Children Face Exposure to Pesticides

There’s a nonchalant attitude I know that exists with some people about organic food – as in, they want to believe it’s a scam to make silly worry-warts pay more for produce, and they’re not stupid enough to fall for that, no no… after all, they feel fine after their non-organic meals and they have for years. It’s all about washing the produce, isn’t it? In some places there’s even a media-fueled image of the organic shopper who’s a pale, picky eater who gets sick at even the slightest breeze.

In the larger picture, I feel that this nonchalance is systemic in an environment that has seen much technological progress in the last few generations – technology after all has made millions of lives more comfortable, we depend on technology for farming, energy, affordable consumer products and so forth… all this has been great! Where’s the down side?

There’s an unspoken, sometimes unconsidered assumption, when we laud technology and progress for our comfortable lives that the companies, systems, and institutions selling us the means for the comfortable lives do it out of altruism (sometimes, not always), and with a long view toward sustainability (often, no), fairness to their customers and employees, and that they are providing their customers with the best, safest products they can. Toxic environmental pollution, of which some toxins and dioxins will persist in the atmosphere forever, is a necessary evil that comes with capitalism because these companies do not know better and can do no better.

I find that that is a lot to assume. And I find it contradictory for the same people who would be blasé about organic food and environmentalism to have so much trust in corporations and systems that basically evolved to make their participants money – not to keep the environment or end customers safe. There is a sad yet funny idea being put forth out there (the “Asshole Theory of Governance”, pardon the french) that works perfectly fine in economics as well – as in, there will always be entities out there in pursuit of wealth and/or power that will do whatever they can get away with, no more. It is the world of buyer beware, and in this age, there is a lot to be wary of, and in the growing complexity, it’s getting harder for the average person to understand and keep track of the systems in which they participate as passive audiences or buyers.

And therein lies the best moral reason for voluntary simplicity.

But sorry for the side rant – back to organic food. Please read the link above – the consequences of pesticide poisoning through air pollution alone is quite horrifying. That, for me, sums up the other reasons to support organic food and farming that do not get discussed enough – that switching to organic farming is better for the planet and for farm workers and all beings living near non-organic farms – though of course, companies selling chemical/petroleum pesticides and fertilizers will vehemently disagree. But that is the topic for another post another day.

Later!