Still think 'eating organic' isn't worth it?

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A friend posted this on her FB, We've been chatting about eating organic and clean, love that she has so much info on it.

http://www.realfarmacy.com/monsanto-found-guilty-of-chemical-poisoning-in-landmark-case1/

A French farmer who can no longer perform his routine farming duties because of permanent pesticide injuries has had his day in court, literally, and the perpetrator of his injuries found guilty of chemical poisoning. The French court in Lyon ruled that Monsanto’s Lasso weedkiller formula, which contains the active ingredient alachlor, caused Paul Francois to develop lifelong neurological damage that manifests as persistent memory loss, headaches, and stuttering during speech.
Reports indicate that the 47-year-old farmer sued Monsanto back in 2004 after inhaling the Lasso product while cleaning his sprayer tank equipment. Not long after, Francois began experiencing lasting symptoms that prevented him from working, which he says were directly linked to exposure to the chemical. Since Lasso’s packaging did not bear adequate warnings about the dangers of exposure, Francois alleged at the time that Monsanto was essentially negligent in providing adequate protection for its customers.
To the surprise of many, the French court agreed with the claims and evidence presented before it, declaring earlier this year that “Monsanto is responsible for Paul Francois’ suffering after he inhaled the Lasso product … and must entirely compensate him.” The court is said to be seeking expert opinion on how to gauge Francois’ losses in order to determine precisely how much Monsanto will be required to compensate him in the case.
“It is a historic decision in so far as it is the first time that a (pesticide) maker is found guilty of such a poisoning,” said Francois Lafforgue, Paul Francois’ lawyer, to Reuters earlier in the year.
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), exposure to alachlor can cause damage to the liver, kidneys, spleen, and eyes, and may lead to the development of anemia and even cancer. The EPA apparently views alachlor as so dangerous, in fact, that the agency has set the maximum contaminant level goals (MCLG) for alachlor to zero in order to “prevent potential health problems.” (http://water.epa.gov/drink/contaminants/basicinformation/alachlor.cfm)
In 2007, France officially banned Lasso from use in the country in accordance with a European Union (EU) directive enacted in 2006 prohibiting the chemical from further use on crops in any member countries. But despite all the evidence proving that alachlor can disrupt hormonal balance, induce reproductive or developmental problems, and cause cancer, the chemical is still being used on conventional crops throughout the U.S. to this very day. (http://www.pesticideinfo.org/Detail_ChemReg.jsp?Rec_Id=PC35160)
“I am alive today, but part of the farming population is going to be sacrificed and is going to die because of (alachlor),” added Francois to Reuters.
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Replies

  • Hearts_2015
    Hearts_2015 Posts: 12,031 Member
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    are you going to pay for my groceries? i buy organic when i can, but sometimes it just too expensive.
    Sounds like you're doing what you can, that's all anyone really expects of another.:happy:
  • BluePHX
    BluePHX Posts: 184 Member
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    Bump!
  • TheBaileyHunter
    TheBaileyHunter Posts: 641 Member
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    Sharing this link on my FB page right now! Thanks!
  • BarackMeLikeAHurricane
    BarackMeLikeAHurricane Posts: 3,400 Member
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    TL; DR.
  • Vicki_78
    Vicki_78 Posts: 81 Member
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    very interesting... and just when I've been trying to buy more organic every week :)
  • nikilis
    nikilis Posts: 2,305 Member
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    woah... thats like, woah.
  • icandoanything2
    icandoanything2 Posts: 36 Member
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    thanks for sharing
  • ElyseL1
    ElyseL1 Posts: 504 Member
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    are you going to pay for my groceries? i buy organic when i can, but sometimes it just too expensive.
  • RichOC
    RichOC Posts: 243 Member
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    I'm not really an organic guy, but this is pretty nuts.
  • TheBaileyHunter
    TheBaileyHunter Posts: 641 Member
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    are you going to pay for my groceries? i buy organic when i can, but sometimes it just too expensive.

    Check your local farmer's markets, also, see what you can grow at home. Sometimes just a few little things help in the big picture. The one good thing is that organic foods are starting to really come down in price. A lot of times fruits and veggies are less than 50 cents more per kg/lb
  • ElyseL1
    ElyseL1 Posts: 504 Member
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    are you going to pay for my groceries? i buy organic when i can, but sometimes it just too expensive.

    Check your local farmer's markets, also, see what you can grow at home. Sometimes just a few little things help in the big picture. The one good thing is that organic foods are starting to really come down in price. A lot of times fruits and veggies are less than 50 cents more per kg/lb

    I do but i live in Ca and the price for organic is kind of crazy sometimes. I wish it was only 50 cents more but its not. Also the farmers market isnt cheaper than going to the reg grocery store for me it's actually a good chunk more expensive. i've been thinking of starting my own veg garden though.
  • zyxst
    zyxst Posts: 9,135 Member
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    I'll keep my pesticides because I don't like poodles in my bananas.
  • BrendaLee
    BrendaLee Posts: 4,463 Member
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    Sad story, and it sadly doesn't surprise me. I forgo purchasing produce often if I can't find/afford organic. Potatoes are the hardest to find here, and I believe they're one of the worst for pesticides.
  • Achrya
    Achrya Posts: 16,913 Member
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    I'll keep my pesticides because I don't like poodles in my bananas.

    Quoting cause...yeah.

    I respect the right of others to eat organic, but it isn't for me.
  • TheDoctorDana
    TheDoctorDana Posts: 595 Member
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    Monsanto should be outlawed in EVERY country. Sadly, they are big money contributors to the powers that be in Washington just like big pharma. Follow the money!
  • SanteMulberry
    SanteMulberry Posts: 3,202 Member
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    are you going to pay for my groceries? i buy organic when i can, but sometimes it just too expensive.

    Check your local farmer's markets, also, see what you can grow at home. Sometimes just a few little things help in the big picture. The one good thing is that organic foods are starting to really come down in price. A lot of times fruits and veggies are less than 50 cents more per kg/lb

    Yes, I buy as much organic as I can get. At my age, I don't really worry too much about myself--but I want to keep the organic growers in business so that my grandchildren can one day buy organic foods. If things get any worse in the conventional food growing industry, they may HAVE to. Monsanto is the most evil corporation ever, but they are closely followed by Archer Daniels Midland, Cargill, Tyson Foods, etc . They absolutely DO NOT care if they poison us. Does anyone have the power to stop this criminal enterprise? Well, our legislators could, but they don't have the guts to do it. Monsanto swings an extremely large financial bat--as do all the rest. They have bought everyone that they can.

    Here is what they are working on now with their "food safety" bills. It will essentially eliminate farmer's markets and roadside stands. They already have a lot of monopoly power over our food supply--the last thing they want is for everyone to be using farmer's markets, roadside stands and their own back yard gardens. They helped to write the new legislation on "food safety". Read about it and weep: http://www.matador94.nl/science-health/goodbye-farmers-markets-csas-and-roadside-stands

    By the way, it totally would not surprise me that they were behind a rash of "infected produce" that made its way to market and made some people sick. Hate to sound like a conspiracy nut but when people clamor for "greater food safety", it plays right into the hands of the megalomaniacs that run these corporations and are seeking monopoly power. They already have it vertically. They should have been taken to court for that years ago. But when farmer's cooperatives try to challenge the monopoly power of these giants, they find, to their dismay, that the giants own the machinery of justice too.
  • TraceyG1971
    TraceyG1971 Posts: 123
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    Organic food is well worth the extra cost. I have been eating organic food for a little over a year and I actually feel healthier. People can say that there is no difference with the nutritional value of organic and non-organic, but what I know is this, since I have been eating organic foods, I don't feel like I am starving anymore. I firmly believe that there is no longer any nutritional value in non-organic food. Not to mention that I am no longer eating the pesticides that get absorbed into crops.

    Buy organic from local farmers or grow your own. I grow my own now instead of buying organic, and it's just that much more beneficial to me and my family because I KNOW how it was grown and what was used for fertilizer (my own compost), and I KNOW for sure no pesticides were used, not even the tobacco spray that is sometimes used on organic crops.

    I must also add, if you buy meat, buy grassfed (beef, pork, lamb, etc) or free range (chicken and eggs). 90%, if not more, of the corn grown in the US is genetically modified and that is what is fed to livestock and poultry. If you eat meat and eggs that isn't grassfed or free range, then you are ingesting the GMO that is fed to them.

    If you buy dairy, believe it or not, raw milk from grassfed cows or goats is the best and has the most nutrients. You can purchase it from local dairy farmers. If you can't buy raw milk, please buy organic milk.

    I know organic food is worth it.
  • Jayne19099
    Jayne19099 Posts: 149 Member
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    bump! This will motivate me to buy a few more organic things at the grocery store today. :)
  • hablondi
    hablondi Posts: 127 Member
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    are you going to pay for my groceries? i buy organic when i can, but sometimes it just too expensive.

    Check your local farmer's markets, also, see what you can grow at home. Sometimes just a few little things help in the big picture. The one good thing is that organic foods are starting to really come down in price. A lot of times fruits and veggies are less than 50 cents more per kg/lb

    Be careful in assuming that the produce at the local farmers market is better than the grocery store. I know that many of the vendors at ours are getting their products from the very same farms in the US and Mexico that the big box stores do. When buying from the farmers market, make sure to ask where their farm is and if it is possible for you to drive by and see it. If they can't answer - walk away and find someone who can.
  • maryrx59
    maryrx59 Posts: 55 Member
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    Monsanto should be outlawed in EVERY country. Sadly, they are big money contributors to the powers that be in Washington just like big pharma. Follow the money!

    ^^^^^^I second that!!!! All you need to do is Google Monsanto and GMO....this will get you thinking! I am making small changes...have planted a large garden and getting away from processed foods.

    And for all those unhealthy foods I eat..whether by choice, or by ignorance, let me just say a prayer to God before I eat. He will bless my food and let it nourish me.

    In the end, all you can do is your very best, and let the rest go.:flowerforyou: