Warning.... This is a rant. A rant about obvious and blatant marketing misuse of marketing power to prey on the fears of the uneducated in a pathetic effort to drive "click through".
I subscribe to a "Natural" e-newsletter. They are all about Natural, Organic, Non-GMO blah, blah. Ordinarily I would insert their link here but I don't want to reward such bad behavior with driving you to their site.
The subject line included the following:
Hate Food Poisoning? Go Organic.
On the heals of 200+ people claiming illness due to Salmonella on their chicken, I find this in poor taste at best and at worst... misleading and false advertising.
Why?
The story wasn't actually about preventing direct food poisoning. It was about the benefits of organic farming providing for a more robust and diverse microflora on the farm which studies indicate might reduce the ability for pathogens to compete. Unfortunately, this would mostly protect the health of the crops and the animals grown in that environment, not the humans consuming the food.
Most food poisoning comes from mishandling or post-processing contamination in the home. Honestly folks, we mostly do it to ourselves. Undercooking our food, not washing our hands and/or utensils properly before and after use, touching contaminated surfaces (including our faces and other body parts) then directly cross-contaminating our own home cooking... that's what gives us the issues more times than not.
Yes, you can argue that if the wee beasties aren't on the food, then we can't spread them around but there are so many other vectors (like using the bathroom and not washing our hands thoroughly.. or at all. Still in this day and age... really girls? ) for us to give ourselves the squirts, the stuff you bring home from the store is the least of your worries.
Now, you do have to worry about raw meats and unprocessed produce but I have a secret to share. Being organic doesn't prevent the likelihood that they are contaminated with those little bugs like Salmonella, E. Coli, etc. The Organic processing facilities still have to handle it properly or you will find those bugs in your food, too.
Look, I'm all for Organic.
Love it for what it is but I understand what it is.
What it is - An alternative production method that does not use conventional chemical pesticides, herbicides, etc (unless included on the USDA/NOP approved list of such things that can be included in your organic plan). I like the warm fuzzy I get believing that my decision to buy Organic prevented a little bit of Monsanto profit machine from spiking my local rivers and streams when some of the farm water eventually runs off during whatever infliction Mother Nature might throw at us. But please don't try to scare me with your marketing BS trying to drive readership or prey on my ignorance and fear of food production practices and microbiology.
What it's not - A way for the "entitled" to buy food that won't make them sick, fat, or dead.
It still has calories, trans fat and microbes - unless it's processed not to - just like it's conventional brethren.
Just because something is organic does not allow it to violate Mother Natures basics. She designed the system to make you sick. It's called an "ecosystem". You're going to get sick and die one day. Those little bugs were designed to make you sick for population control. Once they go to work, other bugs were designed to turn you into compost so you could be food for other organisms later thus completing the circle of life. (Sorry if I'm the first to put it to you this bluntly but "spoiler alert", there is no Tooth Fairy either.)
This is not an anti-Organic rant.
This is an anti-stupidity rant.
To that "Natural" e-newsletter, shame on you. Those Organic consumers expect more. Please rise to the occasion and deliver.
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