A friend of a friend, active on our food co-op board and an organic gardener and chef, admitted that she didn’t buy organic almonds because the shell protected the nuts from the pesticides; so, she wasn’t willing to pay the extra cost when there was an insignificant health benefit. I was surprised that she made the choice not to buy organic almonds for this reason. And I admit that I’m frustrated that the human health issue regarding organics is the one primarily promoted and/or debated in the media. Instead of discussing the impacts of pesticide use on the environment and on species other than ourselves, we focus all our attention on whether or not pesticides are dangerous to humans. If we get stuck there, then if it’s not proven by science to be dangerous to humans, we ignore everything else that’s dangerous about pesticides.

Personally, I don’t choose organic foods primarily for my health, but rather for the sake of the ecosystems my food choices affect. It’s the same issue with meat-eating. While I’m glad to know that my vegan diet is so healthy for me, my primary reason for not eating animals and animal products is to avoid causing unnecessary suffering and death to sentient beings. As soon as a certain animal food is touted as healthy or helpful in losing weight, it’s the primary lens through which people choose it. Like the e. coli and mad cow scares, once we’re assured certain foods are safe for us and the fear-mongering has died down, all other related issues are muted.

It’s important to make deeper connections and ask bigger questions about the impacts of our food choices. For example, whether or not organics are worth the cost for the potential health benefits to us, they are – assuming we can afford them – worth the costs to the water, air, soil, and all the species affected by pesticides.

~ Zoe

Filed under: critical thinking, food and diet Tagged: | animal protection, Environmental Preservation, food and diet, health issues, interconnectedness, media literacy, MOGO choices, organic, organic foods, pesticides, third side thinking, veganism