The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.

[I]t seems odd that after hundreds of millions of dollars in advertising and $20 billion in sales, no one is sure what organic food is.

There are two sides to the organic food issue to most people; genetics and chemicals. . .

There are people rightfully concerned that genetic modification of fruits or vegetables can lead to unknown consequences. . . In looking at the history of agriculture, almost everything is 'genetically modified', they just use a different name for it. . .

Professor Lee Silver . . . put it much more succinctly than I can:

... organic food is defined not by any material substance in the food itself, but instead by the "holistic" methods used on organic farms. Furthermore, the physical attributes of the product and any effects it might have on environment or health are explicitly excluded from U.S., European, and international definitions.

The implicit, unproven assumption is that organic agriculture is -- by its very nature -- better for the environment than so-called conventional farming.

I'll boil it down. All food is organic and no one has gotten e. Coli from a genetically modified food, unlike 'organic' spinach(2). I am not too concerned about genetically modified corn or purple roses. If we want to have less global warming we clearly need to genetically engineer cows that fart less. It will make no difference at all in the milk they produce. None. Nature does not work that way. . .

We've already established that all food is organic but there is a science definition and a colloquial one and the colloquial one means 'free of pesticides.'

So if you buy some organic food and it says the pesticide was Pyrethrin or Rotenone, should you watch out? They're certainly toxic chemicals. Except organic farmers use them all of the time, because Pyrethrin is made from chrysanthemums and rotenone comes from a native Indian vine. You may still get Parkinson's Disease but you will have gotten it 'organically.' Go with Strycnine instead. It is organic too and it will kill you faster. . .

Please keep in mind that the 'organic' label really means '95% organic' - the list of non-organic things you could be ingesting is quite extensive.

And the list of completely natural ways you can come to harm, namely getting e. Coli from all-natural manure, means you should examine your food with more than just your reactionary cap on. Common sense and some knowledge of how the science and the politics are reconciled on policy making will allow you to maintain a critical perspective on what 'organic' really means to you and your family.

In other words, it makes no more sense than any other spiritual food fetish. . . and no less. If God or gods said you must do it to be holy, or holistic, then you must. But it ain't science.

It is worth noting that the scientists are not gods either. You can't, as this fellow suggests, "genetically engineer cows that fart less", and so reduce AGW. The methane is from belches, not farts, and it is produced by the bacteria that digest cellulose in the cow's gut. The same bacteria are in the soil and do the same thing, cows or not. If you want less methane then the best you can do is to breed strains that produce carbon dioxide in an anaerobic environment. One way or another you get GHGs, but there is hope that we can select for less potent ones. Oddly perhaps, related research into cellulosic ethanol production may provide candidates though either selective or synthetic methods.

Food fetishism has always been with us, and likely will endure. It's like sex, but more so.