They genetically alter our corn and soybeans, put them in everything known to man, bread out the nutrients in our other foods so they grow faster and look nicer then they wonder why our food supply isn't as healthy as it used to be.

DUH

Buy organic, buy local and watch your calorie intake. Great way to lose weight and get healthier.

Wake up, our food supply is killing us.

"you dig your grave with a fork"

I read Mayer's book so I knew that fruits and vegetables were losing nutritional value. I also understood from my grandparents (who were still pretty young at the time, in their mid-sixties) that the tastes of fruits and vegetables that they bought in the store were not as good, either. That was 20 years ago, and it has definitely deteriorated even since then.

I had not heard of the Codex Alimantarius and I looked it up, very interesting, thanks!

It is now so clear to me that Obama, illegal mexicans and russian spies partnered together to take america down somehow by demineralizing food and asking mission impossible questions to Palin and other highly competitive top notch americans, democrats are undermining the well being of america. Where is superman when we need him most????

Also in case most of you don't know, I feel like putting it out there.

Our fruits have Some to NO nutritional value IN it, because when the Fruit is plucked from the trees, it is plucked unriped, meaning it has not fully developed into that fruit yet. For example, take bananas for instance. Those green bananas you buy and let them ripe before you eat them? They're NOT getting riped, they are ROTTING on your table! People need to know there is a DIFFERENCE between fruits plucked AFTER they're riped and fruits plucked BEFORE.

technically ripening is the same as rotting... they do the same thing, one is just controlled...

I'd love to support local farms, but there aren't any left; they're parking lots and subdivisions now.

F**K THIS!!!!!!!!!

I'll just eat 2 apples or bananas thank you. I can't grow all this stuff locally even from farmers markets. Six companies control 70% of global agricultural trade. This makes for very difficult sustenance as indicated in the article.

We only import about 13% of all our fruits and vegetables but even the domestically grown products are accelerated for volume production. maybe if farm subsidies were decreased we could get more quality produce. But then again we'd probably have to ask the Big 6 if we can do that.

I'll just get more California grown grapes at the fruit market next time and keep my money in America.

Well, If you ask me the solution is simple, everyone needs to just start planting their own gardens full of fresh veggies and fruits if possible, I am, and everything tastes so much better than the store, who knew strawberries were really sooooooooooo goood. They have absolutely no taste from the local markets, were going to need to have our own food supplies before the end of the world when you will be asked to take the mark of the beast to get your money, SS, SSDI, etc etc which means if you're a Christian, you wont have money to get food or anything for that matter, better start learning to live off of the land people... If you don't have a green thumb you better find someone that does, or you'll be starving...and your kids too. Life is short, need to prepare now. And the veggies you will grow will seem like a miracle from God when its time, and they taste so good and are slowly ripened so they will have 100 times more nutritional value then anything anyone under 50 years old has probably ever had in the whole entire lives. Good luck all and God bless.

Not surprising. Even with a tiny garden, my mother in recent years has used various fertilizers and even things like miracle grow for veggies in her garden. The result has been bountiful harvests, yes, and squash the size of my entire arm, but they tastes like dishwater and I often felt like even after eating the twelve pound of beans, tomatoes, and cucumbers she'd give me each week, like I was only a few steps away from scurvy or some other vitamin deficiency...

I agree with the organic trend, but it's not right that it costs more, and I think we also have to increase capacity by ramping up our urban agriculture as well as traditional farming (though preference towards UA, which utilizes unused urban land and gardens in unconventional settings, rather than clear cutting virgin land for more farms)

I for one, noticed a huge difference in produce overnight. I was transferred to France two years ago and had my eyes opened rather quickly. France has agricultural and other food laws that limit or eliminate harmful practices in the production of food for both human and animal consumption.

1. Forced crop rotation through government subsidies. Their agricultural ministry subsidises farmers to plant grasses that breakdown and put the nutrients back into the soil naturally. They rotate their crops from production fields to nutrient fields, thus eliminating the need for chemical soil enrichment. Under US law, you can load the ground with chemicals(petroleum based) before any crops are planted, and as long as you don't apply non-organic fertilizers to the crop after you have seeded them, it still qualifies as organic.
2. Farmers that supply GMO produce, whether it's for human consumption, or it's the rancher who's cattle was fed with gmo grains and grasses, must (by law) print and make aware to the customer that their product is GMO.
3. All food products (canned, fresh, meat, fish, etc.) must include the country and region of origin on it's label.
4. Almost every EU country adheres to a similar policy, and must follow the rules of the country they export to.
5. US products sold here have labels that include information that is withheld from the American consumer. (e.g. 80% of Green Giant canned veggies are GMO, Coke changed their recipe to real sugar instead of hfcs (found in 75% of all US food products), Pringles removed the word chips from their can because it doesn't contain enough potato to be called chips, Heinz catsup, Gerber baby food, Planters and Skippy peanuts, and virtually every major cereal all contain GMO. I could keep this list going for days.
6. You can't control cross-pollination by insects or the wind. Eventually GMO crops will pollinate non-GMO uncontrollably until all crops are GMO.
7. The EU has lower rates of food allergies, high cholesterol, heart disease, high blood pressure, autism, ADHD, acne, and far lower rate of obesity than the US.
8. YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT

I would love to see the Dept. of Agriculture and the FDA address these issues in a serious manner. The Gulf spill has illustrated that there are conflicts of interest that can have devastating results, and the aforementioned agencies are full of similar conflicts. Companies like Monsanto have stated that their goal is to acquire patents on every seed know by creating a GMO version. They will monitor non-GMO crops to determine if their "patented crop" has spread to others. Then they send in their lawyers to file infringement suits to recover money they claim is rightfully theirs. This is being done by companies like Monsanto and others in many third world countries as well.

You can avoid these foods, but you must do you research and hit the market with a compiled list of "safe" products and be prepared to pay extra for them. You may have to hit several stores just to get all that you and your family needs. This will make it impractical and in some cases, financially out of reach for some.

I am transferring back to the US (Houston) at the end of this year. I will be hitting the stores, doing detailed searches and will put together a thread with a printable list at that time. I'm not looking forward to giving up the quality of food I have enjoyed here over the last two years (or the selection for that matter), but I will at least be a better informed shopper. As I said, I will pass on any and all info I can to anyone that cares to read it. I'm not a believer in conspiracies, and the info I provide will not be of that nature, just a carefully researched list of quality foods that are still available, and ones to avoid.

Pretty sure I'm not what I eat. Everything I eat is pretty damned dumb (some of the things would be classified as mental vegetables), and I have an IQ of 165. Misquoting Brillat-Savarin is not the way to get your point across, slick.

Idiots around me,

I would certainly be interested in your findings when you return.

I also spent some time abroad - Belgium - and was astonished at the difference in the way nearly everything tasted. Since returning, I've begun doing my own gardening, reading up on Michael Pollan, eating organic (for those things I can't grow), etc. It's almost a full-time job to find ways to eat safely in this country. I'd very much appreciate hearing from you when you compile your findings.

Friend request sent

Now, more than ever (with the latest research finding that a GMO soy diet renders hamsters STERILE within three generations), it is CRITICAL that people grow their own food and/or eat organic.

Humans are only ONE generation into eating GMO foods.

For those who live in cities and don't own land on which to garden, two words:

ROOFTOP GARDENING.

(And by the way, for anyone who hasn't heard, our factory-farmed animal food supply is also deficient in nutritional quality. But that's a different can of worms.)

Physicist-retired, Your added. I will put together the list and update it as my research continues. Unfortunately, there are some food chains that are in Texas that aren't in other states and visa versa. For the most part I will stick to name brand foods that are available nationwide, although you can look at generics and see where they were packaged and it will give you an indication of who really manufactured it. I know eating organic can be expensive and in some cases it's more about the selling point rather than it's nutritional value. Non-organic can be safe to eat if you wash it and it's from a reputable(local) grower. Many of the GMO crops were designed with pesticides built in or antibiotics to protect them from disease. Then there are the ones that are designed to have a longer shelf life or a more robust skin to prevent bruising and allow the shipping company to place more per container without damage. I choose not to eat any GMO because of the unknown. The studies conducted in the US are by the same companies producing the seeds and by people on their payroll. The studies outside the US have caused some countries to ban them all together or put labels so the customer can decide. Heirloom is a great organic substitute but can be hard to find. Growing your own and learning to can them is an excellent way to eat healthy all year and save some serious money (don't forget to grow your own herbs). Some don't have the space for it, but if you do, take advantage of it. Also, make friends with a local butcher. Most will cost more at first, but will cut you deals after they see you in their shop regularly. They don't inject their meats with chemicals(for tenderizing, color, and shelf life) and water(stock), and you get to decide the fat content by simply saying how much you like. Happy eats.

Idiots around me,

I grow heirloom tomatoes, peas, lima beans, broccoli, brussel sprouts, and all my own herbs. I'm lucky to have a large loft with south-facing windows, so I can bring my herbs inside in winter and continue to enjoy them.

I also have access to some great local farms with grass-fed cows, buffalo, and pastured chickens on those rare occasions that I want to eat or serve meat. And great local artisan cheeses.

My big problem is that I really love fresh veggies, and am limited to container gardening (I have LOTS of containers!). I can't grow nearly enough food to last all year. I would prefer to eat locally, but I live in a northern state - nothing fresh around here in winter.

Canned tomatoes are the best tasting ones I can find in winter. They tend to be picked when ripe and processed quickly, but I can't find any without added salt (!), and I don't like the BPA used in those cans.

Thanks for adding me to your list. Enjoy the rest of your time in France (where are you, exactly?),and I look forward to hearing from you when you return.

i hate it when someone has nothing to say other than to announce to the world that they are a genius.

I'm in Paris, and I can only grow my own herbs. I have 6 windows boxes that get sun from the morning until around 4pm, and that seems to be plenty. In the winter the are placed inside and they still grow but their rate of growth is slower. Due to liability laws here, I can't put any vegetables in the boxes, as they might fall to the sidewalk when ripe. I'm only 5 floors up, and I can't imagine a jalapeno hurting anyone if it were to fall. I don't need to grow anything else because the market is literally across the street and is open every morning till noon and till 2 on Sat & Sun. The produce is fresh, changes with the seasons and is cheap considering I'm in one of the most expensive cities in the world. I'm originally from Texas and miss all of the peppers I get there, the ones here are good but they taste different.(not as sweet and slightly bitter and go great with Turkish Kabobs) We get ones originally from Italy, Greece, Turkey, and Morocco, but trying to cook Tex-Mex for my friends and family here is just not the same. Fortunately, my mom sends me a care package once in a while that has dried spices and some of her canned jalapenos.

Ps. I know what you mean about the tomatoes. The last time I was home, I couldn't find any canned tomatoes or sauce that didn't have salt or sugar added.

Idiots (can I be informal?)

I have a lot of sympathy for you trying to cook Tex Mex while in Europe. I had the same problem. I lived in Colorado for most of my adult life, and in my book Tex Mex is just about as good as it gets!

Soon after arriving in Belgium, I heard about a new Mexican restaurant opening in Leuvan (not too far from Brussels). I rushed down there as soon as I could, expecting a real meal. I was a bit disappointed when my 'enchiladas' were served with a brown gravy, complete with peas and carrots in it.

Eventually, I found an ex-pat store near Waterloo that catered to Brits and Americans. They had a few Tex Mex items, and that carried me over. Maybe you can look for one in Paris? But France tends to be a bit 'pure' about it's food, so you might not have that option.

If you can, buy organic produce. We find the organic produce has a far superior taste to conventional. For years, I couldn't eat fruit. I would buy it, then toss it because of the lousy flavor. Today, our fridge is loaded with organic produce. Yummmm

I believe, in the early 60's, the queen of organic gardening, Adele Davis reported that this nation's produce was not as healthful as it used to be because the soil was being depleted. Plants are only as healthful as their soil, and that's why I have a new composter on my patio, ready to rock and roll.

Also, save your pot "liquor" when you cook veggies. I freeze it and use the conglomerate as a base for soups, beans, any recipe requiring liquid.

My parents always made room for a garden even though we lived in town. It meant I did not have a back yard to play in but we just played in front yards and on empty lots so nothing was lost. For a number of years after I went out on my own I moved every couple of years but gardened what I could. Now that I am settled in one spot I have a descent sized garden and grow what I can for myself. What I cannot grow I try to get from local farmers and fortunately there is a Mennonite/Amish community in the area that grows veggies for sale locally so we are able to can or freeze most of the veggies we need for the year. I also deer hunt and that supplies about 90% of our red meat. When we buy chicken there is a regional brand that is organically and we use that (definitely taste better than Tyson chicken) It is a little higher but well worth it.

Jim Hawk III - If you're such a genius, surely you could have figured out that he was referring to 'unhealthy-people' eating 'unhealthy-things', no? 30% less nutrients = that much less healthy.

But yes, you being a genius are probably correct, he was obviously referring to the intelligence level of the food. I take it you're a Fox News type of guy too, right?

Jim Hawk III must eat a lot of "rump roast" and "ham butts".

Jim Hawk claims an IQ of 165 but spends his time here commenting with dolts, maybe that IQ of his is missing a decimal point, 16.5........

Idiot and Physicist, thank you for your informative posts.

I have lived and worked in Europe myself, and I concur with your observations. It's hard to grow and buy true organic food in the U.S., but as this article has shown, it's well worth the effort and the cost.

I'd be interested in soil samples of the fields over the course of time too. Part of the problem could simply be over farming. Most fertilizers don't contain most of the minerals lost in harvesting, they mostly replenish nitrogen. If the concentration of minerals in the soil is decreasing, it could explain quite a bit too.

Mitchell

For those of you who live in apartments with no place for a garden:

I live in a small RV and travel full time. I eat almost 100% organic. But organic isn't the full answer because too often the produce has been trucked in and sitting around.

I have a small hydroponic cabinet -- it's about the size of a dorm fridge -- which grows a surprising amount of veggies. It's completely automated, so I don't have to do anything except add fertilizer. I use volcanic ash, which is the richest natural fertilizer in the world. I grow what amounts to an entire salad in there, or prepared differently, nutrient-rich vegetable soup, or prepared differently, stir-fry. Tastes soooo good. The colors are gorgeous compared to non-organic or even organic from the store.

Not to mention the fact that it cuts my grocery bill to a fraction of what I used to pay. Food is usually harvested 5 minutes before I eat it. The water recirculates and the lights run off my solar panel, so no cost after the initial set-up.

And there is that feeling of knowing you are self-sufficient. Regardless of how bad times might get, you're not going to go hungry or be poisoned from the food.

Hi threepence -

We read your post with great interest, because we're seeking out ways of growing food ourselves. Currently, I grow on my balcony, but only tomatoes and peppers. My BF has land on which he has tried to grow, but the creatures there eat everything as fast as he can grow it, to the point of killing the plants. We could both easily do what you describe.

We ar wondering, how much food are you actually able to harvest? You say that you harvest the equivalent of an entire salad, but how many people would that salad feed, and how often do you harvest? We'd like to get a handle on how much of our food we'd actually be able to replace by using a unit like this.

Thanks!

I have been reading about the Monsanto-Monster for some time. I bet their hotshots don't eat their own produce. The cross-pollination (bees, wind) is unstoppable and they know this. All they have to do is dip into their bottomless coffers and buy the land upwind...*poof* there goes the competition---no more "natural"; and then they sic their slick lawyers on the Mom-&-Pop family farm to claim "copy-right infringement" and demand pay for the "use" of "their" seed. What is a small family farm going to do? Debt, debt, and more debt trying to fight an uphill battle while the monster-agri-business doesn't even notice the $$ it spends to go to court.

Hi Sherri --

I live alone (with a parrot who also eats the veggies), but I am a vegan who doesn't much like grains, so I eat almost entirely fruits, veggies, and nuts. Hydroponics let you grow a lot of veggies in a very small space. I used to give away a lot of my veggies, but then learned to grow less of any one veggie, and more different veggies. It's a learning process.

Bottom line: you can feed a basic garden salad to a family of four every day in the space of an average kitchen cabinet.

For example, right now I have 5 tomatoes ready to harvest, about 4 cups of spinach, 2 bell peppers, a handful of carrots, some broccoli, and too many green onions. That's today. Tomorrow some of my cucumbers will be ready. I will use only one of the tomatoes today and fire roast the others slightly before dumping them in the blender to save for spaghetti sauce.

You can provide such a small space for the plants because they don't have to compete for water and nutrients and they get optimum light.

I hope you'll try it. It's interesting and fun, gratifying and CHEAP. Good luck.

Thanks, Threepence -

We plan to read up on hydroponics, figure out which system to get, and then go do it!

By late winter maybe we'll be enjoying some good, fresh, home-grown produce!

Again, many thanks!

sherri2012

I've had good success with using coyote urine products. Ours is a granule type product that you sprinkle around the perimeter of the garden. I think you can find it at home depot. We used to try to keep out the critters with fencing but with the coyote urine we don't even put up a fence anymore.

rahannis -

Interesting, and we'll look into it...thanks!

(The critters include ground squirrels and rabbits, as well as rats. It's a real community of critters out there.)

You might also talk to the local zoo or game preserve if there's one nearby. My fiance used to work for a 'safari' park and they sold manure to the locals. A good whiff of tiger poo keeps even the deer away, that's for sure! Small critters don't like it either.

Small critters don't like it either

How about people, LOL?

Seriously, thanks. I don't know of one nearby, but it's a possibility and we can certainly check that out.

I'm telling you, you learn something new every day!

It's a fact that your body cannot absorb more than "X" amount of vitamins and minerals, so as long as you are getting 100% from foods, additional amounts just go through your body.

I do believe Haggi's point was you do not get enough eating commercial fruits and veggies and so need the vitamins to make up for what you missed.

Well, I was astounded to be told by my doctor this week that I am vitamin D deficient. She prescribed 50,000 (you read that right) units, or about 100 times MDR, per week for 6 weeks. After that I will take 1000 units/day. I understand that vitamin D deficiency is widespread, but I eat tuna, salmon, and other foods rich in it, so I wasn't expecting this. Especially since I already take a daily multi-vitamin supplement.

EVERYTHING is produced these days for maximum profit, and the government does a very, very poor job of looking out for our health and welfare. Consider the chickens plumped with saltwater, grown quickly with hormones and antibiotics, which dilute the effectiveness of antibiotics when they're needed to fight disease. I watch what I eat, cook mostly from scratch, and closely examine food labels. But I can't control what I eat adequately without knowing the sources, their methods, and exactly how the food was produced.

Sherrie, to help boost your vitamin "D" level, just get outside in the sunlight for a few hours each day. Hey, sunlight, which the Human body uses to produce vitamin "D", is still free -- or would you rather spend all that money on vitamin "D" supplements?

Here's a hint, to help you answer the question: Back in the days of Antiquity, when everyone spent a lot of time outside (working, playing, living), vitamin supplements were not available -- yet nobody who spent their time in the sunlight suffered from a vitamin "D" deficiency.

All true, but getting your Vitamin D from the sun is a double-edged sword due to the skin cancer risk. It also causes sun damage to your skin (as you'll discover when you get older). NOT very attractive. That's why many people supplement with D.

And our cancer risk is higher due to the damage we've done to the atmosphere. Everything we mess with has repercussions down the line...

ANyone who has not done so already should absolutley without a doubt see the movie "FOOD INC."... rent it, buy it, netflix it, whatever... we as a culture have no clue what we are eating, and where it comes from. A very eye opening movie.

Tastier, too! Helps the small independent farmers as well as my budget because it really isn't any more expensive. There's a little Mexican grocery store just a few blocks from my house. I bought 5 lbs of pork ribs for $1.39/lb. Those are $2.50+ at the national chain grocery stores. I also got a bushel of peaches for $10. Know why it's so cheep? They weren't trucked halfway across the contry- or world. They are all from local, small, independent farms.

I often think about "progress," and whether we're actually better off for it.

I think it would take a national emergency of some sort for this to happen. 20 years ago during a change in my life I tried market gardening. Growing everything one person could take care of and getting adverage and better yeilds I couldn't grow enough to make a living on my labor.

I realized that farming is a life style and since I was raised on farming and ranching I knew that the work would be long days. Even with the long days I couldn't make enough money to have any kind of normal life. Since abject poverty didn't seem appealing to me I chose a different direction.

People weren't willing to pay a dollar a pound when they could buy the same thing for 59 cents. That 41 cents per pound is the difference between a small farmer and commercial farming.

Mainstream scientists are also telling us that global warming is still a problem, when the satellite data show that we've entered a cooling cycle. Anything that is contrary to the "accepted" agenda, you may hear once, if you're lucky, and then never again. I remember reading in a medical journal twenty years ago that eliminating this or that from our diets is NOT healthy. That article was squelched in a fat hurry. So, basically, you have to take mainstream science with a a whole BOX of salt.

The fact that someone is not telling the truth surprises you because?

I don't know who these 'mainstream scientists' that you mention are, but I've been reading for years that organic produce is more nutritious than conventionally grown.

Same here, Kaci. It is somewhat logical as well because plants are only as healthy and healthful as their soil. I purchase organic fertilizers for my ornamentals, and they work very well.

Kaci, skor...................I have read that for years as well but only in magazines like Mother Earth News never in an article in the local paper or a "mainstream" magazine.

...the produce was delicious

wiscmh: your words gave me an insight. if i was a caveman and stumbled on a vegetable that was delicious i'd eat more of it. if the one next to it wasn't delicious, i'd eat less.

better tasting, not just sweeter or saltier, must be a good guide to healthy food.

I have the same theory, maridanne. And also about the accessibility of foods, assuming no modern weapons. Nuts, fruits, and veggies would be easy to get. When it comes to animal products, eggs would be easy, honey fairly easy. Then fish, fowl, and finally red meat.

I suspect we ought to eat proportionately.

It's tough to fight the corporate, profit-driven mainstream sector because they pretty much have a death grip on everything in this country.

Added to that is the fact that the middle class has pretty much been decimated, the economy is tanking, people are losing jobs, and the effect of all that is that many, many people simply cannot afford to buy organic (if they ever could). So more and more are we being steered and forced to agri-foods.

But I agree, buy organic and grow your own. We are lucky to have a Co-op in our area where all the produce is organically and locally grown, as well as a multitude of farmer's markets. But these aren't available to everyone, I know.

If people stopped buying soda, Twinkies, and cigarettes, they could buy organic! I can spend about $40 a week in groceries for myself, most of it organic, and eat very well. You have to stop looking at the price, and think about your health. In the long run, it will turn out to be cheaper. Also, when you look at the price of food, divide it by how many servings you can get out of it. A dozen organic eggs at $4 is way cheaper than a slam breakfast at Denny's -- you can get at least 6 meals out of it! The same goes for Ezekiel bread, $4 or $5 a loaf, but think of how many meals you get. That's about $9 for at least 6 breakfasts of eggs and toast, less than $2 each. I have seen a family of 4 buying food at McDonald's and spending over $25 on junk food--that would buy a lot of organic veggies and fruits!

I've been eating healthy food most of my life--I'm 62 now and look like 40 and have no health problems. I was lucky to grow up in a time and in a country where fruits and vegetables came to us by means of street vendors. If you were out and about and got thirsty or hungry, you could always find somebody peddling oranges and other fruits and fresh-squeezed juices--of course, locally and organically grown. So I had a healthy start in life. Now that I am older, I don't have much income but I still do my best to buy the best food I can find, without any concern for how much it costs--I just eat less of it. I've watched people at the grocery store checkout and half of the food they buy is junk--all they have to do is give that up and they won't have any reason not to buy organic.

We need to wise up and look after ourselves, nobody else is going to do it for us. And we need to educate the children while they are receptive to absorbing the information--stop feeding them the junk! They are the ones that will suffer the consequences of this food crisis.

There is a move in Arkansas by the various farmers markets to force people who buy items commercialy to sell at them to lable their veggies as such and forbid them from representing or implying their produce as locally grown when it is not.

Organic Grandma -

I echo everything you said - my approach is exactly the same as yours. I have reaped all the same benefits.

So we're doing fine...the children are the ones who are really at risk, because their bodies and minds are being formed from inadequate supplies of nutrients and a mix of dangerjous ingredients. Most parents and parents-to-be don't realize that. Sad.

Very sad! I once saw a little baby, maybe 1 1/2 to 2 years old, sitting in his stroller drinking Coke and eating french fries from McDonalds. I wanted to cry! His parents were very young, and I guess nobody taught them anything either.

I cannot recommend Organic Grandma's posts enough! I've been using Michael Pollan's Seven Word diet (Eat Food, Not Too Much, Mostly Plants) since February, and I have found that not only have I lost 20 pounds and feel better, I'm spending about the same as I was- yes, produce can be expensive. But if I'm not eating a bunch of processed food, I have the money to spend of the good stuff! Take a look at the difference in cost between a sack of potato chips and a sack of potatoes. And that's not counting the vast nutritional difference between chips and the real thing!

I've also found the 'eat around the edges of the store' rule to be a pretty good one. Around the edges you find real food- bread, dairy, meat, and produce. In the aisles is the processed stuff. Saves a lot of time too, if I don't wander back and forth through the aisles.

There's a lot of simple things we can do to change our buying habits and health. I think most people don't because they are too comfortable doing what they always have, even if it's at their cost.

As a 60+ aged person who also looks and feels much younger, I totally agree with Organic Grandma and her thoughts about food. IMO her best advice is in this sentence:

You have to stop looking at the price (of organic food), and think about your health. In the long run, it will turn out to be cheaper.

I also concur with Liutgard and his practices. IMO shopping just the edges of the big stores avoids both the temptation and expense of poor quality foods and beverages.

Kudos to you both.

If a product has OGF seal, or Oregon Tilth seal, you're probably getting an 'organic' product.

Anything else, thanks to FrankenPharm / BioAgra, is 'organic' (sic) if it has >4% organic in it.

Since plant organisms live in symbiosis with bacteria and fungi, and since honeybees and all

bees and insects for that matter are disappearing, along with song birds that feed on them,

it probably has to due with something in the soil that we can't see, as it propagates upward.

We are losing topsoil so fast that within 10 years there will be catastrophic mass starvation.

http://www.commodityonline.com/news/Global-starvation-imminent-as-US-faces-crop-failure-18791-3-1.html

http://www.c3headlines.com/

And as far as groceries are concerned, the US 'cold chain', as refrigerated foods are called,

allows growers to pick food green and hold it for extended periods of months 'on ice', but is

the single biggest waster of energy in the world now, and where new 'energy' jobs will be:

http://www.pharma-iq.com/sponsor_article.cfm?externalID=2755

http://www.bfff.co.uk/sites/default/files/Generic_Report.pdf

As a result, cold chain suppliers will be forced by Carbon Tithe-Taxes to minimize their safety

margin in frozen foods, so that on hot weeks like the one we just had, some food will thaw

and refreeze, but go undetected, and we'll see the number of gastrointestinal deaths go up.

All part of living in the 'Last Best Hope of Mankind™' ... on steroids, ... and HGH, ... and GMO!

Oops! Violated the Homeland Security sanctions against 'negative thoughts'! Hab un gut ein!

Peter -

It's all very frightening, isn't it? Of course, our fearless leaders are not dealing with it at all, because they never address any crisis until after it has already exploded.

As regards the destruction of our topsoils, apparently we have agriculture to thank for that. As I understand it, the modus operandi has been that crops are alternated, the depleted minerals are not replaced, and eventually you have abandoned farms because the soil will no longer grow anything.

We could go back to harvesting wild foods...in fact, we evolved to be hunters and gatherers, and there's no doubt that the foods obtained thereby are superior nutritionally. But of course, it would be impossible to support our present (and future) populations levels on hunting and gathering...simply not enough resources to be had. So it would seem that famine and die-off are inevitable.

Wouldn't you think we'd be smart enough to stop having so many babies?

Have you read Lierre Keith or Daniel Vitalis?

Yes, soil is at the base of the ecological pyramid. Peter, you may have something there about the unknowns with the soil. Yes, birds and pollinators are under siege and have jobs to perform for the soil and its natural renewal. Ecosystems inherently work to create and renew the soil, but then again, if the work force of this ecological service is dying and crashing, then the soil will take hits as well because ecologically, everything connects to every thing.

Chemical fertilizers kill the soils natural microorganisms that are in the business of renewing the soil, right! So, if the unnatural fertilizers are killing the microorganisms in the soil, the soil's chemistry has been scrambled unnaturally. Soil also has a role in decomposition and the nitrogen cycle. If the nitrogen cycle were to fail, everything on the Earth will fall extinct.

Sherri, social scientists maintain that small scale hunting and gathering was the most successful lifestyle for man; however, man has buried that economy under concrete, oil spills, roads and shopping malls, so man can never go back to that lifestyle because they killed its eco-nomy. And, yes, Zero Population Growth is the most critical and grave issue on the planet. Man is killing the Earth with his too muchness.

Man only exists because of the Earth's ecosystems, in the eco-nomics of creating and renewing the soil, and ecosystems only exist because of their natural, wild biological diversity, like our native birds and native pollinators. The honey bee was transported, introduced from Europe and caused the extinction of this nation's only parrot.

A third eye is used to look inward ... inside your soul. This allows you to live the life you choose, instead of blaming outside forces for your circumstances ... an authentic life of peace vs a life of fear and victim-hood. Work on changing what you can, of course, and by using your own individual actions in every day life wisely .... by purchasing/supporting/producing/consuming only products that can sustain you or destroy you.

We could all use a third eye ...

Amen!

Math just made you stupid

You must have never eaten an organic banana or pear, or home-grown peas. The taste difference is out of this world! And you may be getting more or less the same nutrients (I am not an expert on this, so I'll give you the benefit of the doubt) but you won't be eating the pesticides, hormones and antibiotics either--in case you don't know, they are not good for you!

Ah yes. Because you claim it's not true, then surely it must not be true. I'll take the words of people who actually research this over your fox-news inspired conclusion any day.

Try a taste test for yourself. If you can't taste the difference, eat the poisonous toxic crap. It will probably make you infertile, and that's a good thing.

To the banana poster, you picked a bad example; bananas are the only common fruit that actually increases in nutrition and taste after being picked. Your point was valid for most fruits, but not for bananas.

I used to live in a place that had a banana tree in the yard. You *have to* pick the bananas before they are ripe- when they are ripe they burst the peels and then they're worth nothing.

Of course if you're eating locally it's a moot point, unless you live in a tropical climate.

So will I, although I'm not sure they can be successfully fought at all.

I think though that we all need to start taking responsibility for our own food supply, by growing it ourselves, by patronizing small family farms and farmer's markets, and by buying organic, never mind the expense.

Unless they are completely impoverished, people will always find a way to obtain the things they really want, no matter how much they cost. Usually it's just a matter of setting priorities.

What do you suppose would happen to the Industrial Agri-Food conglomerates if enough people simply opted out of being a part of their profit machinery?

Well said!

Be careful with the organic though. Read labels carefully, and be sure to read the stamp. Oregon organics are reliable. Unfortunately, as the popularity of organics have grown, corporations have gotten on the bandwagon, often developing new brand names so you won't know it's really a processed-food corporation in disguise. Del-Monte, Kellogg come to mind.

I don't support those companies because they have profited from feeding us toxic crap for years, while the small organic farmers struggled. Also, I just don't trust them. I know some companies have lobbied to lower the standards for organic. I'll stick with the brands I've been using for years -- long before organics were in grocery stores.

Exactly. I occasionally go out to eat with friends and can't get organic. I can eat a huge meal yet drive away from the restaurant "wanting something."

Like real food.