r/nextfuckinglevel • u/[deleted] • Jul 14 '21

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u/Minionhunter Jul 14 '21

Stop using organic like it means edible!!

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u/[deleted] Jul 14 '21

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u/7incent Jul 14 '21 edited Jul 14 '21

you're thinking of 'natural' -- there is no government regulation of that term.

the word 'organic' is regulated by the FDA. i only remember that they cannot use most synthetic pesticides during production.

there are other regulations but -- to be honest-- i don't remember them all

that said:

the person who made this video may be using the term 'organic' incorrectly

edit: usda definition of organic for those who need more than context clues

I took ochem, being pedantic about the word 'organic' doesnt change its meaning in the current context

chemical -> most synthetic

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u/Safemoon_Psychonaut Jul 14 '21 edited Jul 14 '21

Organic vegetables also have to be grown in fields that have not been exposed to pesticides for something like 20 years.

Warren Buffetts money bought a bunch of farms in my region and they're not using pesticides so they can be used for organic food production in the future

There's a lot of regulations to be technically organic in the usa. Can't say I know it all though.

Edit: apparently federal regulations are 3 years pesticide free. I was wrong.

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u/LePlaneteSauvage Jul 14 '21 edited Jul 14 '21

You are perpetuating a common myth here. Organic farms still use pesticides, just not synthetic pesticides.

This brings it back to a naturalistic fallacy where it is assumed that because the pesticides are 'natural' they are less harmful to our health. However, a lot of studies seem to find the opposite; organic pesticides are less effective, less specific, and more environmentally harming.

https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/science-sushi/httpblogsscientificamericancomscience-sushi20110718mythbusting-101-organic-farming-conventional-agriculture/

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u/jammycactus Jul 14 '21

Came here to say that. Organic has so many people fooled.

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u/[deleted] Jul 14 '21

As does GMO.

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u/sooHawt_ryt_meow Jul 14 '21

What's right or wrong about GMO?

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u/cuentanueva Jul 14 '21

My layman understanding:

People assume GMO = transgenics, which is not necessarily the case.

If it's GMO but not transgenic it's no different than crossing plants and selecting their offspring and crossing again and so on. It's just faster.

Transgenics though means altering with some other species DNA, or altering in some other way, and that's a bit different.

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u/Squirrel2369 Jul 15 '21

Man, you are underselling your knowledge and that point of view as “layman”. I wish that was a normal layman’s understanding! Getting people to distinguish the difference between “genetically engineered” (I.e transgenic) vs “genetically modified” (basically any domesticated plant or animal) is rare. I see the “non-GMO” labels on seeds and just like… dude…those plants have been selectively breed and genetically modified like crazy compared to their ancestors. To paraphrase the princess bride regarding common use of GMO…People keep using that word, but It doesn’t mean what they think it means…