Dear Organic Food Enthusiast,We need to talk.There’s a lot to admire about you. You’re progressive, high-spirited and unafraid to live your philosophy. You see a problem, search for a solution and do your tiny part to fix it.Your idealism is as beautiful as it is warranted — I don’t want to destroy it.I’m just concerned. At the moment, your idealism is being squandered on — may I use the word? — an unsustainable ideal. I’m fighting to save your soul from the demons of cynicism and nihilism.I’m writing this letter because I’m concerned. This organic food business isn’t all you’ve idealized it to be. Organic food isn’t healthier, might be bad for the environment and is almost certainly bad for the world’s poor.Your idealism deserves better.Let’s start with the most important issue — organic food and your health.The Food Standards Agency — a department of the British government — recently commissioned a study on the health benefits of organic food.Of the 162 included studies, only 55 noticed a difference between organic and non-organic food — but nothing of any health consequence.The BBC article describing the meta-study was titled “Organic ‘has no health benefits,'” but that might be an exaggeration. The FSA’s study looked only at nutrient levels, not antioxidant and pesticide levels.But “there is no evidence that residues of pesticides and herbicides at the low doses found in foods increase the risk of cancer,” according to the American Cancer Society. Pesticides and herbicides aren’t doing harm. The molds, fungi and bugs they fight off will.So stop going to Whole Foods and use the saved money on cheap, antioxidant-laden Wal-Mart fruit.Give ‘dem apples a good wash under the sink, and you’ll be golden. Delicious.There might be exceptions, but the majority of the scientific literature says there’s little to no benefit to organic food.But health probably isn’t the only reason you shop at the Whole Paycheck Store. You eat organic because you think it’s better for the environment.It’s true pesticides may have some negative effects on nature, but organic farming can have far worse effects.Organic farming means ignoring decades of efficiency-increasing technological advances. Organic farming has a 20 percent lower crop yield than modern methods, according to a report published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science.If the entire world were to revert to organic farming, the earth would sustain only 4 billion humans, according to Norman Borlaug.As you may know, there are more than 6.7 billion mouths to feed, and that number is expected to increase to 9 billion by 2040.Organic farming would result in billions of deaths, and that’s even after massive deforestation creates more farmland.Organic food will always be a privilege of the privileged. On a massive scale, it would be an economic and humanitarian disaster.You may not have heard of the recently deceased Norman Borlaug, but he’s arguably the greatest human ever to live. He won the Nobel Peace Prize, fathered the “Green Revolution,” and — most importantly — prevented as many as 1 billion deaths through his development of high-yield wheat.That’s worth repeating. He kept one billion people from starving to death. That’s billion with a “b.”This makes Mother Teresa look like the self-important do-nothing she is — happy blasphemy day.If we’re going to prevent more starvation in the future — and deforest less of the world in the process — we need to use the most efficient farming technology available.We need more heroes like Borlaug.Wasting land so the wealthiest can feel more connected to the earth doesn’t help the poorest or the earth.If you’d like, you could even donate your savings to third-world charities and really do some good.Or you could just keep it. Your money is your own, and you don’t have to waste any on feel-good products.Buy the tastiest, healthiest, cheapest food you can find, and feel good about it.Best wishes,Daniel MorganP.S. Take a look at the nutritional info for Vitamin Water. It has more sugar than vitamins.Daniel is a 21-year-old economics senior from Baton Rouge. Follow him on Twitter @TDR_dmorgan.
 
 
 
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