Oragnic Vegetables Are They Really Safe ?!!
By AKRao24
@AKRao24 (27424)
India
May 29, 2011 10:50pm CST
Organic vegetables and Crops are becoming popular now a days. In organic plant products no chemical fertilizers or insecticides used. This makes them safe for human consumption as the residual parts of these chemicals don't enter our body which can harm our body!
Various organic manures are used to provide nutrition to the plants producing food materials like vegetables and crops. The manures used are compost where organic matters like dung and other perishable things are made into compost by the process of compost making and then these are used as the manuring agents!
It is OK that these manures don't have harmful chemicals. But what about the Bacteria present in them many animal excreta can contain bacteria like E. Coli and salmonella which can b dangerous to Human life. In the recent past in Germany there is a out break of Gastro enteric infection which has put the Nation on high Alert. The authorities are trying to identify the organisms responsible for this. They are suspecting Organic grown Cucumbers as the culprits and they are suspecting E. Coli bacteria responsible for this which they feel that, it might have entered through the organic manuring into the Vegetables or might have contaminated the vegetables. If not diagnosed early and treated early E. Coli can cause a deadly disease!
Do you think organic foods, specially the vegetables are safe for human consumption, taking above factors in to consideration? Please give your opinion about it! Your views in this regard will be highly appreciated! Thanks !
Do you think organic foods, specially the vegetables are safe for human consumption, taking above factors in to consideration? Please give your opinion about it! Your views in this regard will be highly appreciated! Thanks !2 people like this
3 responses
@veganbliss (3895)
• Adelaide, Australia
30 May 11
There is nothing unsafe about the system of organic certification. Nor is it right to assume that since there is a certain bacteria - harmful or beneficial - in the manure used as fertilizer that it travels through the plant & all produce will be automatically infected. There is the possibility of the produce being infected by pickers / harvesters from the same manure though. This is microscopically small compared to the overwhelming occurrences of infectious diseases (there's worse besides, but I will stay on topic) that are in the animal flesh people consume which are not killed or destroyed by cooking. This amounts to 60% of all infectious diseases in the past, 74% of all emerging infectious diseases & 92% of the deadliest disease outbreaks in the past decade being solely attributed to the consumption & production of animal flesh.
I'm very suspicious of the authorities on this. I'm not sure about where Germany stands on this issue, but down here authorities are actively trying to wipe out organic agriculture & support GMO crops only. Governments at every level are against sustainable organic agriculture.
There is another class of produce above certified organic even & that is bio-dynamic, with much higher standards & more ethical practices. It is better too if we can grow our own of course. Fertilizers, sprays, etc are all plant-based in bio-dynamic farming practices here.
@AKRao24 (27424)
• India
3 Jun 11
Hello Dear Veganbliss! I am saying the same thing, there is nothing wrong with the system or the certification of the system. The question is about he implementation part. Organic farming is not restricted to any particular part of the world,it is widely practiced almost all over the World! In all developing countries this has been a traditional way of growing the crops and here we don't have certification authority. It is a common practice followed by the farmer in growing the crops.
I agree that the bacteria from the manure may not get entry into the products, but hen since the place where these products are grown can have heavy infestation of bacteria and these can be detrimental some times to our health, it can be more detrimental in case of vegetables which are usually eaten raw. Apart from E Coli there are n number of bacteria which can be harmful to human health!
I agree that animal products can be much more dangerous than these organic grown vegetables. The base line is that in either case these products are to be cooked to proper temperature before consuming them!
May I know why the Government pr the Authorities should be against organic farming? What are thy gaining by promoting GMO crops?
Coming to the Bio-Dynamic products ,it s totally a different issue and it can be debated for hours together on this topic if such products are fit for consumption or not! They are having their own pros and Cons! yes in conclusion I to agree that it is better to grow our own products in own own kitchen garden! But then how feasible would it be to have a kitchen garden in an urban area where we hardly get to see any piece of open land? Thanks for the responding!
@veganbliss (3895)
• Adelaide, Australia
3 Jun 11
Thank you for clearing that up. Even in many developed countries, chemical fertilizers like we see now only started being used after the second world war. Spain & Germany both have certified organic bodies, as does India:
http://www.organicindia.com/organic-certifications.php
http://www.indocert.org/
Fresh produce cannot be sold as organic if the grower, the facilities & the crops are not certified by these governing bodies.
It is well known in the case of bacteria, that good or beneficial bacteria easily crowd out bad or harmful bacteria on an item's surface. Cooking kills much, much less than people think. I have You Tube videos showing a very well cooked piece of bacon still has parasites visible & breeding away, both before & after.
Particularly the Liberal Governments here at Federal & State level have pushed very hard for the introduction of GMO crops over the past decade or longer. You yourself would know how farmers who sign up with GMO companies like Monsarto must buy all their seed, fertilizers, etc, etc from that company forever. The reason? American friendship. That means the US has full control over most of our economy if we go down that path. By introducing GMO crops, infected seed pollinates certified organic farmers crops, forcing them to lose their certification & bankrupt them. That would hand food supply, ultimately to the world, over to US control. Very, very scary.
Perhaps urban dwellers should consider growing their vegetables indoors hydroponically?
@1anurag1 (3576)
• India
30 May 11
I don’t have much knowledge in this concern. But whatever I know according to that I don’t think they are very safe. As these are like those softwares, which are not tested properly. Because for their effects we have to wait for years. So I think there are number of things which we should keep in mind in short. We could not stop using the organic vegetables but we must also continue the natural one also along with so that at the bad time we could start again.
@AKRao24 (27424)
• India
3 Jun 11
Dear Anurag ! The naturally grown crops or vegetables without using the fertilizers, insecticides etc. are known as organic products.In the products grown in such a manner manure is used , which is prepared by composting various natural products. while doing so if the manure is not properly done then there are every chances that we can have ill effects of such manures. The bacteria present in such improperly done manures can be transferred to human beings by human human hands while picking them.It is more valid for vegetables which are eaten as raw as salads! Organic farming is a good method of soil preservation . Because of continuous use of fertilizers and insecticides drastically change composition of the soil is getting spoiled and the lands are turning into barren ones! So in order to save the soil from getting infertile or barren the organic farming is undertaken! Now we will have to find some balance between organic farming and farming by using the chemical fertilizers where by the soil can be saved and at the same time the our health too! Thanks for responding !
@veganbliss (3895)
• Adelaide, Australia
30 May 11
I've just found the article about this. They say it has killed ten people in Germany already. The BBC reports this has been traced to cucumbers imported from Spain. Cases have also been reported in Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands and the UK, all places where Germans travel and the cucumbers may also have been exported to the Czech Republic and also to Austria, Hungary and Luxembourg. Reuters reports that, according to the Stockholm-based European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), 214 cases of hemolytic-uremic syndrome (HUS), a serious complication of a type of E. coli, have been reported. Of those 214, the online journal "Eurosurveillance" says that 186 are 18 years or older and 146 are female. The outbreak is, says the ECDC, "one of the largest described outbreaks of HUS worldwide and the largest ever reported in Germany." HUS is usually observed in children under 5 years of age. While many varieties of E. Coli are harmless or cause relatively brief diarrhea, HUS affects the blood, kidneys and, in severe cases, the central nervous system and requires hospitalization. Spain has halted cucumber exports. There are no reported cases in Spain - ever - & the authorities there are telling people to keep eating as usual.
Apparently, this is the second biggest food scare for Germany this year. Highly toxic dioxin was found in egg, poultry and pork products in January.
Healthy soil does not have E Coli in it, whether fertilized with manure or not! E Coli is an anerobic organism and does not live where there is lots of both air and water in the soil. Healthy soil has lots of good, aerobic bacteria in it because it has lots of air.
These infected cucumbers were not grown organically certified. I don't know of a single food related scare that had certified organic plant produce at its source. If you are really worried about this sort of thing, you should get into hydroponics, but I think it's unnecessary at this stage. Above all, get back to the good people of Germany to keep eating. Buy the best you can or grow your own.
