When Organic is Unhealthy: The Problem with Organic Factory Farms!

Most of us have seen the movies. You know the ones, Food Inc, King Corn and all the other documentaries out there showing us what awful conditions our food is grown in. Most of us think that when we buy organic that we are spending our money responsibly, that we are, in some little way, helping that poor helpless chicken that is being kept in a prison of chickens or that poor cow that has never seen a blade of grass live better and if not them then other unnamed chickens or cows. We are using our dollars to help those animals and to eat better ourselves. We feel good.

We feel like we are spending the extra money on a good cause both for the animals, ourselves and our families. But, what does the word organic mean? We think that when we buy something organic that that product is grown in a cute little farm the way they show it on all the pictures. We think that an organic product is like something we would grow in our backyards without pesticides, hormones or chemical fertilizer. Well, have I got news for you! The term organic has been hijacked, commandeered and compromised!

Nowadays, a corporation can claim that a chicken is organic if it is free of hormones and has access to an outdoor plot! Never-mind that it has been kept in abysmal conditions that you wouldn't keep a dog in, never-mind that for most of it's short miserable life it has never seen a pasture, a worm or felt sunshine, never-mind that it eats food that is unrecognizable and probably some kind of derivative of corn, albeit organic corn! As long as it has access to a small, desolate area outside it's cramped quarters for 2 weeks out of it's life...they can call it “organic” chicken and can charge twice as much for the honor of doing so! Most so-called organic chickens are nothing but factory farms, every bit as crowded, every bit as disgusting and ever bit as “corporate” as the non-organic farms.

And the same thing goes for milk. Sure organic milk doesn't have hormones or antibiotics but those cows are still kept in disgusting conditions, they are still fed supposed organic feed (which sure as hell is not grass), the milk is homogenized, pasteurized and pretty much stripped of everything good. The feds are so concerned about us that they actually have swat teams going in to shut down raw milk stores! Cigarettes, they are ok, radiation...what's a little radiation?, alcohol..sure go ahead but God forbid we drink raw milk, that must be stopped at all cost! Have we lost our minds? No, we are living in a corpotocracy and they don't like the slaves nourishing themselves with food they can't profit from! Ok, I'm digressing a bit (maybe another hub down the line)!

Regarding butter...well you can buy organic butter and it's the same thing as the milk, they will talk about it being “organic”, that the cows are hormone free, free of antibiotics but does it say ANYWHERE that those cows are grass fed? It's conspicuously absent. When I started becoming more aware of this I started looking for organic butter. I found this one brand called Kerry Gold Butter from Ireland and OMG this butter was like ecstasy...it was soooo good I almost cried (OK, I really like butter)! But one day I had ran out of it and I was near a Whole Foods Store so I stopped in to get some...they didn't have any. So I bought this other butter that said it was organic. There were so many that I just picked one. I figured, you know this is Whole Foods so it's probably all good..right! WRONG. I tasted the butter and it tasted just like the non-organic crap I used to eat before, IE no taste at all. I then looked all over the package to see if it said that the cows were grass fed, NOTHING. I went on their website, again, nothing. It said it was organic and that they hand-churned the butter and that it was hormone free but nothing about what the cows ate. I called them and left a message asking them what their cows ate, they never called back. Kerry Gold Butter is grass fed and boy can you tell the difference.

Onto meat. Again, the packaging says that the organic beef is hormone free and organic but nothing on the package says that the cows eat grass, nothing. Nothing says if they are confined or free range. I want beef that is grass fed, I want beef that is free range and I can't find it!

So..what to do, what to do. Well, sure organic food is better than non-organic but is it worth the price? In some cases organic items can cost twice as much as non-organic. I think the best thing to do is to grow your own food. Ok, not everyone can do that but were talking the best thing. At least when you grow your own food you know what's in it. If you can't grow your own food then try to find farmers markets. Try to visit the farms to see where your food comes from. We have to start taking more responsibility for our own food, we can no longer trust the government to do it for us. It's not going to get better, it's going to get worse so do the best you can, educate yourself and hopefully you and I will be better for it.