It is a fairly safe bet that Alex Berezow is going to have a very busy day, and some of it will be rather unpleasant.
Berezow, the founder of the enormously popular RealClearScience website takes no prisoners in his scathing piece a combination of opinion and investigation that Whole Foods (and the rest of the organic food industry) will not be happy to read.
Here are some of the most provocative (and good luck finding any that aren t) quotes and references:
[A]ccording to a damning report issued by the organization Academics Review, the rapidly growing organic food market is built upon a foundation of lies. The report states, in no uncertain terms, that the organic food industry conspired to deceive the public about the safety of conventionally grown food.
[W]hole Foods -- the most (in)famous face of the organic industry -- maintains on its website a list created by the Organic Trade Association called the "Top 10 Reasons To Go Organic!" Many of the statements are misleading or completely false.
How so? Berezow lists a number of fallacies that are perpetuated by the industry. It ain t pretty:
Organic certification is the public's assurance that products have been grown and handled according to strict procedures without persistent toxic chemical inputs."
Berezow claims that this is false. Organic certification is mostly about paperwork. The USDA does not conduct any inspections of organic farms, relying instead on third party contractors to conduct the inspections, who are paid from the fees collected from the farmers.
Organic production reduces health risks ¨.
This is also false. Berezow points out that 97 percent of pesticides used in California are safer than either caffeine or aspirin.
There is much more.
ACSH s Dr. Josh Bloom comments, We at ACSH have been maintaining for years that the organic food industry is a house of cards. Sometimes it simply scares people into paying more for the same food. But most importantly, is that the organic food industry is squarely behind that anti-GM foods movement financially and otherwise. Using phony scare tactics, half-truths (or even less), they have done a splendid job in marketing their products. Unfortunately, this is at the expense of real science, consumers, and a far-too-large portion of the earth that is dying from starvation or vitamin deficiencies because of a misguided fear of GM technology.
Should you be in the mood for a good laugh (and able to tolerate some seriously off-color language), Berezow links to aPenn andTeller video on taste tests of organic vs. conventional foods. You might want to have the kids elsewhere.
Do not miss this article. It will blow the doors off a huge industry by exposing its superbly crafted, but dishonest tactics.