Out of the Mouths of Babes.
I was telling my grand daughter about helium.
“It’s a gas granddad. They told us that at school”.
Yes but it is also a community of people, a community of forward thinking people who talk to each other , write articles and read each other’s articles.
“So- could we write an article granddad?”.
We could try.
“Right let’s do it. What should we write about ?”
Well what do you suggest ?
“What about food ? I like food”.
“When I go to the supermarket with Mum, she is always going on about Organic Food. What’s that granddad”?
Well Organic Food is produced so that it has no pesticides or harmful food additives.
And that the soil and the animals are looked after carefully.
“Is there a lot of Organic Food then?”
Oh yes.
“Facts granddad we need facts”.
Right. Well, sales of organic food in the UK have increased dramatically in recent years. According to the latest figures by the Soil Association , in their 2006 Organic Market Report :
– sales of organic food in the UK were up 30% on 2005 figures.
– supermarkets are expanding their organic food ranges.
– but a growing number of consumers are buying directly from the farmers, through farmers’ markets, box schemes, and farm shops.
The market is worth 125 million per year.
“Is organic food better then granddad?”
Many people turn to organic food because of concern about pesticides.
There are government rules about the use of pesticides but they still end up in our food, and they are known to have harmful long term effects on our heath.
” So that’s good then granddad”.
Yes, but organic food costs more. Organic production is slower, more labor intensive and the crop yields are generally lower. Organic food can be up to 63% more expensive, according to a report by the consultants Morgan Stanley.
“What about America, do they have organic food there?”.
Oh Yes. All organic food sold in the USA carries the USDA Organic Food Label. The National Organic Standards were introduced in Consumer spending on organic food in the USA had reached $9 billion by 2001, the year after the standards were introduced. And the sales have increased 20% every year since then. That’s progress for you.
My granddaughter was concentrating hard. She had a firm intense look on her face.
But then I made my mistake.
I told her that in the old days, we all ate organic food. We didn’t call it organic food them, because all food was produced naturally. It was only when some wise man decided that it didn’t last long enough that additives were used to help keep the food fresher for longer.
“And was it more expensive?” she asked.
Yes I replied.
There then followed a long silence. You could almost see the Grey cells working.
“So now we are going back to the old ways and they are charging us more for it. They take all the pesticides and additives out, so we actually get less, and they charge more. We are going backwards, and you tell me it’s progress”.
” Suppose in 30 years time, when we are all organic, someone else decides that the food isn’t lasting long enough it needs preservatives. And they will charge more for it.”
“So – what we’re doing is paying more to go back to how it was when we had to pay more for getting less”.
“are we absolutely sure that’s progress ?”
Can somebody out there in helium help me out here?