Going organic is pretty expensive – particularly in NYC. A recent blog in the New York Times gives some advice on how to pick and choose organic groceries so that there isn’t too huge of a dent in your wallet after a grocery run. The blog highlights parts of pediatrician Dr. Alan Greene’s book, “Raising Baby Green.” Some produce, the article says, are more important to buy organic than others. Apples and apple juice, for example, have high levels of pesticides and should be purchased organic. Thick-skinned fruit such as avocados, bananas and oranges are less of a threat because the thick peels don’t allow chemical to seep into the fruit (plus we’re not eating the peels, as opposed to other fruit!). The blog mentions four other items including peanut butter, ketchup and milk.
“When you choose a glass of conventional milk, you are buying into a whole chemical system of agriculture,’’ the Times quotes Dr. Greene. If nothing else, milk is one product that definitely should be purchased organic. Or, more important than organic, there should be a visible sign on the carton that reads, “Does Not Contain rBST.”
rBST is a synthetic version of a specific cow hormone. It is injected into a cow to artificially maintain her milk production. Most countries, including Canada and the European Union, have not approved rbST in milk products for use due to public health and animal welfare concerns. But there has also been testing which suggests that rBST is bad for humans, too.
Despite objections from the Consumers Union, the Cancer Prevention Coalition, and other organizations, the FDA approved the hormone for human use in the U.S. in 1993.
In the mid-90’s two Fox News producers, Steve Wilson and Jane Akre, were fired from the station for attempting to reveal data about the potential side effect of the growth hormone rBST. Health Consultant Jonathan Campbell has details about the case on his website. To sum it up, Mansato, the largest manufacturer of the hormone, submitted there own statistics to Fox and told them to run it. Fox agreed. Wilson and Akre refused and said they were going to report it to the FCC. Ultimately, Fox won the battle on an appeal because the FCC policies on news agencies reporting the truth did not legally require the station to report the truth, because FCC policies are not law.
Aren’t legal technicalities frightening? I think so.
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