Organic food - hype or hope? | DW Documentary
1,731,278
Published 2018-05-30
Is organic food automatically healthier? Consumers are prepared to pay a significant premium for it. There are currently, however, no reliable tests for distinguishing organic from conventionally produced food. Farmers need to invest a great deal of time, energy and money to qualify as a producer of organic food. There is no proof, however, that organic food actually contains fewer contaminants than conventionally farmed products. There is no such thing as pollution-free food, and there are currently no tests available for reliably distinguishing between organic and non-organic food. That opens doors for lucrative labeling fraud, which in turn explains why there are far more organic eggs on the market at Easter than at any other time of the year. The statistics clearly suggest manipulation, but it is hard to obtain evidence due to the differences between the two production processes appearing to have little effect on the quality of the product. Irish dairy farmers, for instance, are not allowed to label their milk "organic" because the pasture land where their herds spend more than 300 days a year are treated with mineral fertilizers. Because cows are themselves bioreactors, however, the milk they yield contains no trace at all of fertilizer. On average, conventional Irish milk contains more omega 3 fatty acids and antioxidants than organic milk from Germany. The reason is the fodder; German organic farms may use only concentrates and silage as supplementary feed to increase milk output - which impacts negatively on the quality of the milk. This documentary looks at researchers who are studying potential ways of reliably distinguishing between organic and conventionally produced food. And that is no easy task. Nearly every foodstuff requires a specific test. But one thing is certain: organic farming makes a major contribution to human welfare - by helping to mitigate climate change, protect the groundwater, conserve nature and promote animal welfare.
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All Comments (21)
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Mr. Hoffmann died this year, he was the father of a friend of mine and lived right around the corner. RIP!
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Around one half century ago, Robert Rodale conducted an experiment to compare organic tomatoes with chemically grown tomatoes. He gave fifty rural families two cases, (several kilograms), of tomatoes. One case was grown on compost, properly prepared, and the second case consisted of chemically grown fruit. With these cases of tomatoes, he also included a questionnaire regarding the qualities of the tomatoes, The questions were about appearance, colour, aroma, texture, keeping qualities, drying qualities and some other queries. Mr. Rodale was surprised to find that every question was answered with affirmation that the organic tomatoes were superior in all respects, and the chemically grown fruit did not receive a single favorable answer. As he was unsure what the reasons were for this overwhelming positive response for the organic tomatoes, he commissioned the University of Pennsylvania to analyze the chemical composition of both types. The investigation revealed that the organic tomatoes contained 1938 times more iron, 200 times more vitamin C, 14 times more vitamin A, and the dried organic tomatoes weighed twice as much as the chemically grown tomatoes, and also had many trace elements which were entirely absent from the chemically grown fruit. One humus-grown tomato was sufficient to cure scurvy or anemia, whereas an entire case of chemically grown tomatoes could not do so.
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Organic is not only for consumers, it's for farmers too.. 1) Farmers health is important. 2) stopped slaving to few rich people , controlling seeds , and pesticides. 3) natural resources land and water
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“Someday we shall look back on this dark era of agriculture and shake our heads. How could we have ever believed that it was a good idea to grow our food with poisons?” ― Jane Goodall
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I'm also a science teacher and found out that in India and South East Asia,, chemical fertilizers are playing havoc with the health of the whole population but greedy political parties and fertilizer companies are hand in gloves. On the whole it was very informative piece of documentary. Thanks so much for uploading such a great video.
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I love watching DW documentaries, Pls do more.
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DW has some very well done documentaries. Keep up the excellent job.
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I so admire farmers with integrity who actually care about the health benefits of their bio meat , eggs and produce.
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In the US they now give most chickens additives in the feed like marigold etc to make the yolks yellow and look like they are from grassfed hens when they arent. Also I feel like all the insects are disappearing. We used to have a lot many years ago but now hardly any except for fire ants.
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Chemical infuse produced maybe cheaper in the long run , but the adverse health affects, the treatment cost and environmental cost will outweigh the cost of organic foods.
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Excellent Doc -- I have used it in my ESL (English as a 2nd Language) class as a Listening and Writing assessment in Canada. Please upload more DW, amazing resources for Teachers.
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Although I eat organic, I'm all about choice. I want my food to be clearly labeled so that people can choose. If you want to buy a Tesla or a BMW or a Ford, you can do so since the cars are clearly labeled, but the food industry in the US and Canada doesn't want the consumer to know since labeling will be detrimental to their profits.
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I’m in the US...I buy organic as much as I can and often buy organic store brands which are cheaper...I know organic foods are not pure but they are definitely better and I know I’m reducing the chemical load on my body...I also use chemical free plant based products such as African Black soap which cleared up my eczema, she’s butter, coconut oil etc for my skin and hair...I don’t consume as much dairy but only buy organic dairy which tastes richer and creamier...overall organic is the way to go and I don’t regret spending what I spend because I know what I’m getting...it was interesting to see how organic is heavily regulated in Europe as it is here but the use of pesticides are not heavily regulated...hopefully there is a dramatic shift towards organic farming where all farming is organic
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It's worth the time watching DW documentaries. Good jobs 👌
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One more in depth documentary by DW. Fantastic Job, god bles DW team. Keep up the good work.
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I along with my family enjoy watching DW channel. please, keep going.
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Instead of stamping "organic" produce, the stamp and associated costs should be delegated to those who insist on polluting our air, land, and seas with pesticides, herbicides, and antibiotics (biocides). Organic farming should be the norm, not the exception. Any "food" intentionally grown with poison should be clearly labeled with appropriate warnings.
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Organic food - hype or hope? is an extraordinary documentary! I truly did appreciate it so much. Thanks a lot for sharing! Keep it up!
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As much as we want convenience, we are suffering not just the quality of our food but also the goodness of our environment.. I learned so much from this.. Our everyday choices really does matter..
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Thank you for the great documentary
