Only Organic please!

"Is it organic?", is a question I hear quite often these days. I see them printed on a lot of products too. The first time I heard this word a couple of years back, I thought it had to do something with Non-vegetarian ingredients. Since it had the word "organ" in it.

Well, a decade back my diet solely consisted of KFC, McDonalds, chips, soda and ice-cream. And the occasional Indian junk in between. All this made me heavier than an Aircraft carrier. I had always wanted to switch to a healthier lifestyle. I did, when I moved to India. Where, there was no KFC or Mc Donalds. Soda was in filthy bottles and ice-cream tasted like crap. Chips was still good.

I studied in a College which was a million miles away from the city. The only thing I got to eat over there was grass and, the only meat I could eat was dog meat. After a couple of months, I weighed lighter than an Aircraft's seat belt. After I moved to the US, I started eating fresh produce. That made me a feel a lot better.

Now, they tell me the fresh produce I eat has pesticides and fertilizers. In other words, it was like consuming a bottle of bugs spray. At that point, I felt like the KFC/Mc Donalds diet seemed much better. So in order to be healthy, I need to eat organic foods.

I don't have a problem eating that. But, I have to look for organic versions of everything I eat. The only thing organic in my closest grocery store is milk. Amazingly, it lasts for more than a month. Whereas the regular milk, lasts only for a couple of minutes. Both you and I know, anything which is fresh will not last for long. So, I am rather suspicious about the organic milk. And I had trouble getting used to the organic milk. It smelled too fresh. It was as though, you were drinking from the cows udder itself.

The organic vegetables are not available in all places. I have to drive at least 15 miles. And, have to pay twice the price, of the regular pesticide filled one's. Somehow this seems like a money making scheme similar to the premium fuel in gas stations. 

The interesting fact is that according to the US & Australia, a food qualifies as organic, if it has less than 5% of foreign content in it. So again, that means it is not entirely clean. Even more interesting is that the green heads are against organic foods. As it means more forests are wiped out to start cultivating organic produce.

The higher costs of organic food is a result of scarce availability and a lot of rejects. I am thinking, nine in ten tomatoes would be home to Mr Insect. They have to be thrown away. And, they are not climate controlled and are grown in weathers which naturally permit them. It has to be transported from those locations.

Ultimately, eating organic food is better on the long run. That is, till something else comes along.