Chemicals preferred?
Sometimes the meaning gets lost in the translation, but I have to wonder about this headline, “Consumers prefer chemically-grown vegetables“.
I believe they mean, “cheaper is preferred, so chemicals will be tolerated.” At least I hope so. The situation is not much different here, we pay a premium for organic products. Sometimes with good reason, and sometimes just because they feel they can get away with it. Most people are not willing to pay extra for organic, particularly in hard economic times.
My preference is for organic, especially in regards to fresh products such as fruits, vegetables and dairy. Since I don’t eat meat, that’s not an issue but if I did I would certainly prefer that it wasn’t pumped full of chemicals. That doesn’t mean I buy only organic, or will pay outrageous amounts to do so.
This issue is pretty straight forward, there is generally a lot less yield if chemicals aren’t used. There are ways around that, but mostly they involve a lot more work, diligence and/or education. The easy way is to spray and enjoy the bigger production. It can be a difficult decision for farmers that would like produce a healthier product, but need to make a living. The local farmers here that have chosen to grow organic, have done so with their conscious/beliefs instead of their pocket book. Commendable, for sure.
We have a new indoor market/coop opening soon in Spokane that will feature local merchants’ products, along with other organic items. Hopefully it will be a way for both the consumer and the farmer to benefit. I wonder if there are such places in Davao/Samal, and if so how they fare.
Additional information about organic farming in the Philippines: OCCP
Hi Randy, I really hate it when people start using the word “organic” as a marketing ploy to charge more. In NZ I used to go to open Saturday markets and I noticed during the last year there, everyone has the sign Organic in their stalls. So it became competitive again amongst them, but I doubt all of them are organic.
There should be more FDA regulations on who can brand their products as “organic”. The other day I just saw a documentary that they tested some “organic” products in the stores and found only 1 that was truly organic. I believe this was in America.
Personally, I don’t buy organic, not only is it more expensive, and also I don’t trust the loosely used term “organic”. Judging from my little garden patch here, most of my vegetables got infected. I pulled them out. I wonder how the farmers can grow them without chemicals? Some little farmers can, because they can’t afford to buy the chemicals
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When we were fish farming, we were under very very strict guidelines. Samples have to be lab-tested before they could be harvested.
I don’t think there are any coop system here in Samal. If there is, then maybe some basic product like copra or rice? If there is such a thing here, for sure it is government related – and possibly lots of “mismanagement”. I know in Vancouver, some coop system failed. Farmers end up getting upset at organizers and prices.
Hi Ellen – you make some good points. The “rules” for organic certification seem to be a little lax or at the least not enforced completely. I believe that California has the strictest requirements here in the US though.
For me it is a “blind faith” buy in most cases. That is one reason I think this new coop can be an improvement. We already have a very nice natural food store and organic products are available in most of the grocery stores, but you just don’t know what you are getting or where they are coming from. With the coop buying mostly local, there should be some degree of accountability, at least I hope. I’ve been a member of successful coops before, but it remains to be seen what happens here.
There are natural pest control methods, and it sounds like the Philippines is promoting those from the articles I’ve seen in the news outlets. I’m not up on those, but I would imagine it would be crop dependent to some extent.
Hi again. I did use natural pest control – boo hoo hoo – they still got eaten away. I did find some leafy veggies that are resistant. In fact, I am just sticking to these only. I also tried some beefsteak tomatoes and got only 3!! I am now going to pull out the very old looking plant and replant again. The 3 were so huge, very good, no worms, but it cracked in the heat!!
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Hi Ellen – keep trying and you can let me know what works, so I don’t have to go through the same trials
I’ve never been much of a gardener, but we don’t have much trouble here. The hardest part is actually doing the weeding.
I’m sure we’ll give it a try to a small extent though.