Zubin Dsouza
Our son was born at the start of 2004 and we looked down at this small helpless baby and knew instantly that we had to step up our game several notches.
As most people know, new parents freak out easy.
We were worse!
We took freaking to a whole new level.
Apart from taking loans and mortgaging kidneys to ensure that every possible baby gizmo was bought, we took classes, baby proofed and duct-taped our apartment and even got a portable Geiger counter.
I need to rephrase – we were the worst! No possibilities – we were hands down the most freaked out parents ever!
We bathed and sanitised ourselves several times a day and even contemplated installing a sanitising cubicle for all who wanted to visit out newborn!
Then came the issue of food! Nothing but the best was going to be good enough.
We wanted fresh produce, organic and for good measure on our wish list we added that it needed to be handpicked and preferably by someone who was sanitised and wearing a Hazmat suit!
We couldn’t get food with all the clauses but there was a massive spread of organic goodness.
Even whilst picking up the packets, I felt the instant emergence of a bright halo around us. I knew that we were doing a good thing and that one day our baby would thank us for the wonderful effort that we had put in.
Or had we? Were we really doing the right thing? Is organic food all that it is made out to be?
We had pored over countless studies, research papers and scientific magazines to arrive at our conclusion.
We were enticed by the facts that organic food was free from pesticides and other similar harmful chemicals. The fact that studies proved that organic foods tasted better in comparison was an added advantage. I mean we were ready to eat broccoli, kale and Brussels sprouts despite the taste just to get to the perceived health benefits!
At best we thought that switching to an organic diet would be better for the environment.
Jerome Rodale was a very famous promoter of organic food. He espoused his confidence on the Dick Cavett Show where he claimed that his diet would ensure that he lived to be a 100. He died right there after his proclamation. He was only 72-years-old.
Now there is no way I can link his death directly to the consumption of organic food.
There are some niggling doubts that I always have.
People buy organic food thinking that they are buying food that is free from pesticides. The truth is that all organic farmers use pesticides on organic crops. The components may be different and the composition has to be approved by the certification agency…but it is poisonous and you would still need to ensure that your vegetables are washed well.
The perceived health benefits of organic food seem to justify the higher expenses. However we seem to have got that wrong as well.
Modern science has not managed to conclusively prove that organic food is far healthier than conventionally grown crops. We have however been able to prove that organic farming methods result in a drop of 34 per cent productivity per acre.
Now because organic food can be grown anywhere, countries like China and those from South America have jumped onto the bandwagon. Although their production techniques are not suspicious, the fact that the vegetables have to travel all that distance before it lands on your plate is very distressing. Since travel is never organic or environment positive, the carbon footprint just keeps rising.
Organic food also has a 5 per cent higher chance of being contaminated by E Coli than conventionally grown crops. Organic animals also tend to have higher bacteria concentrations than normal farmed animals.
Even when buying vegetables, if you pick up asparagus, cabbage, eggplant, corn, mushrooms, peas and onions amongst several others, they don’t need to be organic since the skin protects it from the effects of pesticides.
So why were we buying all this stuff for a kid who would attain wisdom in a polluted world because of our actions?
Beats me! We weren’t those sort of parents and switched over to the local market immediately!