Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Breaking Down the Forbes Article
We all know that everything written on the internet may not be completely true. When reading an article, it is important to understand the intention of the article and the background of the author or writer. You should always give yourself the freedom to make informed decisions. Building your own facts and knowledge on a topic is much better than assuming a person or media source is completely right all the time.
Setting The Facts Straight
In this Forbes Article entitled "Why I Don't Buy Organic, and Why You Might Not Want to Either," the writer has the position that there is not much difference between organic and conventionally-grown food. His first point includes the argument that there is no difference between the conventionally grown food vs. organic food. This is probably the biggest myth of the entire article. Commercially-grown food that you buy in the grocery store has often been over-fertilized and injected with pesticides that are completely different than what the organic farmers use on their food.In his second point, he makes the preposterous statement that conventional pesticides are non-toxic to humans. In reality the suffix "cide" in the word pesticide means to kill something. Any kind of pesticide can be harmful whether they are used for conventional or organic, but you have to understand and know the proper ways to use those pesticides.
The third point the author makes is that just because organic food costs more does not mean it is safer. Organic food costs more because it is more costly to produce. Organic farming usually occurs on a smaller scale and can be more labor intensive than commercial farming.The fourth point of the article is that conventional farming requires less land and is more eco-friendly. Organic farming was built on the premise of building the soil. Since then, the government has gotten involved with organic certification and the emphasis on building the soil has not been as strong. Conventional farmers are not interested in building soils, they're interested in maximizing profits on a given piece of land.
The last point made by the Forbes Article is more truthful than any of the other points made. He states that the marketing of organic products is unethical and fear-based. This is somewhat true because so many companies exploit certain terms to comply with the demand for all-natural or organic products. In summary, it is important to understand how things are produced and know both sides of the conventional and organic farming argument. Then you will be able to make informed decisions based on what you believe, not what others tell you.
2016 Forbes Article: "Why I Don't Buy Organic, and Why You Might Not Want to Either"
Show and Tell Segment
On the show and tell segment, Greg has some red onions that are coming along pretty good, but are not quite ready to harvest. Travis recently planted two varieties of his winter squash in his new dream garden. He planted half in the
Hai Kabocha and the other half in
Small Wonder Spaghetti.
Viewer Questions Segment
On the question and answer segment, the guys answer questions about side dressing corn and when to stop hilling potatoes. Greg usually side-dresses corn plants using some
Chilean Nitrate and puts it about 3 inches from the plant. Travis says the time to stop hilling potatoes will depend on the variety. For early to mid-season crops such as our
Yukon Gold or
Red Norland, you would hill them around a 1' - 1.5' tall. With a later-maturing variety like the German Butterball, you can continually hill the plants as they grow for more potato production.
Products Mentioned in the Show
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvriwP7SqcU
