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Glyphosate in Organic Hydroponic Food Production

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11–20 of 61 posts

Re: Glyphosate in Organic Hydroponic Food Production

#11

At least, when I am purchasing "Organic" products, I would expect to use the least or zero amount of pesticide/herbicide/etc. in the growth of the "organic" plants and animals. If the article is showing the truth, it feels like those companies are cheating the consumers who are paying for that premium product. It's also unfortunate that there are certifications companies that are either created or "cooped" by compani…

You're right that the organic designation is about completely avoiding the usage of certain substances. The article refers to this idea towards the end:

>As the soil becomes compacted and soaked with agrichemicals, the delicate microbiome of the soil is destroyed. The whole point of growing organically is to ensure this planet stays healthy and chemical-free.

Re: Glyphosate in Organic Hydroponic Food Production

#12
post #8
post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> If the plants being grown are not glyphosate resistant (e.g. “roundup ready”) and there’s a non-trivial level of it remaining in the soil, wouldn’t that kill the crops? No, because hydroponic crops are not planted into the soil.

I totally missed the hydroponic part but now I’m even more confused. If the plants are hydroponic than what are they spraying and why? The land around and under the greenhouse?

That’s how I’m reading it. They spray the ground to clear it and the plants are in a container atop the soil.

If the farmer plants in the soil that was treated, it can’t be considered organic for 3 years (unless the substance that was used is certified for organic crops)

Re: Glyphosate in Organic Hydroponic Food Production

#13
post #3

The buried lede here is that "organic", as applied to food is itself a meaningless concept. It's just an ersatz religious practice. What assurance is there that no glyphosate particles have found their way onto your artisanal apple grown in zebu manure?

The only way to know for sure is to plant your own garden. Although when you've had the Japanese beetles or cutworm or potato bugs ravage your harvest, considerations about being 100% organic lose some of their weight and it takes a lot of commitment not to break out the rotenone or Sevin.

Re: Glyphosate in Organic Hydroponic Food Production

#14

At least, when I am purchasing "Organic" products, I would expect to use the least or zero amount of pesticide/herbicide/etc. in the growth of the "organic" plants and animals. If the article is showing the truth, it feels like those companies are cheating the consumers who are paying for that premium product. It's also unfortunate that there are certifications companies that are either created or "cooped" by compani…

[deleted]

Re: Glyphosate in Organic Hydroponic Food Production

#16
post #3

The buried lede here is that "organic", as applied to food is itself a meaningless concept. It's just an ersatz religious practice. What assurance is there that no glyphosate particles have found their way onto your artisanal apple grown in zebu manure?

And who is to say that organic carrot you're eating is any better for you. From a pesticide standpoint, almost all of the pesticides we eat (by weight) are natural and possible carcinogens. [1] A person's synthetic pesticide exposure is dwarfed by the natural pesticide chemicals the plants produce themselves (except for farm workers). Dose makes the poison--at the small levels we intake, with normal handling, risk is very low for both categories.

(And don't get me on my soapbox about the villification of glyphosate--it's a shame).

[1] Dietary pesticides, 99.99% all natural: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/2217210/

Re: Glyphosate in Organic Hydroponic Food Production

#17
This article makes zero sense. It's about hydroponics - growing plants in water, without soil. But it's complaining about spraying the ground that a greenhouse is built on top of.

Am I missing something, or is glyphosate going into the ground, and the plants are never touching the ground?

Re: Glyphosate in Organic Hydroponic Food Production

#18
post #2

> NOP argues that because glyphosate does not “touch” the plants being certified, it is technically still “organic.” If that’s not the craziest assumption I’ve heard in regards to organic food production, I don’t know what is. For those of you who don’t know – anything that touches the soil eventually gets taken up by the plant. It becomes apart of the plants tissues and DNA. It is unavoidable. IIUC, they’re spraying…

The only chemicals that will ever "become apart of DNA" are the four chemicals that make it up--anything else is not dioxyribonucleicacid by definiton.

Re: Glyphosate in Organic Hydroponic Food Production

#20
post #3

The buried lede here is that "organic", as applied to food is itself a meaningless concept. It's just an ersatz religious practice. What assurance is there that no glyphosate particles have found their way onto your artisanal apple grown in zebu manure?

The only way to know for sure is to plant your own garden. Although when you've had the Japanese beetles or cutworm or potato bugs ravage your harvest, considerations about being 100% organic lose some of their weight and it takes a lot of commitment not to break out the rotenone or Sevin.

>The only way to know for sure is to plant your own garden.

You still don't know in that case. It is not a question of trust, or the strictness of your standards. The problem is, more fundamentally, conceptual.

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