It is interesting to compare this blinkered ideological rant
(masquerading as an exercise in "objectivity") to todays posting re the "success" of the "green revolution" in the Punjab.

Meanwhile I much prefer the vision of sustainable farming and food production, and human scale, Small is Beautiful culture promoted via these websites

1. http://www.seedsofchange.com/cutting_edge/ground_breaking.asp

2. http://www.orionmagazine.org

Plus why the animus against Rudolf Steiner and biodynamic gardening/farming?

Steiner was a polymath genius whose work is now just beginning to be appreciated. His work was/is unacceptable to mainstream reductionist scientism and their so called "objectivity". The blinkered "objectivity" that Fred Hansen promotes.

As a matter of interest the readers of this forum might like to Google the topic Rudolf Steiner on BEES. A work which provides an interesting perspective on bees, and which PREDICTED the current bee crisis.
Of course all the hard-edged "realists" will dismiss it as poppy-cock.

Altogether Hansens essay is just a display of his own benighted bad faith.

Fred only needed to debunk global warming and pollution as an invention of the luny/lefty/pinko/get a real job/get a hair cut, mob to clean up

Interesting that neither of the first two commentators actually dealt with any of the issues raised. Just smearing is not an adequate response to Dr Hansen's arguments.

These commenters are just staking out pseudo-religious no-go areas.

A good article, but obviously not one that will be acceptable to the trendies who jump on every faddish band wagon that passes by.

Like free-range eggs, a flat earth, and CO2's effect on climate, 'organic' food is just another one for the suckers.

The reason I never used to buy organic (surely, by definition, all food actually is "organic")was that I couldn't afford it. Our local so-called Health Food outlets would feature racks and racks of wizened looking avos, or spotty tomatoes, or mangoes with black spots at up to three times the price of local fruit & veg. outlets. It was never an option.

Here in China I buy at the local markets because the produce is grown in the fields around me so I can actually watch it grow and it is fresh daily - unlike supermarkets where one suspects stuff is stored until it no longer looks wholesome. I have also grown whatever I can, depending upon where I happen to live. Of course this means cooking seasonally (not using "forced" or imported products but sticking to what can actually be bought fresh daily) which I've always done.

We have quite a few farmers on this forum - I would really hope that some of them will post on this thread to put the case from a more informed point of view. Like most people I am interested in hearing the pro's and cons of this debate about which I know very little.

The author's links to the rightwing think tank, the Institute of Public Affairs, need to be noted from the outset. As does his unqualified support of nuclear power and GM food, and his scepticism of well accepted climate change concepts such as food miles and carbon footprints. Some of IPA's sponsors by the way include BHP-Billiton, Western Mining, Monsanto, Philip Morris, British American Tobacco, Caltex, Esso, Shell, Woodside Petroleum and Gunns.

I don't buy organic from Coles or Woolworths. I don't trust them, plus for me the food miles and the time in storage negate the value of paying their inflated prices. Fortunately, I live close to a fantastic natural food store which sources its organic produce locally and stocks a wide range of organic and natural food at reasonable prices.

I've seen the benefits in my own health and read and observed the same in so many others that I'm convinced that this is the best way to eat. I've also experienced firsthand the benefits of homeopathy and naturopathy and, while I'm not browbeating others, I know these treatments have worked for me and I intend to continue using them as a first resort over conventional medicine.

History is littered with the mistakes of science - thalidomide, asbestos and the atomic bomb, to name but a few. It's far too early for anyone to say that GM foods are safe - the long term ramifications on health will not be easily measured, the effects will be slow and insidious and take decades to surface properly. Science has made our lives easier in many ways, but for every scientific advance there is invariably a cost, global warming being the ultimate one. Certainly, when it comes to food, I prefer natural over processed and organic over conventional as much as possible.