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Chemicals

dogbite666

Thinker
dogbite666
Joined
Jul 17, 2004
Messages
199
I have noticed a rising trend, particularly amoung the new age / organic movement, which really gets my back up! It involves utter lack of common sense resulting in an irrational fear of chemicals.

I recently attended a country show where one stall holder invited me to try some wine they were selling, as a wine lover I jumped at the chance. The nice gentleman informed me that the wine was organic meaning that it is grown in accordance with the Soil Association guide lines and certified organic. All very good I thought, nothing wrong with missing out a few pesticides and fertilizers which MAY be harmful but then I realized that this guy had some complete irrational fear of chemicals.

"It has no chemicals in it"

To which I replied

"so no alchohol then?"

I tried to get this guy to tell me what he mean't by 'chemicals' and get him to realize that everything you touch is a chemical of sorts. He told me that the grapes were grown without any nasty chemical fertilizers or pesticides. "Which chemicals exactly?" I said. He was unable to answer that probably because he was a sales man and like most sales men was blinded to the product he was selling by the dollar signs in his eyes.
here's another example of this 'fear of chemicals' - http://ethicstrading.com/soapnuts.htm

What these, and many other people who have this irrational fear, don't realize is that most of the nasty chemicals used in fertilizers etc.. are the same, often more concentrated, chemical compounds found in natural sources such as cow ****.

What really makes me mad is that some people believe that just because something contains a compound which is from a natural source, i.e. not man made, it is safe. If something has been synthesised by humans then it must be harmful. It comes down to a lack of basic scientific understanding, something which seems to be on the increase probably due to the decline of classical scientific subjects being taught in schools.

It makes me mad..MAD as a sack of badgers!
 
Chemicals are evil and must be destroyed. Unless they're natural of course, like arsenic.
 
I saw a program recently on flavorings used in foods. A flavor scientist was explaining the differences between "natural" and "artificial" flavors. He explained that sometimes, they must extract certain compounds from a natural material to acquire the flavoring chemicals. In such cases the "natural" flavoring is a reduced to a powder or liquid chemical which is indentical to and indistinguishable from the "artificial" flavoring that was synthesized in a lab. But when added to food, only one can be labeled as "natural flavoring" and the other, by law, must labeled "artificial flavoring."
 
I know what you mean, but it is like the way the conspiracy crowd misuse the word "Theory".
To the great unwashed "Chemicals" means pesticides and poisons. It is a question of language, not science IMHO.
 
Psi Baba said:
I saw a program recently on flavorings used in foods. A flavor scientist was explaining the differences between "natural" and "artificial" flavors. He explained that sometimes, they must extract certain compounds from a natural material to acquire the flavoring chemicals. In such cases the "natural" flavoring is a reduced to a powder or liquid chemical which is indentical to and indistinguishable from the "artificial" flavoring that was synthesized in a lab. But when added to food, only one can be labeled as "natural flavoring" and the other, by law, must labeled "artificial flavoring."
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I still think I can taste a difference between artificial fruit flavoured lollies and natural ones.
 
Brainache said:
I still think I can taste a difference between artificial fruit flavoured lollies and natural ones.
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Sainsbury's no longer sell marshmallows with artificial flavours or colours. The new ones taste absolutely horrible. I assume they are actually different additives rather than just the same ones naturally derived, but the fact is that natural ones are definately not better.
 
Brainache said:
I still think I can taste a difference between artificial fruit flavoured lollies and natural ones.
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That depend on how they are making their flavoring. Artificial flavors are one of the flavoring compounds in a pure form. Natural flavors often have other flavors in there as well that make it more complex. The natural vs artificial flavor issue is really dependant on what flavor it is.
 
I remember seeing Randi on a TV show a long time ago. Can't remember the particulars, but there was a bit on "new age" stuff and organics. Randi made a good point about "all natural" ingedients - bird droppings are "all natural", but do you want to eat them?
 
If the organics movement actual said which dangerous compounds are present in non-organic food but not in organic food I wouldn't have a problem with it. However, rather than that they just say pesticides, or man made pesticides, without actually identifying the active ingredient in those pesticides and presenting some evidence that they may be bad for us, let alone going to the length of finding out if the pesticides from a natual source used on orgnanic crops have the same active ingredient.

IMO the organic fad is just a knee jerk reaction to this fear and the super markets have jumped on the band wagon as they see that they can make cash from it. It's another example of lack of common sense and proof that if we were all a little skeptical of other peoples claims we would be a lot further down the evolutionary chain.
 
Damn Chemical Nazis ..

I'm still pissed about the Woos making me stop burning lead in my gasoline. And paint, you can't get lead paint anymore. Why do nutjobs get to tell me I can't use lead? Next thing you know, they will try to take the mercury out of my teeth. Mercury. Everybody knows mercury can't hurt you.
 
We just saw a Kellog's commercial this morning for their new line of "organic" breakfast foods....


Next we'll see an organic Twinkie.
 
Mercury yes : safe

Robinson as far as I saw recent study, mercury in amalgam is safe. No so with lead in paint (try google for kids eating it as candy since apparently it has a sweet taste).
 
Bikewer said:
We just saw a Kellog's commercial this morning for their new line of "organic" breakfast foods....


Next we'll see an organic Twinkie.
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You don't get them already? We've already got organic heinz ketchup...
 
The best organic product I've seen is tobacco!!!!

I guess nicotine is not so carcenogenic if from a 'natural' source!!!!
 
I can't remember who posted this, or where, but it was a long time ago. Anyway, apparently "organic" food is sprayed with pesticides just like ordinary crops, except there's a list of which pesticides you can use to be allowed to label your food "organic". And it seems a number of pesticides and "chemicals" on that list are a lot more harmful than the ones used in "normal" food.

And you think "chemical" is bad, wait until you start about "genetically engineered" plants. Sheesh ...
 
I'm still trying to find a single example of inorganic food (not counting salt as food here).
 
Reminds me of a story.
Young girl heard that morning glory seeds would get her high. ODed on them. When she recovered was asked why she took so much. Answer; Chemicals are bad for you but natural isn't.
 
I used to have a really annoying coworker. One of her myriad beliefs/paranoias was a strong fear of "chemicals" and a blind faith in any label that had the word "organic" or "natural". She was convinced that so much as a whiff of Lysol Disinfectant Spray is dangerous. Here's a direct quote from The Enlightened One: "The chemicals in that Lysol someone sprayed is making my face go numb."
 
PopeTom said:
No need to fear Organic Sea Salt.
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This certification is awarded to saltworks that are located in a nature reserve, without risk of pollution, producing strictly by hand, without purifying the salt, and fulfilling the high standards in chemical analytics.
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You know? I think I actually prefer my sea salt to be purified. I have no urge to go throwing fish-cr:cool:p on my fries.
 
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