Chefs Tom Douglas and Thierry Rautureau bring you the latest on Seattle's dining scene
 Seattle Kitchen


Most popular
Help us build a Fisher House
Bonneville Seattle is raising funds for the construction of a second Fisher House at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Tacoma and we need your help.
organic-410x274.jpg
Tom Douglas argues a recent study on the benefits of organic neglects something more important: Mother Earth. (AP file photo)

Why organic study misses the mark

BY Josh Kerns  on September 6, 2012 @ 12:08 pm (Updated: 7:14 am - 10/10/12 )

A recent study finding minimal health benefits from eating organic continues to draw criticism, as many argue it misses the mark.

The study found that organic foods did not offer significantly more nutritional benefits or added food safety when compared with conventionally grown crops. But noted chef and Seattle Kitchen show co-host Tom Douglas argues we should be looking at the impact of conventional agriculture on the earth in addition to nutrition facts.

"You go by cornfields and the stalks are not even three inches apart and they're six feet tall. Can you imagine what that's taking out of the earth?" says Douglas, co-host of Seattle Kitchen.

Tom says that, with the earth facing so many challenges, the benefits of eating organic extend far beyond the table.

"Right now we have honeybees in distress, we've got rivers that are polluted, dead zones in the sea and the ocean, and Hood Canal with lots of lack of oxygen," he says.

Tom, as well as many others, argues that many of these problems are the result of conventional farming practices, such as farm runoff.

"If you can afford it, yeah I'd like to see it because to me it's just about taking on Mother Earth and treating her kindly," says Tom.

Co-host Thierry Rautureau agrees. "It's an A to Z story, not an A to B. It's what happens the whole rest of the story."

He argues the focus should be on sustainable agriculture.

"You take something out, you put something back in, that's the process of the earth. It's not a very complicated story that we have made very complicated," says Thierry.

Listen to the full conversation on the Seattle Kitchen Show:

Find more Seattle Kitchen here and listen to Theirry Rautureau and Tom Douglas Saturdays at 2 p.m.- 4 p.m. and Sundays at 10 a.m.- noon on 97.3 KIRO FM.

Josh Kerns, MyNorthwest.com Reporter
Josh Kerns is co-host of KIRO Radio's Seattle Sounds (Saturday nights 7-8) and a digital content producer for MyNorthwest.com.
More Seattle Kitchen

MyNorthwest.com - Purpose of Comments statement
Bonneville Media encourages site users to express their opinions by posting comments. Our goal is to maintain a civil dialogue in which readers feel comfortable. At times, the comments can descend to personal attacks. Please do not engage in such behavior. We encourage your thoughtful comments which: have a positive and constructive tone, are on topic, are respectful toward others and their opinions. Bonneville reserves the right to remove comments which do not conform to these criteria.

Comments (24)


  • Add A Comment

  • sghouse wrote...
    Bravo Country_Dog
    September 9, 2012 8:10 am
    it's amusing these snooty chefs can't understand that if all agriculture was "sustainable" there might not be enough food available to sustain their over priced restaurants....
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Country_Dog wrote...
    And bravo to sghouse
    September 9, 2012 8:24 am
    for giving me a "bravo." We both have the bravado to speak up and out!
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Country_Dog wrote...
    And bravo to cdbtx, as well
    September 9, 2012 8:25 am
    for actually listing what is really "organic." I should go list the hazard label on my fungicide that I was talking about, but I think the stuff dripped over the barrel and ate away at the label.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Moondoggie wrote...
    Only organic is good enough for me!
    September 9, 2012 9:54 am
    I'm having whole wheat pancakes for breakfast this morning. But since I'm out of real maple syrup, I'm going to sprinkle on a couple of my favorite oranic topping, strychnine and cyanide, YUM YUM!
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Rangerhawk wrote...
    The placebo of "certified organic"
    September 9, 2012 11:46 am
    Our trains frequently stop and idle next to "Organic" farms here in the Pac NW spewing their diesel fuel exhaust & soot onto them in the breeze for hours. Are they still "organic?"
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Oly80 wrote...
    you know what's sad...
    September 9, 2012 12:06 pm
    is that this thread became a back-slapping "ain't i so smart as i bash something that sounds liberal" thread.

    when, in all actuality, you guys just sound like more of the usual hate-filled right wingers that plague this site and cause people to leave for months at a time, hoping that you'll all go away eventually.

    but, you're all too content slapping each other on the back for how you "get it" and nobody "on the left" does.

    sad.

    i grow my own organic food. it tastes better. keep buying your modified crap. have fun.

    lame.

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • fartforce1 wrote...
    Like many NW rivers, The natural state of the Puyalip River is clear, but it runs green all year round
    September 9, 2012 12:11 pm
    the amount of inorganic nitrogen in the water from crops turn it green and bloom algae., These rivers pour into the sound where it becomes ammonium and paniculate nitrogen. You loose fish and oxygen in the process. Without inorganic nitrogen farming costs rise and output drops unless you understand how to reinvent the way we farm using green houses and farm water run off recapturing techniques. The science of that is still in its infancy because buying whole sale inorganic nitrogen is cheaper. Say goodbye tot he fish,hello dead oceans!
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • fartforce1 wrote...
    also adding
    September 9, 2012 12:14 pm
    ":Organic" is a myth. Different foods have different requirements for organic. Some crops only need to be pesticide free for a while before harvest to considered organic. I wont wast money on a myth like that because it has become a joke.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • cloey wrote...
    Just got back from the Farmers Market
    September 9, 2012 12:32 pm
    And my ORGANIC tomatoes were $20.00. In addition to being a hoax, organic, local, sustainable, blah, blah, blah is a license to steal.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Snout wrote...
    If someone wants to pay more for organic, then fine.
    September 9, 2012 2:45 pm
    Just don't lecture the rest of us. And there is no way to feed the world with only organic produce. It's too expensive and inefficient. So only those who can afford it get to live under the self-righteous halo of organic sustainability? That's not very progressive.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • cdbtx wrote...
    For those of the same defective thinking
    September 9, 2012 5:44 pm
    as Oly80 and fartforce1 and yes it's defective thinking and laws are written to protect people like you from yourselves - the rest of us tend to be very responsible and thinkers.

    For example - and it makes me laugh as I type this.. ok.. the million dollar question.. what's the difference between organic and inorganic nitrogen? Why does a lake turn green that's 10 miles from civilization... evil farmers dumping their nitrates into the lakes at night? - If you're even capable of basic reading comprehension read some of the Snohomish County Lake Quality reports to understand nitrates, algae, etc...

    Then there's oly, I'm willing to bet my household, my property, and my environment and lifestyle is at least twice a clean and green as yours. I have property, I live on a private lake, I have my own garden (of which I don't fertilize or apply pesticides of any type). Unlike you, I prefer to be personally responsible and don't need rhetoric or hype or laws to make me live like this.. so... I'll agree with one of your points.. "You just don't get it"..

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }