Time to dodge herbicide bullets

PANAMA. Ours is a consumer society so everything has to grow fast. This involves injecting all livestock with antibiotics hormones and any other artificial means to cut the time down until they are prematurely culled. All fruits vegetables and grains are sprayed regularly with fertilizers and pesticides to make them grow fast and also are resistant to pests.

Even then most fruits and vegetables are artificially flavored, colored to make them appear more appealing to the consumer.

Even after all this tampering they still add artificial preservatives which can be dangerous for any type of allergy sufferer.

This has led to the growth of an organic food industry

What exactly is organic food? It is made according to certain production standards, meaning products are grown without the use of conventional pesticides and artificial fertilizers, free from contamination by human or industrial waste, and processed without irradiation or food additives.

If livestock are involved, they must be reared without the routine use of antibiotics and without the use of growth hormones, and generally fed a healthy diet. In most countries, organic produce may not be genetically modified.

Historically, organic farms have been relatively small family-run operations, which is why organic food was once only available in small stores or farmers' markets. However, since the early 1990s organic food production has had growth rates of around 20 percent a year, far ahead of the rest of the food industry, in both developed and developing nations.

As of April 2008, organic food accounts for 1-2 percent of food sales worldwide.

In Europe and North America most people are obsessive about their health and especially healthy eating, as a result of this a multi billion dollar industry has developed.

Any so called naturally organic product normally costs at least ten percent more in Europe or North America. This I really don’t understand as it must be cheaper to produce than all thelabor intensified products.

In Panama there is no problem with finding organicsupplies as the farmers cannot afford all these industrial style measures. So much of the food is naturally organic. I also believe tastes better. Yes, when I buy my tomatoes at the supermarket which have come from Cerro Punta they last only a week until they are spoiled. In England I could keep tomatoes for a month in the bottom of my fridge. I am not sure but I also think they probably glowed in the dark!

I remember a long time ago on a bus trip to Gorgona the driver stopped periodically to deliver mail en route. Unfortunately in his haste he ran over a couple of chickens which were wandering around the neighborhood. The driver was concerned and found the owner and paid him a few dollars for his hens

Now that is what I call ‘Free Range’, they are able to go any where. They are not put in tiny little cages where their beaks are cut so they are unable to peck each other to death. This is what we call battery farming These restrictive measures also apply to cattle.

In Panama we have health conscious shops which sell an array of diverse products but, if you look at the labels most of the items come from overseas and sell for a premium price.

One would think being a supposed third world country our food would be inferior to the first world but this is not so.

My wife and I have had numerous bouts of food poisoning in North America and Europe from fast food establishments and ‘Help your Self Buffets’ but, never once have we had any problem in Panama.