Menno Rubingh, <rubingh@delftnet.nl>, writes:
> I think those people buying more-expensive and lesser-quality ''natural''
> foods are not primarily misled by the businesses selling them these things, I
> think these consumers are primarily misleading THEMSELVES. They really want
> these things, they really believe that these things are ''better''. It is an
> irrational belief exactly like religion.
Are you so sure that no organic foods are any more healthy than
conventionally grown ones? Sure enough that you will say that the
contrary belief is irrational? I would think you would have to be an
expert on food to be so sure.
I know that there is a lot of politics going into government regulations
of the food supply. I don't have that much faith in the USDA and other
government agencies that their sole concern is with the quality of foods.
Look at all the money the government has spent encouraging milk
drinking in adults, or encouraging eating beef, or growing tobacco.
This is all due to political pressure from the industries that benefit.
Such capturing of regulatory agencies by special interests is a long-
observed phenomenon in the economics of government.
I'm not very knowledgeable about the food industry so I can't say whether
organic food is better than you or not. But I certainly wouldn't go
so far as to say that believers in organics are irrational. It is very
plausible to me that government safety regulations are not designed solely
for the benefit of consumers, simply because of how government works.
It may well be rational to be more cautious about the food you eat.
Hal
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Thu Jul 27 2000 - 14:02:08 MDT