food, and why people are idiots

I don't know why, but no subject seems to instill more false confidence and neosuperstition than diet, nutrition, and herbal medicine.

First all, the terminology has completely gone to hell. What is "organic"? From what I recall, it means that the compound concerned contains carbon, in combination with oxygen, nitrogen or hydrogen. Which pretty much makes every food I can think of, except salt and water, "organic".

Ok, so let's accept that the new definition of organic stands (although there is no consensus on it, as far as I can see). What makes it healthier than the "inorganic" food that all of the plebians eat? No "chemical" fertilizer. Again, I have no idea what "chemical" is supposed to mean outside of the context of "chemistry", but let's assume the following: "chemical" fertilizers are composed of defined mixtures of a single or limited number of chemical compounds, whereas "natural" fertilizers are composed of a greater variety of compounds. So, I'm supposed to accept that eating plants that ate Potassium Nitrate is much worse for me than eating plants that ate Potassium Nitrate, miscellaneous other inorganic nitrates and nitrites, along with the inactive ingredients of cow dung?

Now, antibiotic-free, that is something I can 100% get behind. Not because it's good for me in anyway, but because it prevents the spread of antibiotic resistance among bacteria that may eventually kill me (or my great-great grandchildren). But this has nothing to do with diet, this is ecology pure and simple. Same reason I use fluorescent light bulbs and recycle.

Vegan cooking. If you want to be a vegan because you believe animals should not be used in any way by humans, I support you. I don't agree, but I think you're right on. But to claim that veganism is somehow healthy, is ridiculous. Humans have evolved to be omnivores -- look at our teeth, look at our digestive tracts, look at our enzymatic complement. Human vegans are in danger of B12 deficiency and consequent peripheral neuropathy (although eating dirt can help). Cows aren't. So, recognize that veganism is *unnatural*, and get over it.
Don't get me wrong - most of the western world is *way* too far to the other extreme. But the solution to one extreme is not its opposite. A vegan who eats a big mac every two weeks will probably outlive us all.

Herbal medicine - I can't stand to hear people who are completely distrustful and skeptical of the pharmaceutical industry (as they rightly should be) talking about echinacea like it's god's gift. Just because the hippy-nutraceutical industry isn't quite as big, and doesn't have intellectual property lawyers up the wazoo, doesn't make them any less crooked. If someone tries to sell you anything to cure something, *be skeptical*, whether they're wearing a suit or hemp. At least the pharmaceutical industry has the FDA to hold them to some basic standards of safety and efficacy.

But no, we like to follow the latest trends, because it's 'natural' and 'chemical-free'. Maybe I can popularize hemlock as a cure for headaches? Or chewing poison ivy as a cure for palpitations? Hell, I don't have to prove jack, because it's a plant. You can't sue me the way you could sue pharma, and I can say whatever the fuck i want on the label as long as I put the 'FDA has not evaluated these statements' warning on it.

Traditional use is, of course, a special case. The Chinese have used ephedra (active ingredient ephedrine, a chemical *gasp*!) for thousands of years, and it works. TCM and empirical science agree on that. Oh, but it causes heart attacks -- when dumbass westerners buy bottles of it at the GNC down the street without even thinking of talking to someone who specializes in medicine. Coca - never caused too much of a problem until somebody realize how to purify it. Then somebody had the bright idea of cooking it with baking soda, even better. Point is, if you're going to adopt another culture's drugs, prepare to get screwed, because you're almost certainly not using it in the same way.