> > So you would have me boycott all foods? I would
> > starve, silly person.
>
> There's your "self-defense".

Yeah. How dare I want to eat to stay alive.

> Saying that, consider this little gem from psycho-ball;
>
> "Nutrition is not an absolute need."
> -Jonathan Ball ('Jay Santos') 22 Nov 2003

LOL Maybe he thinks it is a sometimes need
or a little bit of a need, or not a need at all.
Maybe he's a breatharian believing he can
live by breathing alone.

> Seriously though, another excellent reason to choose organic
> (sustainably farmed) produce (as you probably know)..

I feel lucky that I'm in a city where there's a good sized
organic availability. The foods contain more nutrients
too.

> 'Surveys by the ministry of agriculture and the British Trust
> for Ornithology have shown the beneficial effects of organic
> farming on wildlife. It's not difficult to see why: the pesticides
> used in intensive agriculture kill many soil organisms, insects
> and other larger species. They also kill plants considered to
> be weeds. That means fewer food sources available for other
> animals, birds and beneficial insects and it also destroys many
> of their habitats.'
> http://www.soilassociation.org/web/s.../benefits.html
>
> '..This comprehensive European-wide literature review provides
> evidence on the whole range of environmental benefits of organic
> farming. It concludes that, in comparison with non-organic farming,
> organic farming tends to support greater biodiversity, conserves
> soil fertility and stability better, does not pose any risk of water
> pollution from pesticides, results in 40-60% lower carbon dioxide
> emissions per hectare, nitrous oxide and ammonia emission
> potential appears to be lower, energy consumption is usually lower,
> and energy efficiency is usually higher.
> ..'
>
http://www.soilassociation.org/sa/sa...Sheets05092001
>
> 'The independent research quoted in this report found substantially
> greater levels of both abundance and diversity of species on the
> organic farms, as outlined below:
>
> Plants: Five times as many wild plants in arable fields, 57% more
> species, and several rare and declining wild arable species found
> only on organic farms.
>
> Birds: 25% more birds at the field edge, 44% more in-field in
> autumn/winter; 2.2 times as many breeding skylarks and higher
> skylark breeding rates.
>
> Invertebrates: 1.6 times as many of the arthropods that comprise
> bird food; three times as many non-pest butterflies in the crop areas;
> one to five times as many spider numbers and one to two times as
> many spider species.
>
> Crop pests: Significant decrease in aphid numbers; no change in
> numbers of pest butterflies.
>
> Distribution of the biodiversity benefits: Though the field boundaries
> had the highest levels of wildlife, the highest increases were found
> in the cropped areas of the fields.
>
> Quality of the habitats: Both the field boundary and crop habitats
> were more favourable on the organic farms. The field boundaries
> had more trees, larger hedges and no spray drift.
> ..'
> http://www.pan-uk.org/pestnews/pn48/pn48p15b.htm

So organic is already a lot more veganic than I realized.
That's good news.

> Wishing you, S.N, and all the other good folks here,
> a very happy, healthy and prosperous 2005.
>
'pearl'


Thanks, and a very good one to you too.