Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: RE: food fads

[Racheli Gai (racheli]

Well, I think that your use of the word "proof" exposes your bias
which is one I don't share.  It's not that I don't think that some
hypotheses  have a better leg to stand on than others, but I think
that other than the relatively clear cut cases, the easy ones, there is 
a whole
universe out there, in which we need to make decisions based on limited
and complex information.  I think you are saying that there is a fairly
straight forward way to make these assessment (correct me if I 
misunderstand),
while I don't.
Add to this the fact that we all bring biases from other areas of our
lives, and that not everyone believes in the scientific method to the 
extent
that you seem to.  Assuming I have a strong conviction which you
don't think is scientifically shown to be "good enough", what then?
Who is to decide what's an acceptable/good enough basis for one's 
convictions?

Additionally, there is the huge question of: Who has the onus of proof?
People (like myself), who hold unto the precautionary principle, 
believe that
we shouldn't consider many things safe until they're shown to be so.
The pesticide industry (and various other industries) believe that all 
experiments
are ok, until shown to cause damage.
I stress that this isn't a scientific question, and isn't an issue 
science can answer.
So even if we were all great believers in science (and last I looked 
around I noticed
that many people, including cohousers, are not) - we would probably 
reach varying
conclusions.

In short, I  think that the whole think is way more complex than you 
deem it to be.
(I don't know whether we're getting off topic here)...

R.


> > On the matter of science, and what's been shown to be healthy or not
> > scientifically speaking - I very much disagree with your assessment 
> > that
> > organic food has not been shown to be healthier.  There is quite a 
> > lot of
> > material out there which establishes this
> > point, but of course it's up to every one of us to decide when they're
> > "convinced", if
> > ever...  Since science isn't about a proof, but about corroborating
> > evidence (and
> > refutation), it's never the fact that *anything* is established beyond
> > a shadow of a
> > doubt, and the decision one makes is *not a scientific one*.  It is
> > based on values
> > regarding what kind of risks one wishes to take and why.
>
> Feh! :-)
>
> Look, there are some scientific conclusions about nutrition that no 
> sane
> person would argue against.  Science has PROVEN (pardon my enthusiasm) 
> that
> vitamin C and other nutrients are essential, and we know what foods 
> provide
> them.  Science has PROVEN that trans-fats clog the arteries much 
> quicker
> than natural fats and oils.
>
> But "there is quite a lot of material out there that establishes" that
> organic is healthier--well, there was quite a bit of material out there
> that suggested that margarine (dripping with trans-fat) was better for
> heart patients than butter.  Wrong, but it was out there.  Shucks, 
> there
> was quite a bit of material out there that showed that smoking tobacco
> causes no adverse health effects and in fact might be good for you.
>
> Making decisions based on inconclusive evidence is not wrong, but we 
> should
> be clear about the nature of science.  Sometimes it gets a cold, hard
> answer, other times it's still in progress.
>
> Moreover, I have no doubt that organic food are healthier--no 
> pesticides,
> no chemical fertilizers (I can't stand going through the gardening 
> sections
> of most retail stores due to the stench from the lawn chemicals!).  How
> much healthier--that's up for further study.
>
> My point is that people should be clear about when a dietary regimen is
> followed based on sound scientific laws (vitamins, trans-fats, etc.) 
> and
> when we're basing it on a personal belief that's not strictly 
> supported by
> science (vegetarianism, kosher practices, etc.).  The first ought to be
> accommodated; the second is social and political and open to 
> negotiation.
>
> T
> R
>
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