"Earlier this week, the magazine "Mother Jones" posted a helpful little story on the question of whether the health-conscious consumer should wash organic produce. Was it necessary, the author pondered, after all “how bad could a little chemical-free dirt really be?”"
Chemical free dirt? If you are reading Science 2.0 at all, you know why that term sent Wired scribe Deborah Blum into a science fit.
She writes, "By fostering a fictional world view of chemistry, it makes us less safe, not more; less aware of the world around us, not more. Because the only place where you might find chemical-free dirt is in the gardens of your fairy-tale imagination. And that’s not going to be all that useful back here on Earth."
So by all means pay extra for that chemical free dirt. And organic soap. And Krill oil for your pet. But you shouldn't want to ban or label products that are safe because you don't understand science or even nature.
Read the takedown of the chemical-free myth: Chemical Free Dirt (for the Fairytale Garden)
By Deborah Blum, Wired
