It isn’t meaningless, it’s just ridiculously inconsistent and sometimes not even what you expect it to mean, but there is actually a set of rules you have to follow for each type of vegetable. Unfortunately, it means that it’s a total crap shoot on whether it’s actually a set of rules that actually make a difference or not.
But for example, one plant it does actually make a difference for is tomatoes. Non organic tomatoes are picked unripe and gassed to artificially ripen them which is why they suck so much, as they weren’t given time to ripen naturally and develop sugars and flavors.
FYI: Shitty tomatoes in the grocery store is mostly from genetics.
Good flavorful tomatoes are full of aromatics and volatiles that are produced by the degradation of the cell wal triggered by an ethylene burst. Ethylene is a very important plant hormone that controls lots of complex processes including fruit ripening in some species.
The major downside of highly flavored tomatoes is a very short shelf-life and difficulty shipping. The market has been demanding better storing tomatoes to reduce waste.
The first attempt was utilizing the rin gene. This caused the complete shutdown of natural ethylene production in the fruit. External ethylene application was needed to ripen the fruit. Since the fruit could not produce it’s own ethylene the ripening process stopped once the fruit was removed from the gas chamber. AKA the original cardboard tomatoes. These varieties fell out of favor mainly because of the difficulty in evenly ripening them.
Since then breeders have been selecting for a reduction in expansin activity. Expansins are part of what cuts up the cell wall during ripening or growth. Reducing this activity makes the tomatoes firm and have reduced flavor, even when vine ripened. Genetically shit tasting on the vine, perfect for shipping 10,000 miles away.
That says that picking them green is still worse than ripening on the plant, but the ethylene is not the reason.
Relevant section:
Consider four types of tomatoes:
Fully “table ripened” while on the plant.
Picked “mature green” and ripened naturally.
Picked “mature green” and ripened with ethylene.
Picked “immature green” and ripened however.
It’s abundantly clear that type 1 tomatoes are the best (more nutritious and better-tasting) and type 4 tomatoes are the worst. However, as we’ll see below, there seems to be almost no difference between type 2 and type 3 tomatoes.
This is pretty apparent from anyone who has a garden. I’ve planted GMO and organic, and their taste is pretty much always dependent on when you take them off the vine.
Unfortunately last year we had a plague of grass hoppers who would devour my tomatoes as soon as they were ripe, so we ended up picking them early. Both the GMO and heirloom were about equally shitty. Though it seemed the GMO took a bit longer to ripen off the vine.
And this is what the FUCK happens when we let corporations dictate regulation.
The push and initial intent for the organic label was clear in the minds of all proponents of it, and then money twisted it into a marketing fad.
Capitalism destroys everything it touches for nebulous profit, if we as a species survive this century historians will write volumes on how ignorant that economic system was.
No this is what happens when we make up rules that are based ideology not scientific evidence and data.
It arose out the justified concern for food safety with the “kill everything but the crop” mindset of the post WWII farmers. The majority of chemicals they were using in the 60’s and 70’s where truly terrible. In the 80’s lawsuits led to widespread banning of some of the worst active ingredients. Public opinion of agricultural chemistry sunk to the bottom.
So sellers started advertising products as “Natural” or “Chemistry free” with he normal amount of fraud associated with unregulated capitalism AKA close to 100%. The organic movement was an effort to regulate this rampant consumer fraud.
The issue is with who made the rules. It really was the 1960’s hippies all grown up. Organic rules are based upon ideology not scientific evidence.
It isn’t meaningless, it’s just ridiculously inconsistent and sometimes not even what you expect it to mean, but there is actually a set of rules you have to follow for each type of vegetable. Unfortunately, it means that it’s a total crap shoot on whether it’s actually a set of rules that actually make a difference or not.
But for example, one plant it does actually make a difference for is tomatoes. Non organic tomatoes are picked unripe and gassed to artificially ripen them which is why they suck so much, as they weren’t given time to ripen naturally and develop sugars and flavors.
FYI: Shitty tomatoes in the grocery store is mostly from genetics.
Good flavorful tomatoes are full of aromatics and volatiles that are produced by the degradation of the cell wal triggered by an ethylene burst. Ethylene is a very important plant hormone that controls lots of complex processes including fruit ripening in some species.
The major downside of highly flavored tomatoes is a very short shelf-life and difficulty shipping. The market has been demanding better storing tomatoes to reduce waste.
The first attempt was utilizing the rin gene. This caused the complete shutdown of natural ethylene production in the fruit. External ethylene application was needed to ripen the fruit. Since the fruit could not produce it’s own ethylene the ripening process stopped once the fruit was removed from the gas chamber. AKA the original cardboard tomatoes. These varieties fell out of favor mainly because of the difficulty in evenly ripening them.
Since then breeders have been selecting for a reduction in expansin activity. Expansins are part of what cuts up the cell wall during ripening or growth. Reducing this activity makes the tomatoes firm and have reduced flavor, even when vine ripened. Genetically shit tasting on the vine, perfect for shipping 10,000 miles away.
I believe thats the definition of meaningless
Here’s a great article, with sources, highlighting why the tomato ethylene argument is almost pure BS:
https://dynomight.net/tomatoes/
That says that picking them green is still worse than ripening on the plant, but the ethylene is not the reason.
Relevant section:
Consider four types of tomatoes:
It’s abundantly clear that type 1 tomatoes are the best (more nutritious and better-tasting) and type 4 tomatoes are the worst. However, as we’ll see below, there seems to be almost no difference between type 2 and type 3 tomatoes.
This is pretty apparent from anyone who has a garden. I’ve planted GMO and organic, and their taste is pretty much always dependent on when you take them off the vine.
Unfortunately last year we had a plague of grass hoppers who would devour my tomatoes as soon as they were ripe, so we ended up picking them early. Both the GMO and heirloom were about equally shitty. Though it seemed the GMO took a bit longer to ripen off the vine.
There are zero GMO tomato varieties on the market. The only ones that exist are in the laboratory.
Do you mean Hybrid tomatoes? That is very different.
And this is what the FUCK happens when we let corporations dictate regulation.
The push and initial intent for the organic label was clear in the minds of all proponents of it, and then money twisted it into a marketing fad.
Capitalism destroys everything it touches for nebulous profit, if we as a species survive this century historians will write volumes on how ignorant that economic system was.
No this is what happens when we make up rules that are based ideology not scientific evidence and data.
It arose out the justified concern for food safety with the “kill everything but the crop” mindset of the post WWII farmers. The majority of chemicals they were using in the 60’s and 70’s where truly terrible. In the 80’s lawsuits led to widespread banning of some of the worst active ingredients. Public opinion of agricultural chemistry sunk to the bottom.
So sellers started advertising products as “Natural” or “Chemistry free” with he normal amount of fraud associated with unregulated capitalism AKA close to 100%. The organic movement was an effort to regulate this rampant consumer fraud.
The issue is with who made the rules. It really was the 1960’s hippies all grown up. Organic rules are based upon ideology not scientific evidence.