Natural Deception: A Sobering Look At the Truth Behind the Organic Industry

by Joey Lott

Is Organic Worth the Price?
$8 for organic milk. Sure, you could spend half as much, but it’s worth it to know that you’re supporting a small family farm where the cows can munch on green grass all day. Plus, you’re not drinking nasty hormones and chemicals, and you’re doing your part to save the environment. Seems like you’re winning all around…but what would you do if that picture of the happy farm, the personal health, and the clean air and water turned out not to be so pretty? What if “organic” isn't all it's hyped up to be?

The Questions That Will Change Everything
What if organic produce only had marginally less pesticide residues than conventional produce? What if the organic, grass-fed beef cows ended up on the very same feedlots as factory-farmed, grain-fed beef cows? What if large swaths of the country were being taken over by huge corporate-owned farming operations—organic farming operations—that were destroying the landscape and depleting the soil? Organic is much more complicated than we’ve been led to believe. From the scale to the possible health implications of pesticides to the treatment of animals, it’s not a black and white issue.

The Sobering Truth Behind the Organic Buzz
Natural Deception takes a sobering look at one of the fastest growing industries in the world today. We find that “organic” may be one more buzz phrase used to sell products rather than a movement really concerned for the wellbeing of our planet and its inhabitants. In the spirit of an undercover news reporter, author Joey Lott takes us through the organic food industry point by point, examining our assumptions and revealing the truth. Find out what major corporation owns your favorite “small” organic brand. Examine whether pesticides may be a health detriment or even partially beneficial. Discover the real environmental impact of conventional farms versus organic farms. The truth is downright shocking.

Available on Kindle and Paperback.

Genres: Nonfiction

81 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 18, 2014

Reviews

[Jessaka · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was not an eye opener, and neither did it change my mind on preferring organic foods to other products. I found, instead, that I am more interested in why when my husband came in and made a statement Alexa recorded it on my kindle. Or why when I asked Alexa when bill Maher was returning to television she, instead, told me what movies were playing in my town. Is Alexa going rogue?

[Joomi Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a buyer beware world. The safest food is the food you grow yourself that's been properly blessed by God.

Isaiah 54:17.

I have not read this book yet, if at all.

[Matthew Walleser · Rating 2 out of 5]

While I don't quite agree with the author's finding that there is little difference between organic vs. conventional ag, this is an alright primer on issues affecting organic farmers and the prevalence of big business hopping on the organic bandwagon, and pushing family farmers out. I think there may be some conflation in the book regarding the co-op model that Organic Valley (although they have had their issues) runs vs. more conventional big business factory farms that slap on the organic label, so I would have enjoyed more info on that. Also, too many logical fallacies relying on anecdotal evidence the author utilizes to support some conclusions in the book, one example being that he knows conventional farmers who treat their animals humanely and knows of organic farmers who don't.

So a good starting point if you are looking for a quick intro, could have benefited from more research.

[Rebecca · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was on par with an essay written by an intelligent high school student. In that sense, I enjoyed it. I think the author needed to do a lot more research before writing on such a technical, scientific subject. Again, I still enjoyed it because it prompted me to question my beliefs about organics, although in the end I'm sticking with my original beliefs.

[Victoria Rogowski]

5 stars for the concept alone. This issue isn’t talked about and explored nearly enough, and it was refreshing to read about the topic from this perspective. Though I happen to agree with him, I do believe that his argument would have been strengthened with more research and evidence. 2 stars for the formatting, since it did read like an essay rather than a credible non-fiction text.