Cant stop thinking this after shopping at Whole Foods....

[kennyjo]

I believe many of you have been to Whole Foods.

You can see a lot of "organic food" which they claim to be "better than the non-organic food".

If that is true that organic food is more tasty and healthier than normal food,

will there be "organic tobacco" in the future 8O?
If there is organic tobacco, anyone will try that?

 

[photoman13]

Tobacco is a plant so wouldn't it be considered organic?

 

[photoman13]

My bad I just looked up the definition of organic and I guess I didn't really know what it meant. I would try it but I wouldn't pay a premium for it just as I wouldn't pay a premium for organic food unless it had some better flavor.

 

[pstlpkr]

Have you ever seen a tobacco worm?

They are huge!

I don't think there would much left to smoke if they took hold.

AKA the Hook Worm

::

 

[photoman13]

Good point Lawrence. I sometimes wonder if organic food is just a marketing ploy. Oh and I might add I'm a marketer. 8)

 

[igloo]

The best food comes from your own garden ,heirloom tomatoes anyone . 8)

 

[photoman13]

Agreed igloo. Minus the tomatoes that is. The only vegetable I don't like. Well, Fruit that is.

 

[sjpipesmoker]

Organic Pipe Dreams

Brand: Cornell & Diehl

Blender: Craig Tarler

Tin Description: made with certfied organic Virginia tobaccos. Organic Agave,Prune, and Vanilla added as a natural organic mold inhibitor
Not sure if it's still avaiable...Checked online and I see it at smokingpipes.com, but not avaiable to order

 

[puffy]

Tobacco plants are sprayed to prevent disease,and pests.The ground is treated to prevent anything growing but the tobacco plant.I doubt that any of this is organic.

 

[topd]

In North Carolina, the farmers used to use Methyl Bromide to kill everything in the soil before

planting. I don't know what they use now.

 

[clyde]

I suspect that by the time the tobacco goes through the curing process and becomes something you would be willing to smoke that you would not be able to tell if it was ever a legitimate organic product. Just my guess.

 

[tjameson]

Photoman Organic is a legitimate farming practice that is regulated but they do market off of that... The real pure marketing scheme is "natural" foods and products. Natural can and does mean a lot of different things when used on product labels. Also the whole tomato is a fruit and not a vegetable is bogus only because there is no scientific meaning for vegetable that's just a way of generalizing plant matter that we eat.

 

[adam12]

I smoke only organically-grown cruelty-free tobacco harvested by fair-trade sustainable, honest farming practices using natural, antioxidant herbal harvesting techniques which create a footprint-free, renewable exfoliating smoke. This tobacco is smoked only through one of my select locally-artisinal upcycled signature pipes, crafted by vegan earth-balanced pipe carvers, that I carry in a hemp-fabric Guatemalan-made windpowered soy-infused natural pipe bag. My favorite blend is Miso Wheatgrass-Infused Green-Tea Wellness Extract. It's biodegradable.

 

[hobie1dog]

good one adam12 :clap:

 

[sparroa]

I don't think there is anything wrong with certified organic meat and produce or any other foodstuff for that matter. Since we consume food more than anything else (hopefully) it makes sense to start there if you wish to reduce your exposure to potentially harmful toxins.
With that said, we are on a tobacco forum so that means we definitely can't be too particular about it...
The term "natural" by itself means nothing because there are no regulations behind it but I don't think anyone should attempt to discredit organic farming and the organic food movement as a whole.
It is the original form of agriculture, after all...
As far as organic tobacco goes, even if there is a benefit to it, I think it would be meaningless for the pipe tobacco community since our favourite blends would never receive certification due to the massive amount of suppliers they probably use for each brand.
I'd say RYO would probably be the only market for organic tobacco if it did take hold.
BTW: It is not a clearly established fact that organic food is healthier than conventional food. The idea, as far as I understand it, is that you steer clear of a lot of pesticides and chemicals than may have an unforeseen cumulative impact on our health - not to mention it prevents the use of genetically modified seed and livestock feed.
Taste is a pretty subjective thing and it is not readily measured, so YMMV, but I personally think it is possible to taste the difference between grass fed organic beef and the conventional feedlot cuts. Eggs are definitely a great place to start if you want to taste a major difference between production methods... I'm no expert and there can be volumes upon volumes written about this topic, so I'll leave it at that.

 

[spartan]

I think it makes as much sense as passing a law requiring adults to wear seatbelts.
The organic allure is that it will make you feel better and you'll live longer because no harmful chemicals were used...right? That's the WHY behind organic.
Q: Why organic? A: It's less harmful to your body.
Now if you're gonna grow tobacco that will make me feel better than regular tobacco, and it's gonna make me live longer, and do less damage to me... you'd own the planet. Cash Money.
Since this isn't the case I say justifying organic tobacco as "better" than what we have now is a failed argument.

 

[sparroa]

The risks of smoking are higher than the risks of any modern pesticides being used to grow the tobacco, so you are right.
On a deep level, I think we all want our tobacco with minimal additives and for it to be as benign as possible. The thing is that that is probably never possible since tobacco has to be cured and processed and cased in so many different ways. Add in the natural chemical composition of the plant and its combustion - you will always have risks involved.
I don't think the big companies will really run with the organic idea because it implies that all of their other products are worse again.
As far as seatbelts go, I don't really see where that's a problem unless you are a strict libertarian. I don't see the relevance to the organic tobacco debate.

 

[spartan]

There is no relevance. Just a metaphor.
I could have just as easily said it makes as much sense as a pink zebra chewing bubble gum.

 

[photoman13]

What ever tomatoes are classified as I'm not big on them. Of coarse I do love pizza. I would be for organic but I can't afford it most of the time. From what I've seen it costs more. Although, I don't believe we have a whole foods in knoxville.

 

[PeriqueMyInterest]

Organic usually costs more in the supermarket. In Vancouver there are a lot of small grocers where organic, local foods save you money. I'm not big on the "organic is better for your health" argument but I do think it is better for society as a whole. If you don't use chemically engineered pesticides and fertilizers you get a longer life for your soil and a bigger pay off from your crops. As it is our industrial farming methods use more energy than we get from the produce but with organic you can put in less energy meaning less loss. With tobacco the problem is that blenders don't use local tobacco and there are a lot of farmers growing it around the world. In one tin you can have tobacco from 6 countries and you would need an international commitment to grow organic crops.
Edit: Someone said organic seems like a marketing ploy. The truth is that a lot of the time it is a marketing ploy but a lot of the time it isn't. Organic from the supermarket when charging more than the other stuff is a marketing ploy because people who make less money are usually after "the good life". People who make more are usually trying to get through life. We need more small shops and small farmers that care about their crops and growing ethically produced food for the better of people as a whole.
That being said, if tobacco was organic I would like that. Do I see it happening? Not really.