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Prairie Ramblings Dear Doc: if organic
apples are better, why not organic dentistry? By Tracy Sayler It ticks me off how
style too often can woo the public over substance. For example, let's say I decide to take on Greenpeace and PETA in a nationally televised "Crossfire" debate to refute all of their claims. Together with the most
respected and brilliant agricultural, ecological, and nutritional scientists in the world, I study and prepare for months. The day of the debate arrives. Coin flip, and I go first. I confidently step
through a Powerpoint presentation with irrefutable evidence to support all of my assertions, and enlist my team of scientific advisors to provide live in-studio confirmation of my points. Now it's their
turn. The head of Greenpeace nudges his 10-year-old daughter toward the TV camera. "Go ahead honey. Tell the people that biotech is bad," he coaches. "Biotech is bad, daddy!" she says, and they sit
down. PETA's turn. In walks a bikini-clad Pamela Anderson. She smiles, strikes a pose and says: "Meat is bad! Giggle giggle," and walks off. So who made the greater impression on the audience?
I wouldn't want to bet on the poll numbers, especially if it involves the same idiots off the street that Leno finds for his Tonight Show "Jay Walking" feature. Indeed, for those in agriculture, the constant public
debate about food safety and the environment can be frustrating. But hold on, wait until you read the following that made the rounds lately on aggie e-mail. It is a real Internet chat room message authored by a
large apple grower in Michigan. It was written in response to comments made by a dentist from Connecticut (and an organic hobby orchardist) who previously questioned the safety of corporate farm practices, especially
the use of pesticides to grow food. Regardless of your perspective on the issues, you'd have to agree: This grower did an excellent job of communicating his point—with style and substance. Subject: Organic Apple "Dear Doc, I am having trouble understanding your reasoning concerning pesticides on
food products. I am hoping you will be able to clarify things for me. You are a professional who has been educated and licensed in the field of dentistry. Within your practice you handle all kinds of chemicals such as
tooth coatings, anesthetics, glues, various materials used
for fillings, and cleansers, all applied directly within a patient's mouth. We are not talking parts per million here. Of course you say that things
are perfectly safe because they have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Certainly a government agency would not allow something unsafe to be used in this manner. You also use sharp metal instruments in
different patients' mouths throughout the day, which all have the ability to transmit disease such as hepatitis or AIDS, but of course you follow American Medical Association guidelines that ensure me, as a patient,
that there is no danger. And the Center for Disease Control says it is safe. And, of course, you are a professional, and well, "trust me." Yet when another government agency, such as the Environmental Protection
Agency, assures you that the pesticide residues found on food are safe, you do not believe them because, well, just because. Or when the Surgeon General assures you that the pesticide residues in food are safe, you do
not believe him because, because why? Even though very strict testing and research guidelines have been undertaken, you still seem to know better than they. An overdose of anesthetic will stop all bodily functions and
kill the patient, but now really, is dosage all that important? I mean, the proper amount of insulin in the body will regulate blood sugar, but too little or too much will kill you. But is dosage all that important?
At what point in your education did you stop thinking rationally? You say "trust me." Why should we? You use chemicals, don't you? If a lot of that chemical will harm me, then certainly a little will do the same thing
(at least that is what you imply). Maybe I should be looking for an 'old-timer' who doesn't use as many chemicals in my mouth. He must be safer. And of course those corporate dental offices that have a dozen hygienists
can't be getting anything sterile, and they can't be getting everything applied right, and what about proper dosages? Oops, there's that dosage thing again! I suggest that before you begin impugning and degrading the
apple industry, you should realize that you and I are exactly the same. I apparently just tend to show more respect for you than you for me. You see, it isn't corporate farms that I'm scared of, it's the hobbyists. I
wouldn't think of going to an apple grower who practices dentistry on the weekends to get a tooth filled. Should I buy apples from a dentist who grows apples on the weekend? Should I trust the dentist? Should I be
looking for an organic dentist? With your reasoning, they must be safer for me. I mean, are bacterial infections all that serious a thing?" (The views in this column are those of the author, and not of
Prairie Grains or the associations that publish it. The author encourages suggestions and input from readers, which may be emailed to tsayler@corpcomm.net).
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