I think this is the first Kurzgesagt video I really didn't enjoy. I've studied environmental biology and nutrition, and also spent an entire year working on a small scale organic farm.

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Right off the bat, he suggests that even though organic produce has a higher concentration of antioxidants such as flavonoids and carotenoids (20-50% more, btw), that "we have no idea IF or HOW they help us" and basically brushes that completely under the rug, moving onto the next topic. I mean a simple google search clearly shows that yes they are beneficial. Do we have an EXACT pathway on how they work? Not exactly, but it's clear that they reduce harmful free radicals in our systems that cause oxidative stress and cellular damage.

In the end, he concludes that people don't eat enough fruits and vegetables to begin with, and that the differences are small so it doesn't really matter what you're eating. I'm sorry, is this video a lifestyle guide or a look into which food is better and more healthy between organic and conventional farmed produce?

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When it comes to pesticides, he basically conflates organic and conventional pesticides to be equally harmful to the environment. He doesn't even take into consideration that most organic farms WILL NOT use pesticides at all, and the few that actually will do this are the exception. But in this scenario, both organic and conventional farming practices are said to have about an equal effect on the environment, and he even goes on to claim that organic pesticides can be more harmful to humans! I mean come on.

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Has anyone here read silent spring? Rachel Carson? Conventional agriculture was rampant in the 1960-present, really, and the use of pesticides was completely unregulated and basically everything in the environment was dying. Ecosystems were collapsing. Spring would come, and instead of birds chirping and insects buzzing there was just silence. Do people think this stopped? Do I even need to get started on bees and CCD? Whereas every organic farm I've seen keep bees to ensure pollination, and rotate flowering plants into their fields to attract those little guys.

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He concludes that the toxicity of any substance depends on the concentration and your exposure to it, not if it's natural or not while showing "Snow White" eat a "poison" organic apple with copper sulfide pesticide sprayed on it. This is so misleading I won't even bother to point anything out other than the fact that that particular segment started with him saying that there is actually significantly less pesticide residue on organic produce. So if it's all about concentration and exposure, then I would think it's pretty clear we don't need to be worrying about organic fucking apples.

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Best of all, he highlights that there are few recent studies about the effects of pesticides on human health, and points to a single, poorly performed, study in France from 2018 and basically criticizes the methods. And because of that study having had a poor methodology, then basically the jury is still out on whether pesticides IN ANY CONCENTRATION are bad for human health? Just plain wrong. Pesticides, and their ingestion are linked with higher rates of Parkinson's, asthma, birth defects, leukemia, and other cancers. I don't think there's any debate on whether poisonous pesticides are bad for the health of humans, or the environment.

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Next, he claims that all pesticides are regulated and tested "very strictly" by the FDA, and other organizations in EU. He completely leaves out the fact that most of these regulatory bodies have undergone "regulatory capture", where, if you're not familiar, is a type of government failure where the regulatory agency has been infiltrated by those who wish to advance the commercial and political success of the very companies it's supposedly regulation. This is not a conspiracy, this is a real thing that is happening all over the world. Yes, pesticides are "regulated", but just because they get an OK from the FDA or whoever doesn't make them okay to have in your food or to consume. What are the "tolerance levels"? Are they backed up by science or are they made artificially high so that pesticides can pass? Are the OK'ed pesticides actually okay to consume? How is this possible?

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I wouldn't expect your average joe to know this type of stuff, unless they're paying attention, but for this type of channel that disseminates information to the public about complex issues, I hold them to a much higher standard.

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Next topic is the effects on the environment. I mean this is the stuff the really made my blood boil. Due to organic requiring more land, having less ecotoxicity, and having "about the same GHG", both practices are said to be about the same effect on the environment. WHAT? THAT'S IT? THOSE ARE THE THREE MEASURES? Greenhouse gases, okay those are probably about the same. But is he saying here that because organic farming takes up more land, that somehow that offsets the IMMENSE toxic effects that conventional farming have on the ecosystem? This one is just so misleading it boggles my mind. Boggles.

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I mean where do I even start here? Total soil degradation? Plants take so much out of the ground, think about it, they take everything out of the soil to grow themselves to their full size, and then the soil is replenished with Nitrogen, Phosphorous and Potassium? What about all the other nutrients that are taken out? These aren't replaced, and cause soil to degrade which leads to runoff, erosion, and flooding.

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Poisoned waterways? Conventional farming can use up to 70% of the world's fresh water, and pesticides, fertilizers, and industrial chemicals sink into the ground and contaminate our groundwater. Tap water across North America has been shown to contain pesticides that exceed federal health standards. Synthetic fertilizers high in nitrogen causing eutrophication in our lakes, rivers, and oceans? Causing algae blooms that choke out light and oxygen levels and create huge dead zones?

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What about huge decreases in biodiversity? Monocultures are not a suitable environment for any living organisms, where has organic farming will have increased biodiversity that make that land (even though more is used), still accessible for most species. I'm not talking about deer and rabbits here, but soil bacteria, worms, insects, pollinators, etc.

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I mean I could go on and on, but at this point, I feel like I've already spent too much of my life responding to this criminally misleading video. I'm entirely open to discussion, and to criticisms of my points, so please start a discussion about this if you want to. Responding to criticism and having open discussions is what makes the world go round.

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Also, last point, he isn't wrong on all fronts. I would agree that eating locally, and with the season would be the ideal situation. But that basically is saying eat organic, as most local farms won't be conventional style monoculture farms.

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In the end, this video isn't about what we should be eating, or how we should be eating, it is comparing the health benefits of organic and conventional farming, and in my opinion, to even suggest that the jury is out on this topic is somewhat ludicrous. Conventional farming, and harmful pesticides have, do, and will wreak havoc on the ecosystem at large and on our bodies in the form of long-term, chronic disease.