I should say, however, I do think there’s some merit to organic food (long the object of my scorn) in at least one significant sense. Organic food is often locally grown. And while I think many if not all of the arguments about local food production are overblown or silly, one benefit of growing food locally is that you can leave it on the vine longer. I think one reason people think organic produce taste so much better than “conventional” produce is that conventional produce is often picked green and then ripens in the cargo hold of some tanker or truck.
Fruits and vegetables (but particularly fruits) that are allowed to ripen on the vine taste so much better than the alternative it is almost like they’re different products. Likewise, though I generally support free-range farming as a moral matter (when it’s affordable), I think one of the biggest factors in whether meat and fish taste as good as they can is whether they’ve been frozen. A never frozen chicken just tastes worlds better than one that’s been bowling-ball-hard for God knows how long.