Canadian Politics Today

I don't like eating non-organic foods, I don't like that organic foods are more expensive, but that's inescapable from laws of physics and the basic realities of agriculture unfortunately.   Non-organic foods are cheaper because GMOs and non-organic pesticides and fertilizers combine to create larger food yields, which means more food at the same cost.  Everyone has the choice to buy organic foods if they want, but they just happen to be less efficient economically and so cost a bit more.  The positives of non-organic foods is that people without a lot of money, especially in poor countries, can buy their food cheaper so have more money left over for other goods/services.  For most people in Canada, it comes down to if you value organic foods enough to want to pay the extra cost, and for most people they choose to buy non-organic, which is their choice.  If consumers didn't like non-organic foods they wouldn't buy them.  The people have spoken, regardless of what you and I think of that.

I think if you do a little research you will find that organic is pretty much a waste of money. But it does support a niche market I guess.

How can you argue that industrialization and private enterprise have not provided more food at lower cost with less labour ?

I'm on board with lamenting the faults of our economic systems, but you have to argue in reality.   

No matter how much you might wish otherwise, human beings are fundamentally selfish and driven only by a desire to look after themselves and their family. 

Hyperbole.  Humans balance self-interest and altruism, which is why the system we have reflects both human attributes.

No matter how much you might wish otherwise, human beings are fundamentally selfish and driven only by a desire to look after themselves and their family. Humans are good at collaborating in groups but in any group individuals are expected to "do their share" which basically means the group assigns a price to the contribution of the individual and compares to the cost of supporting the individual. Individuals that fail to produce enough value will find that they are denied access to resources. The process of placing a value on the contribution of an individual is the core of economics. This is not an assumption but way to describe and explain the real world.

That's certainly not the real world I live in. Lets take socialized health care for instance. I have been contributing to that in various ways since the first day I went to work and I'll happily continue to do that until the day I drop and I'll be quite happy if I never have to use it until that day. (Full disclosure I was born in a hospital, had to have a cast put on a broken ankle once and was treated once for malaria) Even at that I'm sure I have contributed a lot more to the system than I have received from it, and will be happy to continue on that path. It's reassuring to know it's there and I bet most people in the real world of Canada prefer out system to that of the US where if you get sick you lose your house which seems to suit your world.

No matter how much you might wish otherwise, human beings are fundamentally selfish and driven only by a desire to look after themselves and their family.

There are millions of examples daily proving you wrong, starting with cops, firemen and soldiers.  Altruism is as much of a human attribute as is selfishness.

Yes, but I have also seen you project your values onto others.  Caring for others is natural, whether or not you feel it yourself.

What does this have to do with my point? Lots of people care for others when it benefits them (or at least does not harm them). When it does not benefit them causes them harm they don't give a damn. You can find example over example of places where so called altruistic people screw over others when it suited them. That is why you can't claim that true altruism is common.

firemen they are paid extremely well

Depends on where you live

Paid well is relative to the job opportunities available to person given where they live. Pay also include any pension which can be extremely generous.

Here's another one for you. In my real world I don't have any kids, but I do help pay for the public education system which supports others children. And I don't jump up and down screaming humbug. I like having educated people in my neighborhood, even though I don't benefit personally. You seem to have a very downtrodden view of the world.