'Chemical-free' irresponsible journalism

A couple of weeks ago, the Daily Herald included an article about "chemical-free sunscreen." On Aug. 10, there is an article about "chemical-free soil."

What's up with the chemical bashing? According to the USDA, certified organic crops cannot be grown with synthetic fertilizers, synthetic pesticides or sewage sludge and they cannot be genetically engineered or irradiated. There's nothing in there about "chemical-free." In fact, the soil in which these crops grow is a wonderful mix of inorganic and organic chemicals.

The term "chemical-free" might be a clever marketing gimmick, but in a newspaper it's irresponsible journalism.

Paul R. Anderson

Geneva