Apart from water and salt, are there any inorganic foods?

jantin@lemmy.world to No Stupid Questions@lemmy.world – 186 points –

An overwhelming majority of what we eat is made from plants and animals. This means that composition of our almost entire food is chemicals from the realm of organic chemistry (carbon-based large molecules). Water and salt are two prominent examples of non-organic foodstuffs - which come from the realm of inorganic chemistry. Beside some medicines is there any more non-organic foods? Can we eat rocks, salts, metals, oxides... and I just don't know that?

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Modern definition of Organic as it pertains to chemistry is any compound that contains BOTH hydrogen AND carbon.

Edit: Vitamins in general including absorbed acid are organic compounds because they contain both carbon and hydrogen atoms.

Edit2- I left out a key piece of information. The carbon and hydrogen need to be covalently bonded as well not just part of the compound.

Seeing that you claim this more than once, here is a simple link to correct this assumption: Wiki: Organic compound

Your link claims any compound with carbon is organic (there are exceptions listed) which really doesn’t fit either since there so many exceptions.

I was glib with my organic chemistry because it’s not just hydrogen atoms specifically but more the covalent bond between carbon and hydrogen that makes it organic so they have to be bonded covalently to be considered organic.

There’s still exceptions to this definition but they’re far fewer and usually only found in extremely unstable compounds like the fully halogenated fringe cases you mentioned in another comment.

So adding anything to water would there-for make it organic…? I don’t think that definition works…

sorry, are you interchanging solution and compound here?

Pointing out the nuances of not being specific in a science discussion.

Just adding something to water doesn’t make it a compound. Adding something to water makes it a solution.

Depends on the definition you use… which is exactly why we are here.

Compound is absolutely different than solution. That's not a varying definition amongst scientists. Compounds have a meaning. There's no ambiguity. Organic compounds have a very nebulous definition and there isn't consensus. One such meaning does include most hydrogen carbon compounds. Others include carbon-carbon based compounds (but by definition, a compound requires more than one element, so diamond for example does not fit). You're correct in pointing out nuance for the meaning of organic. You're just digging a hole trying to defend the idea the other person's statement could be interpreted as adding anything to water makes it organic.