Comments on: Bridging the organic divide http://trustorganicfood.com/bridging-the-organic-divide/ Real food for real people Fri, 13 Feb 2009 05:16:58 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Dag Falck http://trustorganicfood.com/bridging-the-organic-divide/#comment-6 Dag Falck Tue, 30 Sep 2008 02:45:59 +0000 http://trustorganicfood.com/?p=142#comment-6 Katherine DiMatteo is a much needed leader in the organic movement, as she is not afraid of putting the issues on the table for debate and consideration. The issue of a split in the organic community (those that believe in organic values beyond just wanting to reap a financial profit) is very real and we will see more of this as the success of organic affords or even propels parties to get clear on their individual beliefs and reasons for being drawn to contributing to the organic marketplace. There is an even further element of disparity within the movement which is only beginning to show itself, and I believe this will be by far the most challenging aspect of diversity within organic to deal with while attempting to retain the much needed strength (from unity). What I am talking about is the large percentage of newcomers to organics who even though they see themselves as staunch supporters, do not fully or sometimes even partially understand the principles underlying organic philosophy. Not understanding this they often support only a few key elements of organic which they have seen, such as no use of toxic pesticides, or less reliance on fossil fuels for fertilizer. Not having or sharing a foundational understanding of the organic principles of feeding the soil (it's micro life forms), or learning from and mimicking nature (compost, crop rotations, encouragement of biodiversity etc.) often leads to disparate notions like "the role of GMOs in organic" or the development of "organic" pesticides and fertilizers (even though these are acceptable by the rules they were to be used as supplements in extreme situations, not as methods of growing organic). We are likely responsible for this as we have so successfully communicated to the non-organic world WHAT ORGANIC ISN'T. Organic isn't synthetic toxins, it isn't fossil fuel fertilizer, by inference it isn't polluting or harmful to our health. What we have communicated very poorly is WHAT ORGANIC IS. Organic is mimicking nature, not competing with nature. Organic is assisting nature's building blocks to feed healthy plants (feeding soil micro organisms, not feeding plants directly). Organic is trust, that nature can solve all problems (if allowed enough biodiversity). Organic is healthier because it is the result of natural and holistic processes at work (taking toxic pesticides out of food does not make it healthier, it only makes it less harmful). We have been talking too much about what organic isn't, and it's time for us to talk a lot more about what organic is. Otherwise we will be caught by surprise when well meaning folks suggest that GMOs will some day provide a perfect “plant” for organic production, or that organic can feed the world once we invent a slow release high impact “organic” fertilizer, or organic cotton can only become a reality once we develop an “organic” pesticide for cotton bull Worm. None of these can be real organic methods, as they are based in the philosophy and belief that nature is flawed and must be fixed, totally counter to the organic philosophy. Katherine DiMatteo is a much needed leader in the organic movement, as she is not afraid of putting the issues on the table for debate and consideration. The issue of a split in the organic community (those that believe in organic values beyond just wanting to reap a financial profit) is very real and we will see more of this as the success of organic affords or even propels parties to get clear on their individual beliefs and reasons for being drawn to contributing to the organic marketplace.

There is an even further element of disparity within the movement which is only beginning to show itself, and I believe this will be by far the most challenging aspect of diversity within organic to deal with while attempting to retain the much needed strength (from unity). What I am talking about is the large percentage of newcomers to organics who even though they see themselves as staunch supporters, do not fully or sometimes even partially understand the principles underlying organic philosophy. Not understanding this they often support only a few key elements of organic which they have seen, such as no use of toxic pesticides, or less reliance on fossil fuels for fertilizer. Not having or sharing a foundational understanding of the organic principles of feeding the soil (it’s micro life forms), or learning from and mimicking nature (compost, crop rotations, encouragement of biodiversity etc.) often leads to disparate notions like “the role of GMOs in organic” or the development of “organic” pesticides and fertilizers (even though these are acceptable by the rules they were to be used as supplements in extreme situations, not as methods of growing organic).

We are likely responsible for this as we have so successfully communicated to the non-organic world WHAT ORGANIC ISN’T. Organic isn’t synthetic toxins, it isn’t fossil fuel fertilizer, by inference it isn’t polluting or harmful to our health. What we have communicated very poorly is WHAT ORGANIC IS. Organic is mimicking nature, not competing with nature. Organic is assisting nature’s building blocks to feed healthy plants (feeding soil micro organisms, not feeding plants directly). Organic is trust, that nature can solve all problems (if allowed enough biodiversity). Organic is healthier because it is the result of natural and holistic processes at work (taking toxic pesticides out of food does not make it healthier, it only makes it less harmful).
We have been talking too much about what organic isn’t, and it’s time for us to talk a lot more about what organic is. Otherwise we will be caught by surprise when well meaning folks suggest that GMOs will some day provide a perfect “plant” for organic production, or that organic can feed the world once we invent a slow release high impact “organic” fertilizer, or organic cotton can only become a reality once we develop an “organic” pesticide for cotton bull Worm. None of these can be real organic methods, as they are based in the philosophy and belief that nature is flawed and must be fixed, totally counter to the organic philosophy.

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