Two Words: Organic and Sustainable

“I love organics.”

I hear this from people a lot, mostly after I tell them I have an organic vegetable farm.  But what does loving “organics” mean to people? 

In February, I tackled this subject in a presentation to a monthly Green Drinks group, a network of people in the area that care about the environment and all things “green.”

The way I broached the subject was to ask the audience to consider what part of “organics” resonates with them.  Then I broke it all down:

"Organic"

No synthetic chemicals and no GMOs.

Why should we care about the use of synthetic chemicals? Pesticides have been around since WWII and were invented alongside chemical warfare. Since their relatively new introduction into the world, pesticides have been scientifically linked to problems with many body systems: reproductive, endocrine and immune. And, frighteningly, pesticides have also been linked to cancer. The most heart-palpitating, gripping seminar I’ve ever attended was by a scientist in this field of study.  He said that small doses of pesticides from residue on food and in our water have a real impact across generations because pesticides cause gene mutations.  A user-friendly website that you can go to learn more is here: http://www.sustainabletable.org and then follow links to Food and Industrial Agriculture Impacts. Or peruse as you wish.

USDA Organic Certifiers mostly care 

about what farmers do NOT do,

  but most small organic farmers think of their farm as an ecologically integrated system in which

what we DO do is just as important. 

That brings us to another word, “sustainable.”

“Sustainability”

      Sustainability results in a positive environmental impact.  It is “organic” seen as a long-term agricultural system. Sustainable farmers consider the future of our food, soil, water, air, ecologies, communities and even our own human genetic makeup.  Sustainability includes how a farm’s scale impacts these things plus the local economy and farmer autonomy.

From a sustainability standpoint, pesticides and chemical fertilizers are bad for many reasons.  For one, chemical fertilizers are required in vast amounts; they are expensive and most of them come from non-renewable sources. Pesticides have harmful environmental impacts, too, including pest resistance, loss of biodiversity (like bees!), soil contamination and pollution.

Buying “organic” with the USDA label from the store is great.  Buying direct from a small farmer who is committed to the system and the long-term sustainability of organic agriculture is even better!

All the things "sustainable" farmers do:

We rotate crops to manage pests and fertility way into the future (indefinitely!).

We build our soils with green manure crops and compost alive with healthful microbes.

We integrate natural ecological happenings such as beneficial insects.

We use diversity to manage natural risks and weather.

We monitor plant health closely, keeping them less susceptible to pests and disease and more delicious to humans.