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permaculture - Re: [Re: Organic Standards]

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  • From: Elfpermacl@aol.com
  • To: VoiceofNature@netscape.net, owner-permaculture@listserv.oit.unc.edu, permaculture@listserv.oit.unc.edu
  • Subject: Re: [Re: Organic Standards]
  • Date: Mon, 2 Nov 1998 10:17:48 EST

A few comments are sprinkled throughout the following reply.


In a message dated 11/2/98 3:37:09 AM, VoiceofNature@netscape.net wrote:

<< Truths are often easier to recognize than solutions. <<

REPLY: First one must recognize the problem. Then it makes sense to solve
the problem. If the theater is on fire and I yell fire, does it make sense
for everyone to continue watching the movie while I try to put it out alone?
No, because at that point I am more likely to say, :Screw 'em" and leave them
to their fate.

>>As a second generation
organic grower, I remember the purity of the pioneer days of the modern
organic movement (though I was very young.) I am of the (probably unique?)
opinion that it is time to stop bemoaning our well-intentioned mistake in
seeking government protection, learn from it, and start over. <<

REPLY: I rember being disillusioned 30 or more years ago by the greed and one
sided and intollerant nature of people in the organic movement. By now I
realize that this is just because they were part of Western society which we
can't just shed like a snake sheds its skin when we adopt an alternative
approach. The fact is that organic is an industry now and is unrelated to any
committment to sustainablity except in rhetoric. Of course there are
exceptions in the minority, and home gardeners who are very true to the ideal
of working with nature.

>> Community Supported Agriculture is not only a great marketing method, but
is
built upon that trust of one's local clientele that you mentioned, rather than
upon "the word". <<

REPLY . YES! Amen. KNOW YOUR GROWER! it is second best advice after B E
YOUR GROWER. CSAs are partway between the two. Now we just have to guard
against rigid definitions of CSAs.

>>As for the word "organic," it was always a source of some confusion and even
ridicule (from those who only seemed to know about the definition of the word
in chemistry) anyway. What about setting in motion an inquiry for a
grass-roots consensus on a "new name" to replace the "organic" label-- one
that will forever remain the property of the grass-roots growers who really
know more about the subject than the government? After all, there
is a lot in a name.
Might there be an even better word out there that was just waiting for the
right opportunity to surface? Couldn't we turn this apparent tragedy into an
overwhelming advance for ecologically-correct farming?

Ian A. Jones
Voice of Nature Foundation
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=>>

REPLY: I have always rebelled against the idea of certification. In
particular, I have felt it is stupid for the growers to certify one another.
Secondly, I know for a fact that material from chemical farms becomes
"certified" in the warehouse or by distributors sometimes. consumer groups
have a bit better shot at certification.

While i believe it is the right of any group to set standards and issue
certification if they wish, involving the government just extends its
authority over one more detail of our lives. Moreover, certification is for
the lazy mind. We are on the permaculture list here and permaculture is about
involvement with our lives, not turning our basic decisions over to remote
groups. That is why we are more active in Zone 1 which, by definition, is the
physical space where we are most present therefore (hopefully) most involved.
We don't ;muck around in zone 5 except to repair obvious damage, for example
to give a clearcut a boost to recovery through various measures.

Until we are growing as much of our own food as our circumstances allow (and
who is doing that, nowadays?), we can't really complain about the quality of
food available with any force. There is a power that comes to living the
values we espouse that cannot come in any other way. If we try to substitute
force for power, as in forcing people to use a natural English word in
unnatural, restricted ways, we give up our power.

For Mother Earth, Dan Hemenway, Yankee Permaculture Publications (since 1982),
Elfin Permaculture workshops, lectures, Permaculture Design Courses,
consulting and permaculture designs (since 1981), and annual correspondence
courses via email. Copyright, 1998, Dan & Cynthia Hemenway, P.O. Box 52,
Sparr FL 32192 USA Internships. YankeePerm@aol.com

We don't have time to rush.

A list by topic of all Yankee Permaculture titles may be found at
http://csf.colorado.edu/perma/ypc_catalog.html
Elfin Permaculture programs are listed at the Eastern Permaculture Teachers
assn home page: http://home.ptd.net/~artrod/epta/eptahmp.html




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