The Denver op-ed piece sure did stir up some
controversy. I have been trying to be organic since I was 10 years old (that’s
50 years now). To paraphrase an old saying, “I was organic
when organic wasn’t cool”. We all want to have what is best for our
families and the planet, but you can’t always get what you want.
Never underestimate the power of life on this planet, It can be undaunting when
it is some insect that comes along to a feast you set up for him and then we
can’t figure out where the population explosion came from. So we
try to do the best we can.
It isn’t the government
that will change us into an organic market, but it will be economics that will
help more than anything. So many talk about the conventional vegetable
farming taking place. It doesn’t exist here in South Jersey any more. The days of spraying
constantly and often even when not necessary are pretty much gone. Now
that pesticides are 600 to 1000 dollars a gallon or pound, farmers that used to
spray indiscriminately have stopped. When prices were 5 dollars a pound,
you added extra to the mix to insure a complete kill. Now if the package
says 4 ounces to a tank, they will try to get by with only three ounces, and
then only after scouting their fields and waiting for a large enough population
of the insect in question.
The question should not be organic
or conventional, but local and sustainable small farmers rather than large agribusinesses
shipping thousands of miles all over the world. Pennsylvania’s slogan “buy
fresh, buy local” says it all. The buyers want FRESH and many of
them see organic as fulfilling that promise. That promise is going out
the window with agribiz organic coming on strong, Let’s all try to
do what we do best, grow wholesome fresh food with as little impact on the
planet as possible.
I am done my rant. Thank you.
Maury Sheets
Woodland Produce- Fairton,
New Jersey
Hydroponically producing sustainable salad greens in the Northeast.