Thank you Brigette for a superbly written and
expressed perspective on this whole Dennis Avery article thing. I am in
wholehearted agreement with you that real truth does not need to be elevated or
defended by shooting down the other side.
Marlin Burkholder
Virginia
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Sunday, September 09, 2007 6:59
PM
Subject: Re: [Market-farming] Dennis
Avery article
Thanks for sharing the text of the opinion, even with the
blatant copy and paste. Jim Riddle deserves credit for taking the time to
write and submit the piece. I hope others on the list do likewise when
appropriate and in an appropriate manner. Many of you obviously have excellent
written communication skills.
Submitting a well written letter to the
editor or a guest opinion, our local paper calls it a viewpoint, is far more
effective at telling the real story about what has happened in Wisconsin and
Minnesota this summer than getting on this list and once again disputing
Dennis Avery's words and denigrating his reputation. This list has been over
that plenty of times. He isn't likely to quit what he's doing and you're not
likely to quit what you do to support yourself either. If you all really want
to help educate the non-farm public, draft a letter explaining what has
happened, especially if you were personally impacted, and send it to your
local paper. It doesn't need to be an attack on Avery or even a direct
response. Probably better if it isn't so that your credibility isn't in
question. Explain the circumstances and then how you plan to recover. Is there
a group or individual who has been especially helpful during the experience
that could be thanked in the opinion piece? Comes off a ton better than just
disputing Avery.
Expressing opinions in a public forum ( more public
than a listserve), such as a newspaper, allows us to communicate with a
population who really doesn't know who Avery is, or much care. The majority of
them don't understand, or much care, why there is such a divide between
factions of agriculture. They will, however, understand your personal
commitment to being an organic grower, how you have been impacted by bad
weather and what it will take to recover. Putting yourself in print also
forces one to choose words and positions carefully. Obviously, Mr. Avery is
comfortable with his position and words.
Expressing ourselves on the
list can be a therapeutic release, but does little to open the lines of
communication between groups with differing perspectives. At some point, the
conventional and organic communities need to start talking to each other with
respect for the others position. This all or none, line in the sand stuff,
from both sides, is growing old. The fact that Avery gets paid for his
writings is little different to me than anyone else who gets paid for their
writing or speaking engagements, regardless of their position or who pays
them. It doesn't automatically mean he has horns and a tail anymore than an
organic proponent has a halo. Other people believe in what they are doing and
how they are doing it just as you do.
It isn't necessary to denigrate
one side to elevate the other. Mr. Avery clearly needs to consider this, too,
so don't think I'm giving him a pass on bad behavior. The ability to discuss
issues and differing positions with civility seems to be a lost art in this
country today.
Brigette Leach Avalon Farms Homegrown Share of
the Farm www.avalonfarmshomegrown.com
Sean
Albiston wrote:
The below opinion was submitted to the StarTrib and the Sustag list ,
sorry for the=20's and the blatant copy and paste. I had to dig it out of
the archives sean
------------------------------------------------------
I'll try to take apart Avery again at some point when I'm not getting
ready for a market the next morning. Several things in his article are,
as usual, sheer nonsense.
-- Rivka; Finger Lakes NY, Zone 5 mostly
Jim's Guest Opinion
Organic Practices Conserve Soil and Protect Water Quality
By Jim Riddle
Dennis Avery has used the tragic floods in western Wisconsin and=20
southeastern Minnesota to advance his own cause in the Star-Tribune=20
through his Sept. 6 guest column, "The consequences of organic=20
farming."=A0=A0
Readers would be well-informed to know that Mr. Avery represents a=20
non-profit backed by some of the nation's largest manufacturers of=20
synthetic fertilizers, pesticides and GMOs. Mr. Avery and his son,=20
Alex, are employed to seek to discredit organic farming practices. He=20
has used these events as an opportunity to advance his and his
backers'=20=
agenda.
I live in Winona County. We received over 17 inches of rain in 24=20
hours. Valley fields in the area suffered flooding, organic and=20
conventional. Mr. Avery=92s assertion that organic farming practices=20
accelerated the damage is incorrect and insensitive.=A0
Grassed hillsides that have not been farmed in over 30 years gave way.=20=
Wooded hillsides that have never been farmed collapsed. The massive=20
erosion that occurred had nothing to do with organic practices.
As a matter of fact, the Federal organic regulation requires that=20
organic farmers =93must select and implement=A0tillage and cultivation=20=
practices that maintain or improve the condition of the soil and=20
minimize soil erosion.=94
Contrary to Mr. Avery=92s wild assertion, research shows that organic=20
practices protect soil and water quality. For example, a team of=20
University of Minnesota scientists studied the impact of organic and=20
conventional agricultural practices over three years on subsurface=20
drainage and water quality on corn-soybean farms. (Journal of=20
Environmental Quality, July-August 2007)
The researchers found that organic and sustainable systems reduced the=20=
volume of subsurface drainage water discharges by 41 percent, compared=20=
to conventional. Organic and sustainable systems also reduced the loss=20=
of nitrate nitrogen by about 60 percent, allowing farmers to reduce=20
fertilization rates by nearly half, while protecting water sources
from=20=
nitrate pollution. The improved soil quality on the
organic/sustainable=20=
plots, coupled with more diverse land use patterns, were credited with=20=
improving the efficiency of nutrient uptake and water infiltration and=20=
use, especially in average to wet years.
Further, a nine-year study by USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS)=20=
researchers at Beltsville, MD, has shown that organic farming can
build=20=
up soil organic matter better than conventional no-till farming can,=20
according to results published in the July 2007 issue of Agricultural=20
Research magazine.
Mr. Avery lives in Virginia. I doubt if he has had a chance to visit=20
the flood-damaged region or talk to the farmers who devote their lives=20=
to growing healthy, nutritious food for their neighbors and the
nation.=20=
If he hasn't done so, Mr. Avery should tour the area and volunteer to=20
help the residents repair their properties and restore their lives.=20
While here, I'm confident that he will learn that - unlike his=20
unsubstantiated claims to the contrary - organic farming practices=20
represent the most sustainable and pioneering method for farming in
our=20=
nation today.
Jim Riddle
Organic Outreach Coordinator
University of Minnesota
31762 Wiscoy Ridge Road
Winona, MN 55987
Ph/fax: 507-454-8310
Email: riddl003 AT umn.edu
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