Socially and Ecologically Responsible Agriculture Network

[Socially and Ecologically Responsible Agriculture Network <seranet AT lists.ibiblio.org>]

Eric is right. The real question is why did it take Joel (and so many
others) so long to realize that anything coming from the USDA is toxic to
the public interest and always has been. The answer is that, like many in
the organic movement, his libertarian ideology prevented him from seeing
the real nature of power in a society where concentrated private capital
controls government and bends all major institutions (markets, media, court
system, education, research institutions) into service of its interest.

Eventually the end of cheap oil, now bringing to a close an era of
extravagance and destruction unique in human history, will reduce
agricultural systems (and all other human activities) to the kind that can
operate on pure solar power, and that will collapse not only industrial
agriculture but also much of "organic" agriculture and its fetid offspring,
the NOSB.

And by pure solar power I do NOT mean large scale solar PV, wind electric,
or any other energy source that attempts to significantly replace current
energy consumption.

Good riddance to all that, and perhaps Gaia will breath a sigh of relief.

-- 
Karl North - Northland Sheep Dairy, Freetown, New York USA
http://karlnorth.com/
"Pueblo que canta no morira" - Cuban saying
"They only call it class warfare when we fight back" - Anon.
"My father rode a camel. I drive a car. My son flies a jet-plane. His son
will ride a camel."
 —Saudi saying


On Wed, Jun 6, 2012 at 5:39 AM, Socially and Ecologically Responsible
Agriculture Network <seranet AT lists.ibiblio.org> wrote:

> -------- Original Message --------
> Subject: Fwd: Joel Salatin resigns from the NOSB (the USDA National
> Organic Standards Board)
> Date: Wed, 06 Jun 2012 05:38:50 -0400
> From: Lawrence F. London, Jr. <lflj AT bellsouth.net>
> To: permaculture <permaculture AT lists.ibiblio.org>
>
>
> -------- Original Message --------
> Subject: Joel Salatin
> Date:   Tue, 05 Jun 2012 10:19:10 -0400
> From:   Tara Adinolfi <ostara.farm AT gmail.com>
>
> Check out this article Joel Salatin has up on his website about the NOSB:
>
> http://www.polyfacefarms.com/2012/06/01/from-joel-salatin-june-1-2012/
>
> Full article:
>
>
> http://www.cornucopia.org/2012/05/wildfires-rage-at-new-mexican-organic-meetings/
>
> <>
>
> Joel Salatin
> "the charade that has become the national certification program"
>
> <>
>
> A comment: "As far as Joel resigning goes.... I think that was the easy
> way out. It's much harder to stay in the system and stand up for what is
> right regardless. If everyone does what he did... then what?????"
>
> And a response to that comment:
>
> -------- Original Message --------
> Subject: Re: Joel Salatin
> Date:   Tue, 5 Jun 2012 22:49:56 -0400
> From:   Eric & Melissa Brown <milkandhoneyfarm AT hotmail.com>
>
> > It's much harder to stay in the system and stand up for what is right
> > regardless. If everyone does what he did... then what?????
>
> Why it is "much harder" to stay in the system? One could say it's much
> harder when one isn't hiding behind a set of legalistic standards. One
> could say it's much harder to forgo the labor-saving OMRI-approved
> pesticides, fungicides, industrially processed fertilizers, plastics,
> propane- and diesel-powered equipment, etc. that are essential to making
> money on farms operating at a scale consistent with organic
> certification. One could say it's much harder to sell the value of one's
> own farming methods rather than just selling to the value of a program.
> One could say it's much harder to get consumers to trust in a local
> relationship than a bureaucratic label. It's not at all clear to me that
> "staying in the system" is so unambiguously the high road, and as I've
> noted, there are pretty good reasons to argue the opposite.
>
> I certainly don't mean to defend Joel Sharlatin, as he only seems to
> combine the worst of both worlds in his farm model. I do want to defend
> the anti-certification camp generally. Most fundamentally, I object to
> the USDA organic label because even if the rules were written and
> enforced by angels the label would still be all about replacing
> community-based trust with trust in bureaucratically governed certifying
> agencies. Isn't the organic label designed to replace the need to
> personally know anything about where or how your food was grown? Why was
> there ever a need for a label except to enable the organic market to
> expand into the marketplace of global anonymity? To answer your
> question, what would happen if everyone (meaning presumably all
> small-scale/local farmers) opted out of the USDA system... then what? I
> think the answer is that corporate agribusiness wouldn't be able to
> piggy-back on the integrity of the small farmers any more. Consumers
> would see a much clearer distinction between a limited set of legalistic
> standards and commitment to principle. If consumers wanted real organic
> assurance then they'd have to reconnect to the source of their food.
> Consumers might actually be empowered with a little real understanding
> of agriculture instead of just getting exploited by corporate marketing.
> Consumers might even find themselves troubled in their lives as modern,
> wasteful elites of the global economy and begin to effect broader
> positive changes. Just imagine if people insisted on knowing and
> trusting the farmers that they depended on! That sounds like a very good
> thing to me.
>
> -Eric
>
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