Friday, May 9, 2008

Organic: Back to the Roots

By: Brianne Chai-Onn, Shumei Youth Representative

In New York, organic has become the fashion. Farmers markets, niche natural stores and chains like Whole Foods and Trader Joes are flourishing. Health-conscious New Yorkers are willing to pay the price for organic products. At the same time, the number and types of organic products being sold in conventional supermarkets across America is growing. This is a good sign. It demonstrates that consumers are beginning to pay attention to how their food is grown and how that impacts their health and the environment. The term ‘organic’ is becoming main stream. It is the new buzz word in the food industry, but what does it really mean?

There is growing concern that the organic movement or rather the industry is moving further way from its traditional principles founded on sustainable agriculture. Even with the strict implementation of national organic standards for certification, the term is being used loosely. How truly “organic” can it be when farms are mass producing crops and shipping them across the world to supply mega chain stores with organic products? Beyond the cultivation of food without the use of synthetic chemicals in fertilizers and pesticides, what about seed saving, crop diversity, small-scale and energy-efficient systems of farming? How does this ‘organic farming’ fall into sustainable agriculture?

Another buzz term is ‘sustainable agriculture.’ The understanding of the term is different between country delegations and NGOs. The underlying meaning of these buzz words is getting lost. Instead of solving the problem, we are applying another band aid to the issue. Perhaps we need to take a step back and look at ‘organic’ and ‘sustainable’ agriculture from a fresh perspective, remembering why we began using them in the first place.

If we want to talk about sustainable agriculture in Africa, let’s remember their traditional farming practices are much closer to principles of organic and sustainable agriculture than the current organic farming practices used by farmers in the organic industry. We can learn something from indigenous people and those who are accustomed to living close to the land. It just seems that the principles of organic farming that emphasize sustainability and the notion of interdependence are being lost or overlooked with its increasing popularity.”