Organic (and Biodynamic) farms are productive natural growing systems that produce high quality, tasty and highly nutritious foods without the use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides and we are therefore free of toxic residues. There are many reasons to grow and consume Organic foods but it comes down to three essential facts: the food is better for you; it tastes better and the way it is grown is better for the farmer, farm animals and for the environment.
Why Certified Organic?
Organic Certification is a globally consistent and verifiable system of common standards and traceability. It is your guarantee that the claim the product is grown to Organic standards is genuine and traceable. Certification is overseen in Australia by our national export standards body AQIS. In the USA Organic Certification is operated by the US Department of Agriculture and globally by an organisation called IFOAM (International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements) which is operates under the auspices of the UN.
We all know that the food choices we make have a direct effect on our bodies and our health. Our food choices also have a direct effect on the health of our environment and on those who grow and harvest what we eat. That is why food produced by Organic or Biodynamic methods is the best choice for everyone and for the planet.
Modern Organic and Biodynamic farming is based on practices and principles that were first defined and developed in the 1920’s and 30’s but are based on thousands of years of knowledge and experience. Whilst integrating 21st century science, modern machinery and technology with traditional practices, first and foremost to nurture the living soil and work with, not against nature. In this article when we use the term Organic we are also including Biodynamics, although they are related these two growing systems also have some important differences.
We were young children in 1962 when Rachel Carson’s famous book “Silent Spring” came out, alerting the whole world to the dangers and problems of persistent pesticides from the family of poisons known as “Organo-Chlorines” such as DDT, Dieldrin and Lindane. Reading her prescient classic was one of the foundations of our interest in producing food without using any synthetic pesticides. Today we face another and harrowingly similar global-scale poisoning from a number of widely used yet dangerously persistent and highly toxic chemicals, including pollinator-and-soil-damaging “noenicitinoid” insecticides, broad spectrum fungicides and Herbicides based on Glyphosate.
In many countries, including Australia, pesticide regulators have been under-resourced for decades whilst being allowed by governments to become captive to the interests of the chemical companies they are supposed to regulate.
It is an unfortunate fact that for at least the last 50 years we have seen the utter failure by nearly all governments and regulatory authorities globally to properly regulate the use and application of Agricultural and Veterinary chemicals in order to ensure human, animal and environmental safety. Overuse of pesticides is a global problem which we can all help solve every time we make the choice to grow or purchase Organic foods and other products.
There is nothing conventional about so-called “Conventional” farming. Modern industrial agriculture is in fact a relatively new invention. The mechanisation of farming really took off with the introduction of the combine harvester and artificial fertilizers around World War 1 and was spurred on by the development of synthetic pesticides and mass-produced affordable tractors around World War 2. Since then it has grown to become known as “Conventional” and the food production system that dominates much of our rural landscape. These new ways of growing have in much of our farmlands displaced the traditional smaller, more diverse farms. Traditional more labour intensive and natural growing systems have been replaced by ever larger, more highly mechanised farms growing large scale monoculture crops.
So-called “Conventional” growing systems include the application of synthetic pesticides which are destroying soil and insect biodiversity and reducing soil carbon with every crop. This is simply unsustainable.
Fossil fuel intensive industrialised farming systems are a major contributor to both global greenhouse gas emissions and the biodiversity crisis. Its practices and products damage the health of both people and all other living things.
There are many growers who have chosen to get off the fossil fuel dependant toxic chemical treadmill. These are our Organic, Biodynamic and Regenerative farmers. Australia is a world leader in the uptake of these nature-friendly and healthier ways of looking after the land and growing crops.
Every time you choose the Organic, Biodynamic or Regeneratively Grown option you are contributing to the viability and growth of farming systems that will help heal rather than harm both the planet and your own body.
In later posts we will explain the difference between Organic, Biodynamic and Regenerative growing systems, pholosophy and practice.