I’m having issues with the word organic as it relates to food.  On one hand I’m definitely encouraged and heartened by the growing interest in food production and eating healthier – not only for ourselves, but for the planet.  On the other, I’m afraid that something is getting lost in translation in the haste to go organic.

As is often the case, many people jump on every well-meaning bandwagon, with the best of intentions, but oftentimes with only a superficial understanding of the underlying principles and its nuances.  In the rush to be green, our ignorance leads us to easily be co-opted, and the corporate green-washing machine wins.

And so it is with organic labeling of food.

The current interpretation of organic has gotten away from the spirit of what it’s forebears intended.  Originally the concept of leaving a small footprint, and an alternative way of producing food, it has increasingly become a panacea and the easy answer to all that is wrong with our food production chain, even as it has started to betray its original ideals. 

Industrial organic does not honor the original ideals of organics.  Feeding corn to cows, chickens or fish is far from the original ideals of organic.  Same with organic monocultures, centralized production, extensive shipping networks, and making processed foods with organic ingredients.  (As Marion Nestle put it, “Organic junk food is still junk food”).

There’s a great book by Samuel Fromartz called “Organic, Inc.”, which traces the rise of organic food from its anti-industrial genesis into an $11B industry.  It is fascinating reading, and I highly recommend it for anyone wanting to know more about the organic food industry, as well as the developing schism that is pitting defenders of the pioneering philosophies against builders of a parallel food production system which does not honor the spirit of organic.

I think we are at a crossroads of moving beyond the easy answers.  I think those of us who are truly concerned about the future of organics and our food production chain understand that it is a behemoth which is going to require a wholesale overhaul and rethinking of government, environmental, agricultural, and public policies as well as re-setting priorities.