Organic Agriculture isn't Just Ecological, it's Economical!

Graph from the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and
Rural Affairs

U.S. retail sales of natural and organic foods and beverages rose to nearly $39 billion in 2010, an increase of over 9% from the previous year (which is greater than the growth of conventional agriculture) and 63% higher sales than five years before.  The organic market is projected to grow by 103% between 2010 and 2015.  This would make annual sales over $78 billion in 2015.  The implications of this growth of organic agriculture are unclear.  Companies like Frito-Lay North America announced a production focus on “natural” and organic products.  While the term “natural” has no official meaning at the FDA, the commitment to organic might have an enormous impact on the natural foods marketplace.

This growth is reflected in land use figures as well.  According to E.L. Beck, at the Worldwatch Institute, in 2009 organic farming was practiced on 37.2 million hectares worldwide, a 5.7 % increase from 2008 and a 150% increase since 2000.  As a method to reduce input costs and environmental degradation, organic farming is increasingly being employed in developing countries and by small farmers.  A recent New York Times article covered the growth of organic agriculture in India as productivity increases and input costs decreased resulting in much higher profits.   

Sources:

Danielle Nierenberg, “Organic Agriculture’s Resilience Shows Untapped Potential” Eat Drink Better

“Natural and Organic Food and Beverage Market to Double by 2015” Packaged Facts via Marktwire

GMO's Threat to Organic Agriculture

The following article was written by a Massachusetts organic farmer, Ed Stockman, for NOFA Massachusetts.  This article demonstrates the dangers of genetically modified organism crops and seeds to organic agriculture, the environment and human health.  This issue is too important to be ignored, which is reflected by CT NOFA's participation in the lawsuit against Monsanto.  While organic farming is facing more regulation, GMO crops are being deregulated. Every person is a stakeholder as a food producer or as a consumer and every individual should be concerned and involved.

Will organic crops and food be contaminated out of existence?

By Ed Stockman

  

The recent deregulation of genetically engineered alfalfa, sugar beets and ethanol corn by the USDA certainly was a blow to organic agriculture and eventually to all organic foods. Those of us who wish to eat organic foods uncontaminated by genetically engineered DNA will have a real problem finding such foods in the near future. Growing your own non-GMO foods may no longer be an option because our seed supply will also be contaminated. The USDA owns the word “organic” and they set the final rules. This is the same agency that is deregulating one GMO crop after another so they can be grown in the open to contaminate organic and non-GMO crops. The USDA refuses to test, regulate or label GMO crops so it’s reasonable to think they may redefine the word organic to allow contaminated crops and seeds to be sold as “some kind of organic” in the future. 

        Little hope remains that either the Democrats or the Republicans will stop the USDA and the advancement of GMOs in agriculture and our food. The mounting evidence connecting genetic engineering to health, environmental and agricultural dangers paints the future for healthy organic food and pure, uncontaminated seeds in shades of grey, making the GMO problem seem insurmountable — but it is not! Defeating biotech will not be easy, but it is possible. We should not forget the power at the top always depends on the silence of the people on the bottom.

Let’s not be silent

A 2011 MSNBC poll found 96 percent of voters want GMO foods labeled. Others polls found 53 percent would not eat a product if they knew the product contained GMOs. But don’t expect labeling anytime soon. Food corporations and manufacturers are fearful of labeling because GMO labeling means lost sales and reduced revenues. Losing money gets their attention, so let’s help them lose money. How?  First, we need to STOP BUYING AND EATING GMO PRODUCTS or products with GMO ingredients. But how do I know if a product contains GMO ingredients if they are not labeled? Essentially, they are labeled. If a product contains non-organic corn or soy or ingredients derived from soy or corn then more than likely the product contains GMOs. The best way to find out is to print a copy of the free Non-GMO Shopping Guide at NONgmoShoppingGuide.com. It contains a list of invisible GM ingredients.

Secondly, we need to organize, to form local groups and educate ourselves. Showing a film like “The World According To Monsanto” and signing up the audience is an effective way of forming a group. Educate yourself and talk to your friends, neighbors and store managers. Don’t think health food stores are safe havens from GMOs. Read the labels, don’t buy those that contain ingredients derived from GMOs and tell store managers why you are not buying a certain product. Vote for a GMO-free world with your dollars and your purchases. If you want help forming a local working group contact me at edstockman@verizon.net.

Thirdly, let’s use the power of the Internet and consumerism. How do we get food corporations to stop using GMO ingredients? We impact their bottom lines by not buying their products and letting them know why. E-mail, phone or write manufacturers and ask about the ingredients in their products. Tell them you like their products but are very concerned about GMOs and will no longer buy or eat products with GMO ingredients.

We don’t need every person in America to stop buying GMO products, so there is no need to try and convince resistant people. We just need enough to cut into corporate profits and create a “tipping point”. It is surprisingly low. That’s what happened in Europe to stop GMO foods and more recently with rBGH in milk in the U.S. The word is out – GMOs are unsafe – and once the tipping point is reached, the demand for GMO crops and seeds will be significantly reduced and fields will once again grow non-GMO crops.

I’ve been an organic grower for 40 years, all my adult life, and I’m fearful it may all end. I can’t predict the future, but one thing is for sure: if we remain silent, the power at the top will allow organic crops and food to be contaminated with GMO genetics. Let’s not be silent.

Ed Stockman is an organic farmer, biologist and former NOFA/Mass Organic Extension Educator. He farms in Western Massachusetts and is a spokesperson for the Hilltown Non-GMO Working Group. He can be reached at edstockman@verizon.net.

Maine State Legislature Highlights Food Sovereignty

Maine has passed a joint resolution declaring Maine State Food Sovereignty.  State representative Aaron Libby writes that while a Joint Resolution has no political power, it “can and will send a message to the Federal government that we disapprove of their over regulation.” 

JOINT RESOLUTION EXPRESSING THE SENTIMENT OF THE LEGISLATURE FOR FOOD SOVEREIGNTY
WHEREAS, according to the Declaration of Independence, all people "are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness"; and
WHEREAS, food is human sustenance and is the fundamental prerequisite to life; and
WHEREAS, the basis of human sustenance rests on the ability of all people to save seed and grow, process, consume and exchange food and farm products; and
WHEREAS, it is our obligation as elected representatives of the people of Maine to protect the fundamental freedoms as enshrined by the Constitution of Maine and the United States Constitution and to protect agricultural, ecological and economic diversity and sustainability for a free and healthy society; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED: That We, the Members of the One Hundred and Twenty-fifth Legislature now assembled in the First Regular Session, on behalf of the people we represent, and in recognition of our State's proud agricultural heritage, take this opportunity to oppose any federal statute, law or regulation that attempts to threaten our basic human right to save seed and grow, process, consume and exchange food and farm products within the State of Maine.

 The FDA is in the process of creating food safety regulations for the Food Safety Modernization Act, which will go into effect gradually.  The joint resolution is a response to the US Senate’s passage of the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (See the CT NOFA blog entry from June 1, 2011). Maine has taken a proactive stance to preserve local food regulations, with four towns first passing local food sovereignty laws.  This joint resolution raises the question of local and state power in determining their own agricultural and food policy.

The National Organic Land Care Movement!

Oregon Tilth just announced the Oregon Tilth Accredited Organic Land Care (OLC) program.  Oregon Tilth used the Standards for Organic Land Care: Practices for Design and maintenance of Ecological Landscapes created by NOFA in 2000-2001 as the model for their own program.  The goal of Organic Land Care programs is to replace artificial pesticides and fertilizers used in land care with natural or biological alternatives.  By eliminating these harmful practices, land care professionals or land owners can improve the health of the soil, conserve water, and work in conjunction with biological processes instead of against them.  These land care standards and practices are applicable in other parts of the country and it is exciting that the organic land care movement has made the transition from a regional movement to a national one. 

Farming and Climate Change

As we gear up for a couple of hot days in Connecticut and around the country, scientists and farmers are considering the effects of these higher temperatures on local and global agriculture.   The American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America and Soil Science Society of America recently published a “Position Statement on Climate Change”.  The potential changes in climate are “significant for the practice of agriculture and land management.”  Climate change linked floods, heatwaves and droughts have resulted in crop failure around the world.  The report also acknowledges that agriculture, worldwide, contributes 10-15% of the world’s main greenhouse gases, and that agricultural practices must begin to account for their emissions.  To adapt to climate change, the report recommends that farmers increase crop diversity, employ drip irrigation to conserve water, and use integrated pest and soil management, specifically ensuring soil health by conserving and enriching the organic content of soils.  

Other reports such as this one have identified organic agriculture as a key part of responding to climate change.  Because organic agriculture reduces or eliminates nutrient depletion in the soil and increases soil organic matter content, soil is able to store more water (making crops more resilient to drought).  Additionally much of agriculture's contribution to global greenhouse gas emissions are from the production and transport of chemical fertilizers and pesticides.  Organic agriculture is a vital tool in mitigating climate change and in reacting. 

Just a quick hello and introduction

Hello!

My name is Kristiane Huber and I’m CT NOFA’s new Event, Marketing and Outreach Coordinator.   I am from Southbury, CT and just graduated from Connecticut College in New London with a double major in Environmental Studies and Government.  My main academic focus was international environmental justice issues.  In my junior and senior year, I researched climate migration and climate change’s threat to indigenous culture. Last summer I was a research intern for an indigenous rights advocacy organization, Tribal Link Foundation in New York, New York which sent me on a research trip to Tuvalu, the nation that is the most vulnerable to climate change in the world.   

While I have been very interested in international environmental justice, I became involved in the sustainable food movement because inequitable food access is a clear local environmental injustice.  Also, having lived in Connecticut for my whole life, I love Connecticut farms for their role in our landscape and I love locally grown produce.  This passion for food, farms and the environment moved me to become Co-Chair of Sprout, ConnColl’s organic garden club and sustainable food initiative and to intern with CitySeed New Haven in 2009.

I am really happy to be a new member of the CT NOFA team, and I’m so thankful for the opportunity to with the organization and continue to learn!

Upcoming Organic Land Care Workshops

Check out two summer workshops being hosted by the Organic Land Care Program!

“Organic Invasive Removal and Control,” will provide instruction on plant identification, identifying areas in need of invasive removal, site analysis, creating a management plan, biological controls of invasive species with beneficial insects, and a demonstration of organic techniques used for removing threatening invasive plants in Connecticut.  The workshop is lead by Dr. Charlotte Pyle, a landscape ecologist at the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Donna Ellis, a Senior Extension Educator in the Dept. of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture at UConn and Michael Nadeau of Plantscapes, Inc. 

Friday, July 8th, 2011 (Rain date – Friday, July 15th, 2011)

8:30 am – 3:00 pm
Beardsley Zoo - Hanson Exploration Station
1875 Noble Avenue, Bridgeport, CT 06610

Cost:
General public..........................................$200
AOLCPs and/or NOFA members...............$185
AOLCPs who register by June 24th...........$150 

The second workshop is titled “Compost Tea: First Defense in Organic Land Care.”  Peter Schmidt of Composterwerks, LLC will explain Soil Foodweb methodology and how to brew compost tea through classroom time and a staff-guided visit to the compost tea facility at the Botanical Gardens.  The Soil Foodweb refers to the complex living systems of organisms living in the soil.  This community of organisms creates and retains nutrients in the soil until they are absorbed by the roots of plants.  The workshop will cover the topics of compost production, its specific uses, the relationship between soil and plants and the role of organic matter in soil. 

Tuesday, August 23, 2011
9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
New York Botanical Garden

Cost:
General public...........................................................$200
AOLCPs,  NOFA and/or NYBG members...............$185
AOLCPs who register by August 2nd………............$150

To register for either workshop, please call the CT NOFA office at 203-888-5146.  For a full description of the workshops and the professionals leading them, please visit the Organic Land Care website: http://www.organiclandcare.net/education/advanced-workshops