FOOD SYSTEM, LIFESTYLE, HEALTH

Organic. Better Or Not?

Quite often, I find myself defending organic food to sceptics or non-believers.

The concept of organic. Not always the label and certification.
Because I’m aware of the complicated rules and financial criteria involved, and of some big companies taking advantage of the certification by seeking the limits of it.

It’s complicated, but the ideology behind it is what we need. Because non-organic agriculture is killing and depleting our soil. And without soil, no food. And we actually need even more than organic: regenerative is the new organic.

I grew up in the middle of nowhere in the French Pyrenees, surrounded by nothing but trees and our huge garden. The garden was most of our food supply, and it was “organic”. Not certified of course, because we weren’t selling any of it, but it would probably meet the criteria, and go far beyond it too.

We weren’t using anything unnatural. No fertility boosters or pest repellents. We were using the resources of nature to make the garden as productive as possible (you can see how my dad does it here). Not that there were never any snails or deer or molls sneaking around eating some of it, but it worked. It was, and still is, a truly abundant garden! Overflowing with vegetables, flowers, fruits and nuts.
At the dinner table, there was always pride in telling what came from the garden and what was organic from the market. I got used to the full flavours and fresh, seasonal produce.
From a young age, I understood that organic food was the better choice, for the environment and for humans.

Organic vs Organic

The general idea behind an organic certification:
- Respect for living ecosystems and animal welfare
- Maintenance of a high degree of biodiversity and conservation of soil fertility
- Ban of the chemical synthetic pesticides and GMOs
- Responsible management of natural resources
- No use of synthetic additives or industrial solvents

In general, organic food is better for your health and for the environment. It’s closer to nature and destroying less of it.
The problem with certifications is that there have to be rules to create the boundaries of the certificate. And sometimes, you can fall just outside of these boundaries while still having the best of intentions.

Another problem is that, to apply for it and maintain the certificate, you need to pay. That makes it easy for large corporations, and much harder for small independent farmers and producers, who sometimes just don’t apply for it because of the costs.

- Some of these small producers even go far beyond the definition of organic, using ancient methods in balance with nature, but don’t fit within the certificate because of one particular rule.
- Other companies or large farms do fit within the certificate, but stretch to the limits of the rules, finding ways to produce as much as possible by (almost) cheating.

So what I’m trying to say is, “organic” doesn’t always mean the same thing. There are organic labeled products that I wouldn’t trust, and non-certified small farmers that I would trust, if I knew their story and methods. These people are usually on the local farmers markets, so you can ask them about it.

And organic from a small local farmer or your neighbour’s backyard, is of course not the same type of organic as the huge industrialised supermarket organic.

But it will still be organic, meaning that it will guarantee less chemical products, pesticides, harmful ingredients, synthetic additives, animal harm and environmental pollution. And it generally has more vitamins and minerals and taste better too.

So, YES, organic is better.

Beyond organic

But organic is not enough, because it doesn’t ban large monocultures. It’s these monocultures that are causing most of the problems. A huge field with only the same plants next to each other is a fragile and dangerous kind of situation.

- If one of the plants gets a pest or a sickness, they will all get it and suffer or die
- They receive no natural protection or fertility boost from different surrounding crops
- The soil in that field with get depleted very quickly if the same crops are grown there time after time, taking the same nutrients out of the soil
- Because of that, they need much more (chemical) fertilisers and pesticides
- That leads to a depleted or dead soil, that can’t hold any water
- These fields then need more irrigation, costing more water
- Because the soil can’t absorb and hold the water, the fields are also much more susceptible to floods, causing many problems with heavy rainfall (happening more and more these days..)
- Not to mention the catastrophic consequences of pesticides, leading not only to dead soil and health harm, but also running off into ground water and rivers, creating dead zones in oceans and lakes, killing the underwater flora and fauna and poisoning drinking water

I know it sounds very dramatic, but this is what is happening right now to produce all your cheap supermarket foods.

And that is also why, if we keep on going like this, the last harvest will be in 60 years. Monocultures are the worst, and unfortunately they are everywhere.

Regenerative is the new organic

So what can we do? Switch to regenerative and biodynamic agriculture, both focusing on restoring, maintaining and enhancing ecological harmony and health. They use crop diversification and treat the farm or the land as a whole.

Their goal is not only to produce, but also to give back, restore the soil and keep a balance.
A regenerative practice can turn the dead soil left behind by a conventional farm into a source of abundant life. We need that everywhere!

On a regenerative farm, every animal, plant, insect, bird and tree has a purpose to feed or chase the other one, maintaining a natural balance without the need of outside inputs.

From the grass growing under the fruit trees to the sheep grazing it and the chickens eating the worms from what the cows leave behind, it’s all connected.

It’s really fascinating and it makes so much sense. You can see and read more about it in documentaries like Food, Inc., Sustainable (on Netflix) and My Biggest Little Farm, and the book Food Fix, to mention just a few.

To make it easier to find and buy produce grown in a regenerative way, we need many more small farmers, instead of a few huge industrialised factory farms.
More people growing their own food, more people shopping at their local farmers markets.
More people who are aware. Because that’s how it starts.
I hope this will inspire you to share the message, spread the awareness and eat more delicious and nutritious organic or regenerative food!

And if you’re looking for the pefect tableware to beautify that delicious food, check out my porcelain in the shop!

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