Oregon Tilth - Organic Certification Agency
Portland, Oregon
Organic certification is a government-regulated process that began in the 1990s to establish uniform standards for organic food. Oregon Tilth is one of the 50 or so accredited certifying agents in the country that any company can hire to certify its products as organic. It is also a nonprofit research and educational organization that offers classes and workshops on organic gardening. Last spring I volunteered with their garden crew to find out what organic really means.
The first fact I learned is that organic gardening is gardening without synthetic pesticides or herbicides. Conventional farms use these chemicals to control unwanted pests and weeds, but some chemicals may also kill helpful insects (like pollinating bees) and there are other controversies surrounding their use. For example, toxic run-off into nearby rivers may destroy fish and other river life and studies are underway regarding the impact of the chemicals on the health of the workers who use them.
Large, industrial farms rely on chemicals to get the most yield from the land. They typically grow only one type of crop, (for example corn, wheat, or soy) year after year in the same soil, which requires more fertilization (usually synthetic) and makes the crops more susceptible to pests. Economic and political factors have favored these "monoculture" farms, which are eligible for government subsidies to compensate for weather and market fluctuations.
By contrast, organic farms typically grow a diversity of crops for better pest control, soil management, and a little insurance against the weather. It is difficult for organic farms to get government subsidies, which often require a specific acreage of a specific crop. Ineligibility for government subsidies is one of the reasons organic foods tend to cost more than conventional foods.
When I asked Conner Voss, Garden Coordinator at Oregon Tilth, about the price issue of organic food, he said, "I'm not sure the solution lies in bringing down the cost of organically produced food, but rather more accurately portraying the cost of conventionally grown food with its hidden environmental costs, subsidies (like you mentioned), and petroleum-based inputs. In a market where true costs are accounted for, I would venture a guess that organic food is more efficient, and ultimately (in the long-run) cheaper to produce. Of course, this requires a shift in our collective definitions of efficiency, utility, and economy as well as a much longer view of the soil's ability to sustain humanity, free from a dependence on dangerously 'cheap' finite resources."
Photos of Conner and the garden crew and more facts about organic farming are in this gallery of images taken during my adventures on the Oregon Tilth's educational farm.
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Pine Knot Farms - Organic Is in Our Roots
Orange County, North Carolina
Organic certification has its controversy. Many small farms use organic practices and are very sustainable, but they are not allowed to use the "organic" label on their produce because they have not been certified. Small-scale farmers often resent the paperwork and fees that are associated with certification.
Stanley Hughes is an organic farmer who says he has always practiced what is considered sustainable or organic farming. He's the only minority organic farmer I've met. Last spring I visited his Pine Knot Farms as part of a farm tour in North Carolina. Asked why he decided to go organic, Stanley said very bluntly that black farmers have always been organic because they couldn't afford the chemicals in the first place.
Stanley admitted that he was initially put off by the paperwork involved with official certification, but luckily, he has help. His new wife, a former head administrator, recently retired with a deep understanding of paperwork. I asked her how much she had to complete in order to get Stanley's farm certified, and she held up two fingers about two inches apart. She recognizes the value of organic certification but also understands the difficulty that many farmers have in proving on paper what they've been doing for years in the fields.
Here are a few images of Stanley fielding questions from visitors to his organic farm.
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Diggin' Roots CSA - Buying Local, the Best Way to Buy Organic
Milwaukie, Oregon
Buying organic and buying local go hand in hand. Many small organic farms only sell locally, and personally, I like to buy local because I trust the farmer more when I can look her in the eye. Also, local fruits and veggies use less fuel to reach the consumer, and they taste fresher because they are usually picked the same day they are sold. An excellent way to buy organic and local food is through Community Supported Agriculture (CSA). At the beginning of the growing season, you the consumer buy a "share" into the CSA, something like $35 a week for 15 weeks. Each week, you are provided a box of food grown on the farm(s) associated with the CSA. The farmers are assured of the steady capital they need to run the farm, while you get fresh, local, seasonal food each week. The website Localharvest.org has a great article on whether a CSA is right for you and can help you locate one in your area.
Diggin' Roots is a CSA based in a suburb of Portland, Oregon. It is run by the husband and wife team of Conner Voss and Sarah Brown. Conner works at Oregon Tilth and puts into practice what he preaches there. He and Sarah have an acre of land that fed about 12 families last summer. They hope to be able to feed 100 families in the near future. Check out my photos of Sarah and Conner harvesting food for their beautiful and delicious weekly baskets here.
If you can't buy into a CSA or get to the farmers' market, then buying from a local food co-op or from a good grocery store are additional options for buying organic. To reduce the potentially dangerous chemicals in your food, Conner and Sarah recommend making it a priority to buy organic any fruit or veggie that has a lot of little nooks and crannies, like strawberries, which can hold chemical residues.
Here's a hard link to this newsletter if you'd like to print it and/or share it with a friend.
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Organic farms use only natural forms of pest control.
Earthworms are a sign of healthy soil.
A volunteer digs in at Oregon Tilth's education farm.
Stanley has always been "organic."
Organic gardening was the norm before industrial farming.
Conner holds a typical CSA basket from Diggin' Roots.
Sarah harvests basil for her Diggin' Roots CSA basket.
Buying from local farmers can begin the reformation of our food system.
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