Organic farming and gardening have always been based on the principle of “feed the soil, not the plant.” In a recent interview, I got some expert advice for doing that, and also learn why our diligent soil-consciousness matters so much, with the co-directors of the nonprofit Real Organic Project, a farmer-led organization advocating for food produced in concert with healthy soils and pastures.
Dave Chapman and Linley Dixon are co-directors of the Real Organic Project, which since 2018 has created an add-on label to USDA Organic, to differentiate organic food that is soil-grown, not hydroponic, and animal products that are pasture-raised. Dave runs Long Wind Farm in Vermont, where he grows organic tomatoes; Linley Dixon farms vegetables organically in Southwest Colorado, at Adobe House Farm.
The Real Organic Project is holding an all-day conference featuring organic farming leaders on Saturday Sept. 28 at Churchtown Dairy in Hudson, N.Y., and we talked about that, too.
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Hi Margaret,
I love your podcast. I’ve never missed an episode. The topics and guests are always thought provoking and think differently than I do and I value those types of perspectives.
On Sept 7, 2024, a press release from the CDC announced 65 people have been sickened, 24 hospitalized, no deaths reported with Salmonella. The source has been traced to eggs distributed in MI, IL, WI. The eggs came from Milo’s Poultry Farm in WI. I have included a link to their website. https://milospoultryfarm.com/#
You will see from their website that they are certified organic but follow the principles.
I love the organic movement, the principles and the purpose. However, there are significant drawbacks if not executed properly and the most significant one is food safety. When we see recalls like this one or E. coli in spinach, it comes from organic farms. These are two examples of organic farms not managing their nutrient cycling (manure to compost) properly. It can sicken and kill people.
I will end with one final comment. The tone throughout the discussion was organic is good, conventional is bad. Maybe someday all production could be organic. There is a long way to go for farmers to sustain their businesses by making their bankers happy to operate next year. Even with a pending record crop yield for 2024, it will be at negative profits due to high costs. It will take so, so much to get farmers, bankers and the govt off of this money wheel to sustain the cashflow of tight margins.
Maybe someday. In the meantime, there in a majority of the world population that cannot afford the premium price of organic foods. I have observed consumer panels and listened to the answers people, particularly women of various socio-economic groups give about food choice and preference in the grocery store.
The striking learning for me was hearing the mothers from lower income families say the “organic” “no-antibiotics” “no-hormones” made them feel bad and sad about the food they bought for their families. They simply could not afford to buy the food with these labels on them and this was before COVID and the rash of inflation. No one should be made to feel this way.
There is always a give and take; a compromise with any choice. There is not a good or bad in my eyes.