Oh Gawsh! Organics!

From Great Lakes Wiki

An original article by Ben Phillips, proofread by all.

[edit] Oh Gawsh! Organics!

Far from the drizzle of Southern England, which has been pioneering new forms of community building organic agriculture since the 70’s, Michigan has been developing its own organic growing sector. But, despite the scenery change, they are still suffering from the same problems attributed to mass producing food via routes with small farm sizes, pesky neighbors, crappy cooks, and lots of paper work. As I write this amidst the dusty tomes of the MSU Law Library I cannot imagine wanting to be farther from complicated paper work.

[edit] Filing Out

Craig Howard, a member of the now defunct Organic Growers of Michigan’s Lifeline Chapter related to me one rainy day while driving to Cleveland that the organic collective he was then a part of was forced to disband when the USDA demanded certification to officially label their produce “organic.” And according to the Midwest Organic Alliance, "not everyone goes through the rigorous process of becoming certified, especially smaller farming operations."

By the data collection of the Agriculture and Rural Development subsidiary of the European Commision, land utilized by organic growers in the European Union has reached only 2% of the total farm land in 2000, despite its near linear growth of about 30% per year, since 1998. You may wonder; what could United States’ percentages be, being about two and half times larger than the EU? According to the USDA’s Economic Research Service, in 2003 a measly 0.4 % of the total farmland was certified as organic.

Included with the statistic was a list of reasons why the practice hasn’t quite exploded in popularity. Among them, “high managerial costs and risks of shifting to a new way of farming, limited awareness of organic farming systems, [and a] lack of marketing and infrastructure.”

“Without certification, you can’t sell it as organic,” told Howard. And, unfortunately the all volunteer organization, which had survived since 1972, collapsed under the weight of (probably) one-sided paper work. Howard said, “It was just too much for a bunch of volunteers to do.”

But, according to MSU’s Susan Smalley Ph.D., and state coordinator for Sustainable Agriculture, Research and Education, paperwork is not the only problem. Some of the strongest campaigners for organic farming have a beef surrounding how the USDA verifies the procedures of applicant farms; there is an idea out there that novel sustainable design methods are more important than the daily, material, record keeping that the USDA looks for.

Pesticides and GMO’s are also known to drift long distances, mixing with and contaminating would-be organic populations. “In fact,” adds Smalley, “Practically no corn in the world is without [GMO] contamination.”

Though, even without certification, many farmers continue to grow their crops and raise their livestock organically. For Howard, the benefits outweigh the hardships. “The natural nutrients are good for the soil,” (meaning not bad for it) and the generally smaller acreage allows for a tight community of workers, despite the decreased output. And it has been known for neighbors to help out, as long as they’re close in proximity and spirit. It makes me question the USDA quote above; how is organic farming a new way of farming?

It would appear as though large scale farming is positively regressing, if there is such a thing, to the time when my great grandfather set-up an farm in Bangor, MI in 1918. Most of the chemicals used heavily during the latter part of the 20th century had not been invented yet. And, despite being an Italian immigrant, help could be found in his small network of neighbors.

An additional plus is the versatility offered to the organic farm by its genius, though somewhat complicated, method of crop rotation. The switching up of produce allows for a very natural process of soil rejuvenation, without the need for man-made chemical adjusters. It also means the farm is in constant action, as each of the three growing seasons can be utilized for a different plant product. Though, Smalley was quick to point out to me that it does not always work that way, and that within organic farms there can be “incredible variation.”

Her view point on agriculture’s positive regression was insightful as well. “The difference in my mind is we are beginning to understand the science behind what they did,” and hopes the future of agriculture is headed in the direction of a hybridization of traditional cultivation practices with scientific innovation and education.

One final argued appendage to the USDA certification is its incentive for organic farms to stay small. According to Smalley, if a farm produces less than $5,000 in profits per year the owners do not have to pay for certification, but must maintain their records for inspection. The idea behind this perk is to keep organics local. After all, if they became as industrialized as modern monocultures, organic farming would “become two different things.” No longer synonymous with such heart-warming things as community and local support, organic farms could become another conglomerate.

But, as of 2003 there were no such worries. The average farm size in Michigan in 2002 was 190 acres, 44.4 acres for organics certified through the Michigan Organic Growers in 2003. As a result, organic farms tend to restrict the breadth of their community exports. The desire is that food grown near your house stays near your house, with the idea that it creates a closer community by cycling the flow of cash and crops.

[edit] Stickers? We don’ need no steenkin’ stickers!

But, if it’s the strict laws and regulations that keep a few local suppliers of garden vegetables and fruit from producing safely, then why are we completely relying on them? Don’t get me wrong, but why not follow that individualistic spirit Americans seem to tout so proudly on a long stick and grow your own?

Actually, people in the United States have been doing just that for the past 26 years. And a nationwide initiative formed in 1979 called the American Community Gardening Association. Their links page allows an easy way to locate community gardens in 33 of the 50 states, as well as some in Ontario, British Columbia and the Northwest Territories. And, The Detroit Agricultural Network (DAN) is just one example of an amazing affiliate with a large support base of backyard growers, educators and urban reforestation activists.

The Brits have also taken this to heart. And while in London I was able to witness the wonderful phenomenon of their Federation of City Farms and Community Gardens, which officially started in 1980, but had been sparked in 1972 by a city farm movement in Kentish Town. Albeit, I was held within a train car from which I wished to burst forth from to run around the hundred-yard plot of allotment gardens in a pair of big rubber Wellies.

Though much more focused on urban reforestation, the progressive project, Greening of Detroit, has gone underway with a plan to create what will become an Urban Farm Park at Romanowski Park. The project will develop over the next five years with help from The Detroit Green Corps and any volunteers willing to assist. But, there are currently better developed city farms very much resembling the ones in London, set up by the DAN.

Another example of the layout and functionality of the London plots is Marquette’s Community Garden Group, in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Their garden was sectioned off to one corner of a small cemetery and was designed to allow residents with even smaller yards to grow their own fruits and veggies. They also have their own dogma of organic growing rules.

This type of organization gives me a nice feeling inside because, keep in mind, London is the world’s largest sprawl of brick and cinder at 609 square miles, and it only contains fifty farms and gardens. Marquette, however, being a fraction of London’s size at 11.4 square miles, also shares a fraction of its community gardening with a cute little singlet. It has been a learning experience for those involved and brought the community closer together, as well. You can read about their progress, and their produce, on their blog.

The parallels in the two country’s community garden organizations are thrilling, but you may experience the same reaction I had when I found a community garden near me. The progression was something like this: Woa, that is soooo cool. Everyone is all coming together and planting their own food and stuff, retrofitting the rundown areas to look nice. Wait, there’s one near me too…? Looks hard…I’m pretty busy…I’ve only tried growing something in my closet… once…Well, there’s one more up and coming alternative, called Community Supported Agriculture! Now, those far from Thomas Jefferson’s God can eat tasty food and still support their community, and the environment!

[edit] Growing is like PRE-cooking! I can’t even cook!

Community Supported Agriculture is a novel idea that has begun to take hold in many areas, cutting the grocer out as the middle man and allowing farms to interact directly with their constituents. Most farms take applicants who agree to pay a monthly fee to receive a weekly allotment of their fruit and vegetable crop. In most cases the interested family or individual will pick up the produce themselves, but some deliver. To find out near you check out the awesome clickable map on Local Harvest's site.

Distance can be a problem sometimes, but one of the biggest problems facing organic farms is the lack of knowledge people have about food preparation and storage. So, in an attempt to maximize their healthy influence on the community, some farms engage their members by offering classes and volunteer positions to better understand the benefits of organically grown food. In fact, the second annual Michigan CSA Conference took place in November, which included workshops and speakers on a range of topics.

According to Smalley, some CSA’s tend to provide too much of a good thing. She frequently finds herself with cooker’s block with the same sizable amount of vegetables each week. There are some farms that offer bulk purchases, which can lead to a wasted resource. “It would be interesting to do a study of how much people pick up from the farm and how much is thrown away by the next week.” But, other CSA’s, such as the MSU Student Farm, allow for a cafeteria style pick-up, downsizing the risk of wastefulness.

My early experiences cooking were through Boy Scout camping trips, and the emphasis on packaged food was immense. There was less to clean, less to pay and less to do! The benefits at the time were short-sighted and based purely on momentary practicality. Now, in retrospect (always in retrospect!) it is easy to see the logical parallels between squeeze cheese and DDT.

Organic agriculture in the Great Lakes is groaning into action, and I see some fun opportunities for mixing and matching new technology and knowledge with age-old farming procedures. Maybe the Boy Scouts need a new merit badge, and maybe someone should run some tests on that squeeze cheese, it’s too good...Discuss!