have a contract with a food proces- sor like Stonyfield Yogurt (owned by Groupe Danone) or Cascadian Farm (General Mills), a dairy co-op like Organic Valley, or a direct relationship with a supermarket like Whole Foods, Wal-Mart, or my local supermarket, Wegmans. There is virtually no chance that her corn will be used for biofuel, since the varieties she grows for food are much more valuable.


She might rely on migrant workers or labor contractors for harvest every year, because they are the only ones willing to do the work. But she tries to treat them well and looks forward to seeing families return every year. For- tunately, many young people are get- ting interested in organic farming and offering her sweat equity in exchange for the chance to learn how to farm. She sometimes puts her kids to work, too – they love collecting eggs and feeding the animals. She feels good knowing that they won’t be exposed to any dangerous chemicals or toxins on her farm.


And now for the food the glorious food. Her products, because organic is less


available and the demand is high, go to people who really care about what they eat – and, yes, who can afford the higher cost. Some may go to a food processor, and although fuel is required to process and transport it, most organic processors know that their customers are concerned about the environment, so they are careful to use less, and less toxic, packaging. After the harvesting and the harvest feasts and festivals are finished, she still has two more jobs to do. The first is to turn her farm waste into fertilizer. She gathers the stalks and leftover plant materials, the animal manure and bedding straw, and adds them to her compost pile, which “cooks” as its materials decay over the winter and turns into fertile soil that will enhance her farm’s health and productivity.


Last, she plants a cover crop. She started doing it to cut down on winter erosion and weeds – which it did well. Then she read an article about mycor- rhizal fungi, which grow on the roots of her winter cover crop and pull carbon from the air to hold it safe and sound in her soil. Though she can’t see the mycorrhizal fungi, she knows they are


there, working hard for her farm. They are on her team, just like the birds, the bees, the chickens, and the flowers. Organic farming is a hard life, but it’s a good life.


At the end of the organic cycle, no corporation has made a lot of money selling stuff to her. Organic farmers aren’t held hostage either. No govern- ment agency has to clean up after her, but the government hasn’t helped her either (other than by establishing those USDA Organic rules and not allowing them to be eroded – one case in which government regulation benefits us all). No river or ocean has been polluted. No child has been poisoned. More car- bon has been stored on that farm than she released in the process of farming her land. Best of all, healthy, nutritious, and tasty food has been provided to the people who were able to buy it from her. And she’s made the world a better place in the process. That sounds good to me.


Reprinted with permission from Organic Manifesto ~ How Organic Farming Can Heal Our Planet, Feed the World, and Keep us Safe by Maria Rosale published by Rodale Books Available at your local book store or


online at: www.organicmanifesto.com


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