organic farming

I was a latecomer to eating organic, and even now it is a preference, not an absolute. I favor organic when it isn't TOO expensive.

One reason I switched to organic produce is because of the taste. Simply put, organic stuff tastes better. This is partly coincidental. Organic techniques do not by definition give better taste. It is more the fact that non-organic produce is produced for appearance, not taste.

I switched to organic meat because of antibiotics. Mainstream agriculture uses antibiotics routinely in animal feed, which then leads to antibiotic resistant strains of bacteria which are becoming a human health hazard. Generally, only organic meats are guaranteed to be raised without this misuse of antibiotics. Finally, reading about geysers of pig shit on giant pig farms in one of Al Franken’s books sealed the deal with organic meat.

Slowly I realize that once you get beyond the foolish fads that some organic advocates favor, there are some real logical reasons for going organic. Agriculture is becoming increasingly unsustainable, and organic techniques can mitigate this. As environmental crises grow, this will become more and more important.

Which is why it is heartening to see that two no-nonsense organic farmers are running for office this year.

Jon Tester is running for Senate in Montana. From his website: