The Year Organic Farmers go Mainstream

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:

Since the late 1980s Tester has put his stamp of leadership on the family farm by moving toward organic farming. The Tester family now grows organic wheat, barley, lentils, peas, millet, buckwheat, alfalfa and hay.

Eight years ago, outraged by rate hikes brought on by the deregulation of Montana Power, Tester ran for the Montana Legislature.

Senator Tester recently completed his fourth regular session in the Montana Senate. After election as the minority whip for the 2001 session, and minority leader for the 2003 session, Tester was selected in 2005 by his colleagues to lead as President of the Montana Senate, serving as the chief presiding officer of the Montana Legislature’s upper chamber.

His tenure as President marked a significant and successful transition for Montana Democrats as they moved into the majority leadership of the Senate for the first time in more than a decade.

Then in Iowa, Denise O'Brien, also an organic farmer, is running for Secretary of Agriculture for Iowa. Denise has been endorsed by Democracy for America and Teresa Heinz Kerry has been fundraising for her. Here is what DFA has to say about her:

Denise O'Brien for Iowa's Secretary of Agriculture. Denise has been an organic farmer and farm activist for over 30 years. She and her husband ran a dairy farm for 20 of those 30 years. During this time Denise became interested in agriculture policy that promotes the family farm. She has helped start several progressive programs to fight corporate influence in farming. In the 1990's she launched the Women, Food and Agriculture Network -- an organization that supports women in farming. When elected she will work to create more opportunities in farming. She wants to reduce the influence of industrial agriculture -- which has a serious impact on family farms and prevents young farmers from entering agriculture. Denise will work with local farmers to clean up the water. This essential resource needs to be protected and preserved. She will also work to boost the local economy by promoting locally owned renewable energy operations.

What I like about these two candidates is that they are not vague, macrobiotic aging hippies. They are real farmers who are making sound practical decisions. And they are running in two states that are not known for embracing hippie ideas.

For those who believe in organic farming (and many of you came to it long before I figured it out), I urge you to support these two candidates. If these candidates win, it will go along way to validating organic farming within our society.

Organic goes mainstream...and mainstream goes organic. It is about time.

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