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As harmoniously successful as Biological Fertility Systems are, they cannot remove all the
risks of farming. There are always disease and pest pressures, weeds and weather.
Conventional methods of production agriculture require the use of technology in the
pursuit of conquering nature. This gives the farmer a hedge against these risks.
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Farming with "natural systems
agriculture" means that our crops are often abused by nature or even lost entirely.
Usually we are able to use enough handy-work to minimize the evidence of nature's cruelty.
Sometimes we are not. All of these factors mean that organically grown food is worth more
and must be priced higher than conventionally grown produce.
People constantly ask, "Why is organic produce so
expensive?" People rarely ask, "Why is conventional produce so cheap?" The
answers to these two questions explain the dilemma we face in our food system today, as
well as the choice you must make daily in the supermarket. The dollar you spend is a
"vote" for the food system you want.
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Industrial production of farm produce using toxic chemistry has delivered vast quantities
of cosmetically appealing fruits and vegetables in all seasons at very low prices. This
system has also delivered the demise of the family farm, serious environmental pollution,
soil erosion, and produce that may contain toxic residue. We enjoy cheap food today and
defer into the future the unpaid costs of remediation.
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Organic production shuns the toxic interventions that can often save a crop from suffering
economic harm. We must rely on diversity and nutritional approaches to strengthen our
crops' resistance to disease and pest attack. These preventative measures are not always
adequate, and we, therefore, expose our production to greater risk of loss. When we are
visited by pests and disease the remedies available are often more costly to purchase and
apply, as well as less effective than the toxic conventional pesticides we do not use.
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Because we have no way to defer these costs to the future, we must build them into the
price of our product with each day's shipment. When you purchase an organic product at a
higher price, you are not only buying what you hope to be a more nutritious, better
tasting and residue free fruit or vegetable. You are also paying to protect the health of farmers
and farm workers. You are paying up front at the check stand for protecting the water you
drink, the air you breathe and the soil in which your food is grown.
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We Know the Price of
Everything, But the Cost of Nothing
"Americans pay about $1.50 per gallon at the gas pump, but gasoline actually costs up
to $7 a gallon when you factor in all the costs. Middle Eastern oil, for instance, costs
nearly $100 a barrel: $25 to buy and $75 a barrel for the Pentagon to keep shipping lanes
open to tanker traffic. Similarly, a pesticide may be priced at $25 per gallon, but what
does it cost society as the pesticide makes its way into wells, rivers, and
bloodstreams?" --Paul Hawken, "Mother Jones," March/April '97 |
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