Journey of a Locavore—My Personal Organic Revolution

Tucked within Martin’s Supermarket’s produce section is a small display of organic fruits and vegetables. Their overall appearance is not much different from the shiny and large peppers and cucumbers staged directly across the aisle, save for a couple bruises or odd formations that make organic vegetables beautiful in their own right. Before I learned the value of organic farming, I thought “organic” was some kind of alien-modified vegetable of which the source was a mysterious lab hidden from society. Apparently, I was a little off.

I soon gained, with the help of my sustainably-minded friends, a better understanding of the methods and benefits of organic growing. This happened about the time I asked for advice about what to put on my plants to kill pests.

I was grateful to learn a couple of things about organic growing. An organic grower’s main tool is the soil, without which he/she grows nothing that can support the body. Protecting the soil is key for the vitality of an organic grower’s product. By building and protecting healthy soil the grower produces more than a healthy harvest, but also a sustainable growing system for future generations. Organic growers use methods that mimic natural systems, promoting biodiversity and crop rotation. Growers use various farm sizes depending on the machinery (or lack thereof) used to cultivate and reap. All organic growers, certified or traditional, reject the use of toxic synthetically produced chemicals.

I watched Food, Inc. soon after and received a supplemental education—with alarming visual images—on the conventional methods of farming.

• 70% of processed food includes ingredients made up of Genetically Modified Organisms.
• Industrial farms use heavy machinery, burning thousands of gallons a day. The machinery is best used for one type of crop grown on an entire field, thus creating a monocrop culture.
• Planting corn in an entire field strips the soil of its nitrogen. To replace it, science has created fertilizers and genetically modified seeds to account for nutrients stripped from the soil.
• Farms raising animals for slaughter pack warehouses with large numbers of animals with little room for movement.
• Large cattle farms generate massive amounts of manure that release greenhouse gases. Cattle houses with cement floors do not allow the manure to become part of the soil and the excess is kept in cesspools.

“A culture that just views a pig as a pile of protoplasmic inanimate structure to be manipulated by whatever creative design the human can foist on that critter, will probably view individuals within its community and other cultures within the community of nations with the same type of disdain and disrespect and controlling type mentality.”
~ Joel Salatin, Polyface Farms

Taking control of what I buy is taking control of my place in a culture that undermines our ability to make these choices for myself. With each food purchase I make, I am supporting one of these two systems.

Farmers who choose to grow organically adopt a way of living that takes more time, energy, and commitment to produce food than farmers who grow conventionally. Supporting the families who have chosen these methods supports a sustainable environment. By buying local, organically grown food, I am supporting farmers in my community who have respect for the earth and the soil that supports good food. We each, as eaters, are ourselves responsible for sustaining the soil that will produce food for generations who follow.

On a personal level, by eating healthy food grown without the use of pesticides, herbicides, and genetically modified seeds, I am choosing food that will promote my health and vitality. When we buy organically grown vegetables, we are making a stand. Every dollar we spend on organically-grown food is an investment of our own long-term healthcare. By avoiding conventionally-grown foods, we avoid the by-products of such: diabetes, heart disease, and cancer.