GMO

It has been an interesting few months. Seems that when I ask questions that aren’t perfectly in accord with the views of others, a cascade of misinformation is scattered about the internet.

The agricultural revolution began some 10,000 years ago when one of our ancestors planted a seed, watched it grow, and ate its fruit. It was time to stop wandering and plant more seeds. This ancestor, let’s call her Neolithia, was the grandmother of agriculture, from her labor sprung not only farming but civilization and industry. From that first seed to the cheap offerings of today, we are in dire need of an evolution of how we produce food.

Many of us purchase organic food and textiles to avoid unwanted toxins that may be present from the industrial chemical complex that pervades modern agriculture.

I have been in the organic food business since time out of mind. I remember the days before organic labels and standards, the Wild West of organic. I now serve on the Organic Trade Association Board of Directors and work for the largest distributor of organic products, UNFI. Of course it stands to reason that I am going to advise you to always choose organic. When I blog, I often end urging you to select organic, support organic farmers, and help transition more acreage to organic because it’s better. But what does the science reveal around the subject?

Down on the farm there is simultaneously an explosion of weeds and a retraction of seeds, a waxing and a waning, the yin and yang of Big Ag. These concurrent phenomena are (not coincidentally) caused by the same companies who are striving to control and harness agriculture. They hope to force every last bushel of productivity out of every single acre, achieving yields well beyond those imagined even a few years ago. These companies laid down their financial roots producing toxic chemicals. In days gone by they brought chemical warfare into the fields of battle.