April 22, 2000 / Knight-Ridder Tribune / Sonya Colberg, Tulsa World, Okla.
Farmers are, according to this story, cultivating a $6 billion organic foods
industry that has been growing 20 percent to 24 percent yearly over nine
years, but they still have a long way to go to before becoming serious
competition in the $756 billion retail food market reported for 1998 by the
U.S.
Department of Agriculture.
Alan Ware, director of the Kerr Center for Sustainable Agriculture in Poteau
was cited as saying that in the past three years there has seen a
significant increase in telephone calls about organic farming related to the
center's Oklahoma Producer Grant Program, adding, "We're seeing a growing
trend toward more organic production. I know even in Oklahoma, there are a
lot more people growing organically produced crops. It's mainly because ... consumers are developing an awareness of where their food comes from."
Katherine DiMatteo, executive director of the Organic Trade Association in
Greenfield, Mass., was cited as saying now, about one-third of U.S.
consumers say they've bought organic products.
But, the story asks, is organic farming better for the environment? Can
farmers switch to organic production practices and still get the yields
offered by conventional farming practices?
Dave Bary, an Environmental Protection Agency spokesman, was cited as saying
that consumers and experts are debating organic farming's environmental
issues, adding, "On a small scale, organic farming probably does present
less threats to the environment. On a larger scale it may not. The jury's
still out."
Jim Stiegler, Oklahoma State University extension soils management
specialist, was cited as saying that weed killers are nearly always applied
on the soil or before a plant produces a grain and that almost none gets
into the plant, adding, "Most herbicides that the EPA has approved are as
safe or safer than table salt," and that more lab mice under study have died
after eating table salt than herbicide.
The story says that most consumers think organic farming means no pesticides
are used, studies show. But many organic farmers do use pesticides that are
naturally occurring. They might use Bacillus thuringiensis, sulfur, copper
or nicotine. Sometimes they combine them with practices such as crop
rotation, planting pest-free plants, releasing beneficial insects, and
growing crops alongside plants such as marigolds that discourage bugs from
attacking neighboring plants.
Christine Bruhn, Center for Consumer Research at the University of
California, Davis, was cited as saying the results of tests for residues in
foods by the USDA, California and other states deflate some of the tenets of
organic production, adding, "Eighty percent of the products have no
detected residues, and those that do have are at very, very low levels. In
terms of safety, the scientific evidence is that both products are safe in
terms of pesticide residue."
Audrey Cross, the national nutrition advisor during President Jimmy Carter's
administration, was cited as saying that drift of herbicides from inorganic
fields into organic fields could have influenced the results.
In a study similar to California's, the Food and Drug Administration
analyzed more than 10,000 samples of domestically produced and imported
food. Less than 1 percent of the sample had residue levels above
governmental tolerance levels. The studies show pesticide residue levels in
foods are well below EPA tolerances, says the International Food Information
Council.
The American Cancer Society was cited as saying a few studies have indicated
environmental factors such as pesticides may be linked to certain childhood
cancers. Renee Kelley society spokeswoman, added that still other studies
haven't found a link to these cancers and pesticides. But she said there is
no information directly linking diet to childhood cancers.
The International Food Information Council was quoted as saying, "The
relative risks and benefits of applying naturally occurring pesticides vs.
synthetics have not been determined."
The story says that Europe has stepped out in front in organic farming
because the people are concerned about genetic engineering, growth hormones
and antibiotics. Sweden is among several European countries that subsidize
farmers who switch to organic methods, and it has set a goal of converting
20 percent of its farmland to organic crops by 2005.
There is no huge, organized push to convert more ground to organic in
America. Organic crops in the U.S. account for about one-fifth of 1 percent
of farmland.
DiMatteo was cited as saying in the exploding organic market, American
farmers can take measures not to lose future market shares to foreign
competition. But, the story says, conventional wisdom says traditional
farming will out-yield organic farming, making it less profitable for
American farmers to adopt organic practices. A new study indicates
otherwise The Rodale Institute in Pennsylvania planted soybeans in organic plots right
next to soybeans planted in ground yearly doused with synthetic fertilizers
and conventional chemicals. The institute found that under drought
conditions, the organic plots yielded 24 to 30 bushels of soybeans an acre.
But the neighboring conventionally treated soybeans produced only 16
bushels.
Soils with high organic matter, correctly managed over many years would
increase the likelihood of organic farming producing yields as high as
conventional farming, said Kerr Center's Ware.
Stiegler said people might be able to produce vegetables as efficiently
using organic practices in small gardens, but not so on a larger scale. "I
would question whether you could reach the same levels, yield-wise," he
said.
(posted without permission)
