Organic agriculture’s
potential for remediating soil health
by Kathleen Zinck
Pulled by moon
cycles, influenced by the stars, our earth is constantly in flux, eternally
seeking balance in its natural rhythms.
In our own lives,
we do the same thing. We make small adjustments for comfort, for stress, always
seeking to create optimum balance in our bodies and busy lives.
Oddly enough, the
fresh foods we love do this too. In the fields, crops benefit from a kind of
'musical chairs' approach to growing. After basking in the fertility of
one section, crops are happy to move on to a new section where they can benefit
from, and contribute to, optimum soil fertility.
All organic
farmers practice crop rotation, but 'biodynamic farmers' take it a step
further. By following a biodynamic calendar, farmers can optimize plant energy
by harnessing cosmic energy through the careful timing of sowing and harvesting
in harmony with nature's rhythms and natural cycles.
Although
processed food manufacturers would like us to believe their products offer
'high energy' in the form of caffeine or added vitamins, only fresh foods offer
whole food value.
Biodynamics was
just one of the many fascinating discussions at Everdale Farm's Crop Rotation
workshop in Hillsburgh, Ontario recently.
An educational
leader for both farmers and the eating public, Everdale Farm is slowly but
surely helping us all understand that farming can, and should, be a focal point
in community development if we are to have a sustainable, secure, local and healthy
food supply.
Soil
Fertility Paramount to Health
Critical to the
health of Canadian soils, organic agriculture has the unique potential to
remediate depleted soils that have been neglected in every province since the
advent of intensive farming practices after the 2nd world war.
In his book “The
End of Food: How the Food Industry is Destroying Our Food Supply--And What We
Can Do About It”, Thomas Pawlick draws a bleak picture of declining
food value. “Since
1950 supermarket potatoes in Canada no longer contain Vitamin A, their iron
quotient has been reduced by 57% along with their Vitamin C. Meanwhile,
tomatoes have lost 61.5% of their calcium, 35.5% of their iron and 50% of their
Vitamin A while gaining 200% more sodium.”
And as baby
boomers face increasing occurrences of chronic degenerative conditions as they
age, high energy foods from healthy, active soils jumps to the head of the list
of priorities for the health of all Canadians.
"The discussion
in farming and human health shouldn't be about chemicals or lack of chemicals
or yields or prices. It really is about the soil and its ability to heal the
earth and improve our own ability to stay healthy. High food nutrition value
does not come from chemical fertilizers. It comes from soil that has high
levels of active organic material," says Laura Telford of Canadian Organic
Growers.
Climate
Change
Climate change is
increasingly exerting stress on crops that traditional farming practices have
difficulty mitigating. Organic crops are naturally more drought resistant, more
able to withstand variable conditions because of high level of organic matter
in the soil and crop rotation practices that optimize plant’s ability to fight
disease and avoid weeds. Green manures, cover crops, intercropping and
composted manure, key organic practices, all support healthy soils.
Transporting
foods half way around the world to satisfying our 'must have it now' consumer
addictions doesn't do much for climate change either, making the case even
stronger for local organic and community shared agriculture farms.
Traditional
Farming, A Passing Fad
Organics may seem
like the latest and greatest trend, but it is in fact a fundamental solution to
serious problems. Our 60 year relationship with traditional and intensive
farming is highly dysfunctional and although it originally evolved to resolve
serious supply and demand issues, is not a modern day solution for feeding the
world, but a passing fad that will be looked upon much the same way we look at
bloodletting or lobotomies from centuries past.
Everdale Farm
understands this and so do the 3600 certified organic farmers in this country
who are committed to healing the earth, improving human health and improving
the economic stability of every Canadian community.
Comments