Cheap Food - Is it a Con?

Cheap food?

The fact is, here in Europe, we have paid at least 3 times: once for the farming subsidies which go towards the cost of fertilisers; again for the food itself and thirdly for the decontamination at sewage plants and water treatment works.

The bill for cleaning pesticides from water supplies goes up year on year.

In addition there is another hidden cost - the cost of the health problems which result from sub-standard food.

While in many ways we are healthier than ever before, there is also a growing number of people who suffer multiple allergies and other health problems which have been linked to our pesticide habit.

There are also many pesticides which are known carcinogens - i.e. they have the potential to cause cancers. According to the Pesticides Action Network as many as 160 pesticides may fall into this group.

There is also the wider cost to our living environment.

The effect on wildlife

Bird populations in Britain, for example, have declined steeply in recent years. Scientists have linked declining numbers of farmland birds in particular, to the use of pesticides in intensive farming over the last 50 years.

Many species are affected by both the depleted soils and chemical residues left after spraying.

When you add up all these hidden costs - can you really believe that cheap food is worth the cost? The hidden costs of "cheap food" are borne by us all as tax-payers.

Organic cultivation and cheap food

Organic horticulture and agriculture create the right conditions for healthy, vibrant crops. They do this by feeding the soil which in turn feeds the plant.

This is in contrast to chemical farming, where the main aim is to feed the plant directly with NPK fertilisers. The soil is mainly used just for support and as a reservoir of moisture.

Although organic food is more expensive in most places, if it were to get a little more help from governments it would compare very favourably with conventionally grown food, especially when you factor in such things as the environmental and health benefits.

The current Farm Bill in the US, for example will cost around $76 billion. Organic farmers - and farmers making the transition to organic - are likely to get far less than 1% of that money. Much of the rest will go towards subsidising the chemical agribusiness which delivers "cheap food".

Organic Food is the Real Cheap Food!

To understand a little more about organic food and why it is better than chemically grown cheap food, here's a brief history.

The Modern Organic Movement

The organic movement grew up in response to chemical agriculture in the early 20th century.

About the time of the first synthetic fertilisers, pioneers such as Sir Albert Howard were studying oriental organic systems (still going strong after thousands of years) and experimenting with them for use back home in England.

Howard was stationed in India as a research scientist. He was able to observe the local composting and recycling methods. These he adapted for use in Britain as the "Indore" method, which is still used today.

Plant nutrition - or how plants feed themselves

Howard realised that Liebig's model of plant nutrition was not complete. While plants can get many of their main nutrients from dissolved chemicals, the micro-biological processes of the soil are very complex. Plants both exploit and support fungi and bacteria in a close community at the rootlets: much of their nutrition derives from this symbiotic relationship.

Complex interactions between soil micro-organisms such as bacteria and the plants' roots enable nitrogen and other necessary elements to be taken up by the plant as needed.

Howard realised that the role of composting was crucial for soil health. It is only what nature does, speeded up and concentrated.

After all, every forest floor is a composting factory!

Soil health and our health - the link

Lady Eve Balfour was an early pioneer who established an organic research centre in Haughley, Suffolk. For forty years she worked to establish the link between soil health and human health. Her work, "The Living Soil and the Haughley Experiment" was published in 1976. Her work is continued today at Elm Farm Research Centre.

In 1946 she and Friend Sykes founded The Soil Association. (www.soil-association.co.uk) The Soil Association is the organisation that regulates organic growers in the UK, ensuring high standards for our food.

Organic culture now - a world-wide phenomenon!

Organic cultivation has undergone a resurgence in the last few years. People's fear of disease has been fuelled by recent crises such as the BSE disaster and the revelation that high percentages of our foods are contaminated with pesticides.

There is also a growing awareness that conventional farming is just not sustainable, as it is so dependent upon synthetic fertilisers and pesticides, many of which are derived from natural gas and oil. Both these resources are limited and declining.

There are now many organic growing initiatives worldwide.

Cuba, for example, was forced to find creative solutions when the US cut it's access to oil in the 1990s. The Cuban economy fast-tracked to a largely organic agriculture over a few short years and today is one of the world's leading organic producers.

Many other countries are also seeing the benefits of converting to organics, both for their farming communities and in their income from exports.

You can now buy organic brazil nuts cultivated under the tropical forest canopy; or, like the Incas of old, you can eat organic quinoa from South America; you can drink delicious organic teas and coffees from around the world and, in many places, you can eat excellent local produce from local farms.

As more people realize the benefits of organic foods it becomes more accessible and some of it is even getting a little cheaper.

Nearly-organic farming

There are also farmers who practice a good many of the methods of organic cultivation without actually being fully organic. This is another good reason to eat mainly local foods. It is possible to find many good quality foods locally which are not certified organic but which are grown with conservation in mind.

If we eat mainly organic food we can be certain that we are contributing to the welfare and preservation of our wildlife and we get nutritious food brimming with vitamins and minerals for ourselves and our children.

For more information on organic growing please see:Why Organic (1)

Return from Cheap Food - Is it a Con? back to Green Earth

From Cheap Food - Is It a Con? back to Greenfootsteps.com - for easy green living