Does organic food have to be trendy, upscale and precious? Does it always have to be about taking your BMW down to Whole Foods for something as unlikely sounding as artisan fromage for money that could essentially feed your family for a whole day? I once happened to be driving past a farming district near Detroit and I saw this beautifully healthy looking organic farm; not very large it was either – just a couple of acres. I happened to ask the farmer how much produce he could put out of his land every year – and he said something like 20 tons. That could keep about 50 families in organic heaven for whole year now couldn’t it? Why does it have to always be so expensive and complicated to buy organic then? If a smalltime farmer like this one can feed 50 families on his little plot of land what on earth are we doing with industrial farming complexes that pollute the land with tons of fertilizer and huge machines?

There’s actually been a study done called Organic Agriculture and the Global Food Supply that’s followed the problem for years and found that there is no reason why it can’t be done. It tells us what we always knew – small-time small-town farmers who farm their own land, and care about the environmental consequences of what they do can, all put together, feed more people than the disruptive practices of industrial agriculture. We don’t need genetically engineered crops for large-scale production, and we certainly don’t need tons of fertilizer and pesticides and machines to keep the world from going hungry and starving. To grow organic and to grow it well, we only need the dedication and the clarity that only the small farmer can bring to the table.

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The honest truth to the matter is that the process of raising fish on a farm does more damage to the environment than good. And since sustainable Alaska salmon fishing practices have been in place for quite sometime, selecting wild-caught over farm raised is the preferred choice for environmentally conscious individuals.

One of the main reasons for this is the manner in which farm raised fish are fed. Unlike the practices of sustainable Alaska salmon, which catch the fish in the wild after they have had time to nourish and grow, farm-raised salmon are fed a combination of fish pellets and fish meat, since salmon are carnivores. To keep up with this fish meat demand within the overpopulated salmon farms, many wild fish are fed to the farmed salmon. According to statistics, around three to five pounds of wild fish are used per one pound of farm-raised salmon. This practice is neither sustainable nor environmentally friendly. Not to mention that the pellets that the fish are fed contain PCBs, chemicals originally used for cooling electrical equipment that were banned in the 1970s for the hazardous affects on the environment. This substance is stored within the fat of the farm-raised fish and is then transferred to the human body, where it is stored again after consumption.

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This week, I spent a couple of hours working at my CSA farm. I harvested two rows of fingerling potatoes before the thunderstorms set in and I was shooed out of the field by the farmer, Mary LaFrance. I am a member of Lakeplain Prairie Organic Farm; the only certified organic CSA in Wayne County, Michigan. For those of you who aren’t familiar with CSA farms, they offer a subscription based service for fresh, good tasting, local and organic food. Subscribers to this service pay a seasonal fee and agree to work a specified number of hours over the course of the growing season.

As a CSA member you develop a relationship with a local farmer, receive a weekly share of fresh-picked great tasting local food, and cultivate friendships in your local community. You also develop a strong sense of satisfaction that you know where your food was grown, when it was harvested and the distance it traveled to your plate.

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The concept of organic farming takes us back to the days when the early settlers were growing their foods. They took care of the soil, planted by hand, harvested by hand, and they didn’t add anything that was bad for the land or the food to it. Fast forward things though and you have conventional farming methods that allow us to get more food processed in less time.

That concept is one that came from the high demand for producing food in our society. While it has given us lots of benefits it has also led to very strong chemicals being used to keep pests and weeds out of the picture. When crops are destroyed by those types of elements then it cuts into the overall profits.

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