BY GWENDOLYN GRAOVAC

The Organic movement has been steadily gaining momentum in the past decade, with every media outlet covering this trend in some form. Although there remain naysayers, refuting evidence of nutritional supremacy or down-playing the harmful effects of pesticides, it has become mostly accepted as fact: organic food is better for you, your kids, and the planet.
I disagree.
I have spent three full seasons on organic farms in Ontario and British Columbia in my quest to learn the skills to grow my own food and provide for my community. After an internship and subsequent co-managing position with a vegetable Community Shared Agriculture program (CSA), I was left with a nagging urgency that this was not the cure-all that I had initially imagined.  Why were fundamental issues not being addressed and challenged?
We want to feel good about what we eat, to believe that we are taking care of ourselves by choosing to consume nourishing, fresh, food. But how often do we look into the methods used in procuring these tasty gifts from the ground? Do we scrutinize the very food distribution networks that give us relatively cheap, accessible food? Why is organic food only accessible to the upper middle class, and, more importantly, why are we paying for food in the first place?
These days, I see organic food as “green-washing”, a way of placating us into thinking that there are progressive measures being taken to avoid ecological collapse. It is absurd to think that simply removing pesticides and chemical fertilizers from the picture will restore healthy ecosystems. The inherently destructive effects of industrialized agriculture occur in both conventional and organic farming practices. Both rely on fossil fuels in the form of heavy plastic use, tractors, and energy needs. Both disturb natural ecosystems through mono-cropping, frequent soil tillage and irrigation. Both involve high overhead costs that demand a higher return, which incur a shift towards technological innovation to create more efficient systems. Both require underpaid labour, and a greater divide between the farmers and their crops.
Organic agriculture is worse than conventional because it gives us the false hope that we can continue depending on large-scale agriculturalists indefinitely and that the land will continue to support us.
As the writer Urban Scout points out:
“Any animal population that has a surplus of food grows to match that surplus. Humans included. A population cannot grow without an increase in food availability, usually made available through an increase in ‘efficiency’ in food production. Therefore, a population explosion implies more food production. Full time agriculturalists with a food surplus create a positive feedback loop of growing more food to feed an ever expanding population.”
Organic farming suffers from the same problems as our modern civilization in general: over-population, centralized control, unequal distribution, corporate strongholds, and capitalist pressures. We need to stop the spread of industrialization that is quickly depleting our natural resources. By shifting the responsibility for food production back to the commons, we can regain a sense of connection to our sustenance.
When we collectively take part in food production and share the harvest, we gain a higher level of food security, essential skills and knowledge about our diets, and an increased vitality that comes with the intimacy developed through touching the soil and consuming the fruits of one’s labour.  Any community gardener can attest to this. When we leave these tasks to a few, even the well-meaning farmers  are prone to overworking their bodies, the farm workers, and the land itself in order to stay afloat.
This highly-debated topic is not so full of doom; there are plenty of small-scale organic farms that facilitate a change in the right direction. Gavin Dandy, of Everdale Organic Farm and Learning Center, mentions that, “There’s a big difference between what I would call “conventional-organic” (industrial farms converted to “organic”) and “truly organic” farms that follow the principles of biodiversity and healthy ecosystems.” I have met food producers who integrate permaculture ethics, water conservation and land stewardship into their businesses, but they are an overwhelming minority. This imbalance in farming ethics leads to the question: How do we transition to small-scale, biodiverse growing areas that honour the Earth’s needs mores than income?
The current modes of organic agriculture are still imbedded in an individualistic approach, which limits communication between those who work the land and those who consume its products. Local activist Alex Patterson comments that, “real farmers are more than intermediaries between banks and disposable labourers.” Indeed, they are agents of social change at the most fundamental level, and we should all have input into how the land is treated.
With the present state of the world, we need to push accepted normalities and look towards a more progressive arrangement. As Tony McQuail, a small-scale organic farmer with Meeting Place organic farm, writes, “we may love our machines – but they don’t love us. We need to remember that, as we make choices. We need to love our children more than our machines.” It is no longer feasible to expect cheap energy and long-range transportation to be available in even the near future. The sooner we transition to a healthy, localized, and resilient means of food production, the easier – and, predictably, happier - our lives will be as that change occurs.    
If conventional agriculture is the ugly masthead of a dead and dying culture, I see organic agriculture as the rickety stern keeping the boat afloat. It is time to rethink agriculture and ensure that we can adapt to the inevitable demise of large-scale, industrial farming. In place of grocery stores, plastic bags, convenience packaging, and cheap solutions, we need to dive straight into the soil, back to our roots, and become grounded once again. We can rejoice in the summer sun on our backs, the feel of hand tools in our palms, a true sense of appreciation for all Life, the celebration of a successful harvest. Organic farming might not save the world but relearning how to feed ourselves, together, just might.
Gwendolyn Graovac has co-managed a 200 person CSA at Whole Circle organic farm, interned at Everdale organic farm, and has worked at many farmer’s markets. She is passionately in love with vegetables, trees, and all growing things.