INFORMATION IS POWER.
Have you ever asked a farmer if their
crops are organic and heard them respond, “We don't spray.”? You
may have felt a half bewildering sense of reassurance, but don't let
that person insult you by skirting the question and spitting back a
response that addresses only a small portion of your query! It is
equally, if not more, important to know if synthetic fertilizers were
used, or if you would potentially be purchasing genetically modified
organisms. Beware when a farmer doesn't want you to know about how
they grow, you have the right to know about the food you eat, it may
be the most important thing you could know!
We do not use synthetic fertilizers,
which are derived from petroleum, these fertilizers are great for
growing things quickly, but contain excess nitrogen and phosphorus
that plants cannot possibly utilize, which leaches into our waterways
as pollution. Have you ever heard of the “dead zone” in the Gulf
of Mexico? This was caused primarily by nitrogen and phosphorus
runoff from Midwestern farms that are using synthetic fertilizers,
the nitrogen flows down the Mississippi and into the Gulf, creating a
hypoxic environment that cannot sustain fish or other aquatic animals
(a good reference for this and other agricultural issues, see
http://www2.kenyon.edu/projects/Agri/ebus06.html
). Don't let that crap get into our waterways! Avoid supporting
farms that use synthetic fertilizers!
Also, for an excellent review on the
controversy of Genetically Modified Organisms, see The Future of
Food, by Deborah Koons Garcia, which can be viewed online for
free, or obtained for free at the library, or various locally owned
video stores, such as the Video Droid in Santa Rosa.
