What a can of worms this topic opens up. I've learned a bit about how different all these terms may be defined, or rather, how broadly the definitions reach.

Organic means not using any man-made chemicals on your crops. We like to envision happy farm animals on a picturesque hill; a sustainable loop that involves the whole food chain in a stunning and breath-taking show of nature's brilliance. Everything works, and every aspect of the food chain and the environment thrives and is nourished and nurtured because of it. But this beatific vision is hardly the case on an industrial organic farm. It's not environmentally friendly, it's big business, and it's about turning profits, not about what the original farmers who coined the term meant at all.

Sustainable agriculture...hmm. Sustainability means something can keep going on its own, right? So, rotating your crops instead of depleting the soil with monoculture, using natural ecosystems to our advantage instead of pretending we know more about what plants and animals like to eat--basically farming with a conscience instead of just trying to rape as much production as possible from the land. But it doesn't mean that farmers won't use chemical pesticides to save their crops from infestation if necessary.

But to call a farmer who practices otherwise sustainable methods a "chemical farmer" implies a much uglier scenario. Most grocery store food is industrially grown. These industrial farms typically spray the land with chemicals to kill all life, so they don't have to worry about weeds or bugs before sowing. Then, they use a chemical fertilizer to put nutrients into the ground because they killed everything before with pesticides and herbicides. Then they spray chemicals on a regular schedule during the growing season, whether needed or not, to ensure that no bugs will eat their beautiful crop that they can sell for nearly nothing in the grocery store. Yikes!

If the bugs won't eat it, why should we be expected to? But many organic farmers, certified or not, say it's all or nothing. True, you can't be a little bit pregnant, but if a little bit of a polio virus is used as a vaccine against contracting the disease, how do you explain that? Perhaps I'm being naive. I don't like to use chemicals and don't as a general rule. I had ants one summer and tried every solution I could find, to no avail. Finally, for my sanity, I called the exterminator. I had much guilt about the spiders and other bugs who live in my house, but I couldn't have it both ways. If I get ants again, I'll try everything I can before I call the exterminator, but those ants aren't willing to negotiate the terms, so they have to go. (I can understand the argument for war, but at least it's a war in my own house for food I've already purchased--I'm not trying to kill all the ants outside my house, just because they pose a threat.)

If we could find enough farmers to supply the volume of produce we need in Fair Shares who don't use any chemicals, who are willing to pick bugs off their crops by hand or whatever method, we would surely choose them first. But we could find only a few, so we've included farmers who practice sustainable methods and use chemicals only rarely, with a conscience, and who understand the value of having worms in your soil. We know we'll be eating fresher, tastier, safer food than we could find from an industrial farm. Plus, we'll also be encouraging them to find methods to forego the chemicals in the future, and we need to promise to eat their vegetables, even if we have to share a little with the bugs.

sara