What is organic?
The term organic is now
widely used to describe the products of agriculture that use
no pesticides or synthetic fertilisers. Organic methods consider
the whole eco system and use natural techniques to assist plant
growth, repel pests and protect and encourage wildlife habitats.
Organic agriculture aims to maintain and increase soil fertility
and give livestock humane living conditions.
Why Go Organic? Pesticide Farming:
Organic living is becoming an increasingly
obvious choice. People today are more aware of the damage caused
by the pesticides used in agriculture. |
| Whilst pesticides
are initially very effective, soon the pests become resistant
and stronger and stronger pesticides are required to achieve
the same results.The unnaturally high yields also strip the
soil of its nutrients, until eventually the soil becomes barren
and uneconomical to farm. The developing world faces an agricultural
crisis in the face of this vicious circle; the use of pesticides
in these countries is unregulated, and with no governmental
price support, the increasing yields achieved using pesticides
have forced prices down, forcing other farmers to use these
chemicals too. |
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| Now the soil is
frequently turning barren or the victim to new, pesticide resistant
insects and farmers are heavily indebted to pesticide suppliers
and landlords, often with little hope for a way out. |
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Pesticides and the Planet
Many pesticides are
known irritants and suspected or known carcinogens. Two
of the most prevalent chemicals used on cotton include
tribufos (a defoliant that can cause respiratory problems
and considered a human carcinogen by the Environment Protection
Agency and methyl parathion (one of the pesticides which
flowed into the Big Nance Creek, Alabama, in 1995, contaminating
the water supply and killing over 245,000 fish).1 Pesticides
have thus been shown to enter the food chain and disrupt
the natural balance of the eco-system. They can be carried
through the atmosphere too, and traces of the pesticide
DDT (banned in the 1970s) have been found in the fat of
arctic penguins. |
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Pesticides and You
But pesticides don't
only harm the earth. By eating or absorbing pesticides
you are exposing your body to its effects. The chemicals
used do not always fully wash out, so any non-organic
foods you eat place traces of these chemicals directly
into your system. Some sources report that 60% of field
workers in the cotton industry show symptoms of permanent
poisoning. Equally worrying is that these pesticides have
not only been linked to declining sperm counts, they have
also been found in the milk of animals and nursing mothers.
In contrast, organically produced clothing are grown by
working in harmony with nature and without the use of
any pesticides or genetically modified organisms. Living
an organic life is most certainly about being healthy,
but it is also very much about re-creating a healthy planet
for the future. |
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Organic Cotton
In addition to the dangers
of pesticides during cultivation, cotton is subjected to further
chemical treatments after it has been picked. To achieve coloured
cotton some manufacturers use heavy metal dyes such as chromium
and copper. These are highly toxic, and due to cotton's natural
resistance to dyes about half the chemicals used end up as waste,
polluting rivers and soil.3 Even white T-shirts are not naturally
white - most will have been bleached using chlorine, another
extremely toxic pollutant.The most commercially viable alternative
to using heavy metal dyes is to use low impact dyes. These dyes
do not contain any heavy metal, and still produce vivid, long
lasting colour. There is also a simple alternative to chlorine
bleaching; hydrogen peroxide, which is the eco friendly choice
where light or bright colours are required. After the dyeing
process, cotton garments are typically subjected to the 'Permanent
Press Treatment'.This aims to lessen the creasing of your bed
linen or clothing and usually relies heavily on formaldehyde,
a known irritant and suspected carcinogen.Organic cotton will
not be subject to this process and instead tends to be treated
with potato starch to help with the weaving of the fabric.
How Can I Be Sure It's Organic?
The following information has been adapted
from the Soil Association website, http://www.soilassociation.org./
The term 'Organic' has a legal definition and the production
and processing of all organic products is governed by a strict
set of guidelines. Producers, manufacturers and processors each
pay an annual fee to be registered and are required to keep
detailed records ensuring a full trail of traceability from
farm, or production plant, to table. Any major infringement
of this results in suspension of licence and withdrawal of products
from the market. All organic farmers, food manufacturers and
processors are annually inspected, as well as being subject
to random inspections. The standards cover every aspect of registration
and certification including permitted and non-permitted ingredients,
the environment and conservation, processing, packaging and
distribution. The standards are regularly updated and are then
enforced by certification bodies - most of which operate higher
standards than are required by law. Each certification body
has its own symbol and EU code number.These are the marks you
should look for on organic products. All manufacturers of organic
products must be registered with a certification body. Some
shops pay a certification fee to register as organic in their
own right. This gives an added assurance to customers. Any shop
that repackages goods out of sight of customers, or cooks its
own food and labels it 'organic', must also have its own license
to do so.
The Future
Collectively, as producers and consumers,
our impact on the planet can actually turn from one of disregard
and destruction to one of nourishment and nurture. By growing
organically we become caretakers of the earth which naturally
provides for our bodies' requirements. There are those who may
argue that human interference is required to genetically modify
plants and seeds or develop synthetic growth boosters, fertilisers
and pesticides in order to increase output of the land and our
animals. They would argue that there are too many mouths to
feed and the organic method cannot cater for this growing problem.
But how do we know this? We have already seen from the kind
of assistance given to poorer sections of the world how short
term aid for its own sake does not help in the longer term.
It is clear now that helping people to help themselves is not
only the most effective method for change but also the most
dignified and respectful. This must be the same rule for the
earth and its produce. The earth and its millions of years of
eco-systems and cycles has much abundance to offer naturally.
By learning about them and acting in harmony with them we are
able to assist it to produce just as much if not more than other
forced synthetic methods. The difference is that the latter
offers short term solutions but severe long term ramifications
that we cannot possibly presently calculate. By growing organically
we pave the way for plants to do what they like doing best -
and that is to grow and flourish in well managed systems which
also protect and encourage wildlife and natural habitats. If
the same expenditure went into researching organic methods as
is currently spent on pesticide production and chemical alternatives
then human interference with the earth may actually result in
our species becoming catalysts for the planet to flourish. Organic
is not a fad. It is an ancient knowledge re-discovered, and
with new scientific discoveries it is at the start of its modern
development. And with our natural quest to learn and discover
and evolve, organic methods could well become the best re-invention
of the 21st century. |
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