RE: "Organic" Should Not Be A Label. Everything Else Should Be.
@diggndeeper Thanks for the post. While I tend to agree with you, I am going to go out on a limb and say that I think people put too much value on labels and more on certifying bodies that make the regulations.
Does anyone have a feeling that the world 'organic' doesnt mean anything anymore? Organic frozen tv dinner? Organic asparagus, grown in brazil, irradiated in china, packaged in canada, and sold in New Jersey. Really???
Once Organic became a regulated set of rules, the big corporate powers hijacked the whole show, twisted the rules, and green washed their ecologically destructive practices. Now, we can cut down a primary growth, ancient rainforest and grow a handful of soy beans and still call them organic.
I am glad that there is no permaculture grown label. If there was, it would just be the same thing as bi box organic. The real deal is to tap into your local food culture, in your own neighborhood, know your farmers, and buy stuff without packaging!!!
Very good points. Government de-natures everything. Things always end up opposite of it's "original intention".
There is something about institutionalizing something that reduces it's value. I know this is different, but I remember when the AKC recognized Border Collies. Many fans of the breed fought against it. After the breed was recognized, the breed became standardized and much less of a working dog.
Exactly. I like the way you say it. Government and bureaucratic regulation de-natures everything...
I totally agree with "get to know your farmers!" The problem with that, though, is A LOT of farms and ranches end up specializing in a single product. See: Dairy Farm, Cattle Ranch, Apple Orchard, ect. They don't deviate from what works and that includes avoiding "farm to table" because they do what their daddy's taught them and that wasn't a thing they did. Straight to the commercial slaughter house from the ranch or straight to the supermarket distributor. When the farms and ranches start specializing, they start relying on the one product..and with that, comes major loss if something goes wrong like disease, bad weather...you know the drill.
Anyway, my point being that there are many places that just don't have small farms or ENOUGH small farms to feed people who are even remotely interested. A CSA membership or CoOp membership would be your best bet. Then you'll really know where your food comes from and whats on it!
Labels mean very little unless you know a lot about the label. Hey, I think I'll talk about this for my next blog post. Thanks..