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lwacker's picture

Mirror, Mirror

Submitted by lwacker on Tue, 09/09/2008 - 9:15pm.
What I found to be most interesting in this past reading was the common ideology amongst previously "People's Park" based "organic farmers." The Gene Kahns of the now ever burgeoning industrial organic market are being forced to relinquish the ideals in which they began the movement in order to sustain their businesses and compete with other "non-organic" food companies. Pollan poses the question "at what point do "organic farms" cease to be in-essence entirely organic?" Perhaps, "organic farms" ceased to exist when organic farm owners started using fossil fuel to ship out of season "organic fruits and vegetables" half way around the world? Or maybe "organic farming" became more of an industry and less of  a social and political statement when "organic farmers" started labeling milk as "organic" even if it was produced in factory farms where cows never get to eat grass but are milked three times  a day. Whatever spark ignited the progression from "organic agriculture" to "organic industry," Pollan is more than justified in holding a mirror up to the pastoral fairytale label of "organic" in todays completely convoluted global food economy.

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