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8 AUSTRALIAN ORGANIC JOURNAL WINTER 2007
CONSUMER AFFAIRS
Back to Basics #1:
What is organic farming?In the first of the Back to Basics
Series, we explore some questions about organics that people want
toknow but are afraid to ask.
1. ORGANICS is about healthmanagement and disease pre-
vention with no syntheticchemicals: Organic and biody-namic
farming means farming in away that cares for the environ-ment
without relying on syntheticchemicals and other
unnaturalinterventionist approaches tofarming and food
production.
Hence, organic food comesfrom organic farms using the bestof
both traditional agriculture andmodern techniques, using natureand
natural processes as its
bedrock for producing foods andfibres.
Rather than using syntheticpesticides to kill pests, farmers
pre-vent pests by planting a diverserange of crops, by rotations,
usingnatural biological and environ-ment-friendly inputs,
andconserving natural ecosystems.
This means no artificial pesticides, no synthetic herbicides,no
hormones and no growth promotants, which otherwisehave a
questionable place in our aim to maintain healthy bod-ies as well
as healthy farms.
The same logic of natural and preventive health manage-ment
(rather than reactive disease management) is applied togenetically
modified organisms (GMOs) which the organicindustry prohibits from
use in production of organic foods.
With many safe, proven forms of farming already available,the
organic farmer believes it is important to allow MotherNature to
provide us food the way nature intended.
Also, the organic industry believes that not enough isunderstood
about GMOs, and while there also is a scepticalmarketplace of
consumers regarding this technology in thefood industry, the
organic industry believes it is best to be pre-cautionary in its
approach to such new, untested technologiesthat are yet to be
established as necessary.
So what is the fundamental difference between organicfarm
practices and conventional or non-organic?
Organic farming has a total focus on soil health. By focus-
ing on soil health first, the health of the plant follows. This,
inturn, enables the plant to feed animals on a balanced,
healthydiet. It is all about health management (not disease
control)and preventive techniques.
Like with the human body, if you treat your body firstly in
terms of (disease) prevention and healthy practices, you areless
likely to ever need interventionist medicine, let alonesurgery.
Organic farming aims to achieve the same outcomewhere prevention of
disease and the focus on health ensures aproductive farming
environment.
2. Biodiversity in organic farms: Organic farms arerequired to
set aside at least 5% of their farming environmentto biodiversity
areas where there is no intensive agriculturalproduction. This can
include wetlands, native pastures andtree buffers, which act as
excellent harbours for native animalsand other plants.
This, in turn, helps create a more natural setting and pro-tect
the environment while assisting in the organic systemsmanagement
on-farm through use of functional biodiversityto manage pests and
diseases.
3. Chemicals (and GMOs) in the environment: With its
By focusing on soil health first, the health of the plant
follows.
