| Hello once again, in this - my 4th article in this series | | | | We have also been witness to Monsanto and other |
| about organic gardening. | | | | giant corporations dictating the rules of how to grow |
| In the first article, I spelled out WHAT "organic" | | | | produce, which are not all in our best interests as |
| means according to the Wikipedia definition. Now I | | | | consumers. See the film "Food Inc." for more |
| would like to cover WHY plant, nurture, grow and/or | | | | information. Controversial as this film is, it does point |
| consume organic fruits and vegetables. | | | | to a central message that big corporations are all too |
| 'Why organic'? The main reason is that chemical | | | | likely to be interested in their profits more than in our |
| fertilizers, insecticides, weed killers etc., are neither | | | | health. |
| friendly nor useful to our physical bodies. They are | | | | But then consider you and me, with our own organic |
| usually man-made or man-assembled chemicals that | | | | vegetable garden on our own land - anywhere from |
| have harmful effects in varying degrees, some of | | | | a 4 acre sustainable agriculture farm to an 8 ft. by 8 |
| which are long term. These harmful effects are | | | | ft. garden plot. This gives us a self-sufficiency in |
| exactly why these products are also able to kill | | | | allowing us to plant with variety. And it also removes |
| insects and weeds. The idea is that after having killed | | | | us from even potential dangers that go along with |
| off competing insects and weeds, the plants we | | | | chemically assisted mass production. |
| want to consume, can flourish and get harvested. | | | | And of course, the foods we harvest are some of |
| Such chemical products can be applied to plants for | | | | the most nutritious foods to eat, in their fresh state |
| mass consumption or just individual and family | | | | - and without transportation costs! These are foods |
| consumption. | | | | that we have had control over since before the |
| Examples of damage resulting from such products | | | | seedling stage (by controlling the health of the earth, |
| abound in nearly all the media that I have seen. I | | | | via compost etc.). These methods are sustainable, |
| hardly need to move an inch in the chair in front of | | | | not just for ourselves, but as a planet-wide way of |
| my computer, or barely move my fingers to type in | | | | planting and harvesting fruits and veggies we can be |
| just a few words in searches, to see some of them. | | | | proud of. And it gets better: we can also give them, |
| For example, there is a recent documentary film | | | | exchange them or sell them for other things we |
| called "A Chemical Reaction" from PFZmedia. It was | | | | need. |
| produced by Paul Tukey and Brett Plymale. (Paul | | | | Then it gets better than best: OUR HEALTH. The |
| Tukey was in the gardening business himself earlier | | | | one commodity that we hardly pay attention to, until |
| on, and got very ill. This was traced to chemical | | | | our bodies nudge us in one way or another, to pay |
| fertilizers that he applied to people's lawns.) The film's | | | | attention. As much as we would like to have the |
| story concerns a town called Hudson Ontario in | | | | confidence that we know what vitamins and minerals |
| Canada, which ended up banning the use of lawn and | | | | and other substances our bodies need for their |
| garden pesticides. The one-woman pioneer who | | | | nutrition, our bodies ultimately are better chemists |
| accomplished this in about 10 years time, was a | | | | than we are-even the experts among us. This is |
| doctor named June Irwin, who traced illnesses among | | | | really WHY we garden organically, to exchange the |
| the town's children and other inhabitants to such | | | | best in this circle of life we call our own, on planet |
| chemicals. Then other towns followed suit in banning | | | | earth. |
| these products as well. | | | | |