Re: New Definitions For Organic -Reply
Bob MacGregor (RDMACGREGOR@gov.pe.ca)
Mon, 23 Feb 1998 15:38:31 -0400
I don't agree with the claims about crop/food "quality" being a natural
result of healthy soil; I think the posting (below) is very anti-ecological in
that it presents quality solely from the human perspective. A quality
food is one that nourishes without causing harm. Clearly, the
perspective of a plant pathogen or seed-eating insect is no different.
The perspective of the plant is avoidance of diminution of its reproductive
capability either through predation (herbivory), pathogenesis (disease) or
loss of seeds to seed-eaters. From this perspective, a "quality" plant
product might be one that is unpalatable or toxic to its prospective
consumers. A notable exception to this is that many plants (like the
fruits and berries) have evolved structures to encourage their
consumption (a way to disperse seeds that are tough enough to pass
through a digestive tract intact). However, if a seed or fruit is palatable
(quality) to me, what makes it unpalatable to invertebrates?
Just as with humans, a healthier plant is better-able to resist or recover
from attacks of pathogens and herbivores. However, being healthy and
having grown in a healthy soil does not make them immune to attack.
Most consumers are reluctant to share their produce with competitors
from the invertebrate or microbiotic world -- (telling myself that the green
caterpillars in my broccoli are virtually 100% broccoli themselves, does
not make finding them there any less disconcerting). Having healthy
soils is good, but it is not a panacea that will lead to pest- and
pathogen-free produce.
BOB
>>> <Aquatfs@aol.com> 02/23/98 02:23pm >>>
In a message dated 98-02-23 11:33:32 EST, bomo.1@worldnet.att.net
writes:
<<
Food safety and food quality are one and the same. If you look at the
work of
Dr. William Albrecht you realize that Nature sends in the recycling troops
(insects, pests, pathogenic bacteria, viruses) to knock down crops /
animals
that do not meet Nature's quality standards. Albrecht believed that
everything
begins and ends will quality soil. The quality of the soil dictates the
quality of the plants which dictates the quality of the animals. The quality
of human life is, in turn, dictated largely by the quality of the foods
(plants and animals) that we consume. If we tend to the soil in the way
prescribed by Albrecht and by other visionaries such as Rudolf Steiner,
we
will find that our food will be free of harmful substances and organisms.
For
those who are concerned about contamination of foods from human
sourced
pathogens, the same logic still aplies. Humans follow the same laws of
Nature:
as we adulterate our food supply we too become reservoirs of Nature's
recycling troops. If we return to eating quality foods we will greatly
decrease the likelihood of shedding pathogens into our environment. The
key is
to understand Albrecht's wisdom: "Insects and disease are the
symptoms of a
failing crop, not the cause of it".
>>
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