Wanted to comment on Beth's question, as this issue came up a coupla
times recently. (John Henning also commented on it.)
> I want comments from you knowledgeable people about the paragraph
> I read in a "conventional" farming magazine: "Despite Environmental
> Protection Agency leaflets urging consumers to purchase organic
> foods to avoid harmful pesticide residues, new studies show organic
> foods have their own problems. Since organic foods rely heavily
> on animal manure for fertilization, people who consume organic
> foods are about eight times more likely to be attacked by E. coli
> bacteria. Organic consumers are also at increased risk from
> natural toxins like fungi, salmonella, campylobacter and listeria."
The Unsubstantiated Research Findings Mill grinds exceedingly fine.
Sounds like a call for some yeast n kneading.
> So I suppose we should rush out and buy "conventional food" I
> know this info is getting to the general public, one of my members
> was telling a friend all about our CSA (try to recruit) and her
> friend asked do they use manure? Beth
I think it's important to distinguish between a food problem and a
communication problem, and to encourage your members and friends to
do the same.
Media sources reporting unsubstantiated research findings (otherwise
known as assertions) about the food system is *not* in my estimation
automatically a food problem. Though it could become one.
There was a discussion here on SANET of this awhile back. I provided
y'all a series of URLs I found--in a quick Web search--of instances
where Dennis Avery assertions about sustainable and organic ag were
passed along without attribution. And I commented on this as a media
problem.
I'm speaking here wearing my battered old hat of a former
journalist--one problem is that many "reporters" and "editors" are
college-degreed functionaries of corporate media/telecommunications
empires. Their "training" increasingly consists of classroom theory
or an MBA, their experience includes little, if any, mentoring, and
their practice consists of figuring out what they have to do to keep
their jobs and advance their careers. I don't want to digress into
the political history and economy of communications and media
institutions, so I'll just let that cynical comment stand where I
plopped it. (I can substantiate these observations with both personal
experience and research findings, BTW, though you might have to give
me till after the Wisconsin Grazing Conference to dig up the latter.)
My point is that the job of media producers is to dig up content to
supplement the ads, make sure it doesn't contain anything potentially
litigious, and publish it. If they're lucky, it will also have
enough stained dresses and cigars (or millionaire athletes) in it to
increase sales.
I've asserted here on SANET since 1992 that, from my perspective, one
of the most important things we in sustainable and organic ag can do
is not get pulled into these straw-man burnings. Beth refers to a
story that clearly alludes to *research* without identifying or
documenting it--one study or many? Done by whom? Where? Under what
conditions? Over what time frame? Etc.
I think it's *crucial* for us in sustainable ag and organic ag to be
on top of reports such as these, to be aware of the existence of any
substantiating evidence (and its limits)...and that it's VERY
IMPORTANT for us to respond to stuff like this. Any time any of us
sees something like this in the paper, we should share it with
everyone we know, along with the media outlet and editor's phone
number, contact the editor/publisher, and ask them to publish
citations or sources for the studies.
This kind of laziness is mildly amusing where space alien autopsies,
Elvis sightings, and the mating habits of Bigfoot are concerned. But
I think we'd all make a tactical mistake to waste energy getting
defensive or worried or helpless from reading such sloppy reportage
where sustainable or organic ag is concerned.
Rather than getting worried or defensive, I think what we need to do
with our energy is go on the offensive (in the Zen sense)--and
require these sloppy journalists to report their sources. To hit
them hard (in the Zen sense) and encourage others to do the same. I
believe that just as people get the government they deserve, so do
they get the media they settle for.
Sorry this is rough and snaggly--I'm writing quickly and fixin' to
scoot.
peace
misha
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
Michele Gale-Sinex, communications manager
Center for Integrated Ag Systems
UW-Madison College of Ag and Life Sciences
Voice: (608) 262-8018 FAX: (608) 265-3020
http://www.wisc.edu/cias/
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