There was an earlier thread on this list about the socio-political
context within which the organic vs. chemical ag contest is being
played.
Misha's comment appears to show clearly how the system has loaded the
contest in favor of chemicals, since organics have to undergo all
kinds of certifications, documentation, etc. In short, the default (in
the computer sense of being the general rule) is the chemical mode,
and you have to go through all kinds of trouble (and extra costs) to
go into the organic mode. What it if was the other way around? If the
default mode was organic (no need to certify, label, etc.), and that
any farmer who had to use chemicals had to go through all kinds of
certification, training requirements, labelling requirements, etc.
I would imagine that in such a case, the market itself would gradually
adjust towards the organic and the 80% organic share wouldn't look
like a pipedream.
Setting the default/exception is a systemic and therefore political
issue.
Roberto Verzola
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