Thanks for your extremely thorough and documented contribution to this
conversation. I especially appreciate the range of input you accept,
including the notion of "vitality" in food and its connection to the
Eastern notion of "chi"; the value of both quantifiable and experiential
knowledge; as well as your discussion of the other variables that can
effect nutritional quality.
One thing I'd add in there is this - although saying a certain piece of
food is organic doesn't automatically meant it's more nutritious/nourishing
than a particular other piece of food thats not, I think we can say that
certain practices are more focussed on nourishment than others (nuturing
the soil to make a strong plant, etc.).
Although any farmer _can_ use these techniques (and we hope that all would)
- thus adding a variable into any assessment of comparing the nutrition of
organic vs. chemically-produced food - I feel it's also important to
remember that:
(1) organic farming considers nurturing the plant, the soil, and the
ecosystem at the core of their practices/approach, not just one of the
options they might choose to use;
(2) organic farmers nurture plants/soil with full-spectrum products, not
just NPK, which shows up in the plant;
(3) because these farmers can't use synthetic pesticides to protect weak
plants, they are _forced_ to focus on strengthening the plant to protect
itself (within a healthy ecosystem that has healthy self-balancing
mechanisms) rather than waiting until there's a problem before looking for
a solution. The systems forces a higher level of attention and discipline
on the nurturing approach.
So while there are many variables in the nutrition content of food (and
soil), and while there are specific organic farmers that are more and less
competent in using organic techniques, and while any farmer can use these
techniques -
I think it's fair to say that the organic farming approach puts much more
attention and much higher priority on nourishing the soil and thus the
plant.
However, even more important to me that the debate about whether organic or
chemically-produced ag has better nutrients is this: that we can return to
center stage of all farmers the priority _of_ producing nutritious food -
not just big, not just pretty, not just a lot of quantity - but healthy
nourishing alive delicious food. I think this can reinspire farmers who
are perhaps tired of work that's become like factory work ("It's May 1,
time to put on the moon suit and spray toxics on my land") and reconnect
them with one wonderful inspiration for farming - to create healthy
nourishing food.* Then we can have a conversation about the different
measures of nourishment and the different techniques for creating it - in
the context not of defending their past practices but in continuing to
refine them.
The thing is - I think if this nutrition question were really put in the
center of the farming conversation (vs. production questions), I think many
farmers who've been relying on chemicals would come to see how much
richness and value of techniques and approaches has been developed by their
organic brethren - would see the resource that those techniques are.
Which brings me back to the beginning. Organic farmers** don't have the
corner on creating nourishing food. They've just been asking the types of
questions and developing the kinds of methods that I think are more likely
to lead to it.
P. Dines
* Note: Another joy in farming they might rediscover is that of having a
nourishing relationship with the land, where they can walk and dig the soil
any time and feel and smell rich aliveness, not dead soil and poisons. But
that's another story....
** When I say organic farmers, I include by reference what I think of as
"super-organic" farmers, such as biodynamic ones, who follow organic
principles "and more". It is among all these farmers, who choose to work in
a framework that's strict about working with nature, not in war against it,
that we find those who can best bring forward nature's nourishing gifts at
all levels - those measured in vitamins and in "chi" and those immeasurable
in connected-to-nature joy and aliveness.