Organic Farming Gains Momentum as Food Sales Draw Profits

Sonya Colberg
Knight-Ridder Tribune
Tulsa World, Okla.
April 22, 2000

Farmers are, according to this story, cultivating a $6 billion organic foods industry that has been growing 20 percent to 24 percent yearly over nine years, but they still have a long way to go to before becoming serious competition in the $756 billion retail food market reported for 1998 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Alan Ware, director of the Kerr Center for Sustainable Agriculture in Poteau was cited as saying that in the past three years there has seen a significant increase in telephone calls about organic farming related to the center's Oklahoma Producer Grant Program, adding, "We're seeing a growing trend toward more organic production. I know even in Oklahoma, there are a lot more people growing organically produced crops. It's mainly because ... consumers are developing an awareness of where their food comes from." Katherine DiMatteo, executive director of the Organic Trade Association in Greenfield, Mass., was cited as saying now, about one-third of U.S. consumers say they've bought organic products.

But, the story asks, is organic farming better for the environment? Can farmers switch to organic production practices and still get the yields offered by conventional farming practices?

Dave Bary, an Environmental Protection Agency spokesman, was cited as saying that consumers and experts are debating organic farming's environmental issues, adding, "On a small scale, organic farming probably does present less threats to the environment. On a larger scale it may not. The jury's still out."

Jim Stiegler, Oklahoma State University extension soils management specialist, was cited as saying that weed killers are nearly always applied on the soil or before a plant produces a grain and that almost none gets into the plant, adding, "Most herbicides that the EPA has approved are as safe or safer than table salt," and that more lab mice under study have died after eating table salt than herbicide.

The story says that most consumers think organic farming means no pesticides are used, studies show. But many organic farmers do use pesticides that are naturally occurring. They might use Bacillus thuringiensis, sulfur, copper or nicotine. Sometimes they combine them with practices such as crop rotation, planting pest-free plants, releasing beneficial insects, and growing crops alongside plants such as marigolds that discourage bugs from attacking neighboring plants. Christine Bruhn, Center for Consumer Research at the University of California, Davis, was cited as saying the results of tests for residues in foods by the USDA, California and other states deflate some of the tenets of organic production, adding, "Eighty percent of the products have no detected residues, and those that do have are at very, very low levels. In terms of safety, the scientific evidence is that both products are safe in terms of pesticide residue." Audrey Cross, the national nutrition advisor during President Jimmy Carter's administration, was cited as saying that drift of herbicides from inorganic fields into organic fields could have influenced the results. In a study similar to California's, the Food and Drug Administration analyzed more than 10,000 samples of domestically produced and imported food. Less than 1 percent of the sample had residue levels above governmental tolerance levels. The studies show pesticide residue levels in foods are well below EPA tolerances, says the International Food Information Council. The American Cancer Society was cited as saying a few studies have indicated environmental factors such as pesticides may be linked to certain childhood cancers. Renee Kelley society spokeswoman, added that still other studies haven't found a link to these cancers and pesticides. But she said there is no information directly linking diet to childhood cancers.

The International Food Information Council was quoted as saying, "The relative risks and benefits of applying naturally occurring pesticides vs. synthetics have not been determined."

The story says that Europe has stepped out in front in organic farming because the people are concerned about genetic engineering, growth hormones and antibiotics. Sweden is among several European countries that subsidize farmers who switch to organic methods, and it has set a goal of converting 20 percent of its farmland to organic crops by 2005. There is no huge, organized push to convert more ground to organic in America. Organic crops in the U.S. account for about one-fifth of 1 percent of farmland.

DiMatteo was cited as saying in the exploding organic market, American farmers can take measures not to lose future market shares to foreign competition. But, the story says, conventional wisdom says traditional farming will out-yield organic farming, making it less profitable for American farmers to adopt organic practices. A new study indicates otherwise The Rodale Institute in Pennsylvania planted soybeans in organic plots right next to soybeans planted in ground yearly doused with synthetic fertilizers and conventional chemicals. The institute found that under drought conditions, the organic plots yielded 24 to 30 bushels of soybeans an acre.

But the neighboring conventionally treated soybeans produced only 16 bushels. Soils with high organic matter, correctly managed over many years would increase the likelihood of organic farming producing yields as high as conventional farming, said Kerr Center's Ware. Stiegler said people might be able to produce vegetables as efficiently using organic practices in small gardens, but not so on a larger scale. "I would question whether you could reach the same levels, yield-wise," he said.

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