Dear Editor:
The basis of organic farming and gardening is to nurture and build the soil with natural methods and additives. Like our grandparents and great-grandparents and their ancestors did; when the prevailing political regimes allowed them to. A key concept of organic growing is that a healthy soil will grow a healthy plant and a healthy plant will not attract insects or diseases, just like a truly healthy body will not attract disease.
The father of modern medicine, Hippocrates, dictated: “First, do no harm.” The whole idea of spraying poisons on food crops and poisoning the natural soil organisms only began on a wholesale level after World War 2. The war mentality of solving one’s problems by bombs and poisons carried over from the battlefield onto the growing field. The industries that had been supplying war materials found a new market in agriculture. Their profits keep building while farmers’ dependence on agri-chemicals keeps growing and farmers’ profits keep shrinking.
From 1985 to 2016 inclusive, transnational agribusiness corporations captured 98 percent of Canadian farmers’ revenues – $1.32 trillion out of $1.35 trillion. Canadian taxpayers have had to backfill farm incomes with about $100 billion transferred to farmers since 1985. And farm debt is now at a record high – just under $100 billion. There is an ongoing farm income crisis. God bless all the farmers who are caught between a rock and a hard place. Growing food for us all, while going into debt and having to work off-farm to do so.
Meanwhile, nearly a million Canadians were documented to have been assisted by food banks in 2016. Formerly seen as a temporary measure, food banks are having to fill a hole in our society as governments don’t look out for the food security for Canadians, focusing instead on growing food for export sales.
Amazingly, Spring keeps on coming amidst the snows and rains. New flowers, catkins opening on the trees –thankfully Spring comes, ready or not.
Robbie Anderman,
Killaloe
