Farming practices used before the 1900′s are classed as organic. It was only after this that added chemicals such as urea and DDT were brought into farming – previous to this, farmers didn’t have the knowledge and simply put, were happy enough with things as they were; as most of us today would be. After all, home grown food is often the nicest, most tasty food we put on our plates.
For some reason, during the 1960′s and 1970′s the concept of organic food became a separate entity to the ‘normal’ food we were then buying. Consumers had been effectively duped into believing that what they were buying, was food as nature intended, it not appreciating that the chemicals which were added during growth of the ‘normal stuff’ were what actually made the food abnormal in the first place.
Rachel Carson, a prominent writer, biologist and ecologist established public awareness of these issues via ‘Silent Spring’, a book she wrote which basically brought about major controversy on the use of agricultural chemicals and synthetic pesticides in particular. As a direct result of this book, and the growing concern over the use of farm chemicals which consumers were suddenly more aware of, chemical regulation procedures were put into place, and when the demand for organically grown food rose, so did the need for further regulatory procedures to cut down on the ecologically destructive and toxic chemicals.
Today, organic food is finally reaching an all time high of acceptance from consumers, so its demand is increasing – more ‘organically acceptable’ agricultural procedures are gaining momentum, and it seems even though it is more expensive than chemically treated foodstuffs, it is healthier, and it is that health factor which is winning the battle against chemically treated consumables. Read the rest of this entry »

