This is something I’ve been VERY interested in (I can thank Gene Logsdon for infecting me with the “bug,” and Michael Pollan’s book The Omnivore’s Dilemma for introducing me to the term), but I just didn’t know its proper name. I’ve always felt that farming like our families did in the 1800s (and even the early 1900s, or at least pre-WWII) is the way to go. Sound, tried-and-true (scientific) farming that produced quality crops in a sustainable manner was the norm until chemical use and monoculture supplanted it.
The man who has really pushed the idea of “beyond organic” is Joel Salatin, of Polyface Farm in Swoope, Virginia. Regarding a pick-up day at Polyface Farm, Lynsie Watkins at perfectflavor.com had these select things to say: "… not an organic farm, but rather a better-than-organic farm” and "These older individuals probably never had to stand in line at a farm delivery. They most likely got most of what they needed from the farm they lived on. … This eat local movement is more like an ‘Ah-ha!’ moment for us, as for the older generation it's a, well, ‘Duh!’ sort of response instead ... " [That statement points out rather well how we're really just going back to an older way of farming; I'm always interested in how "old timers" think about seemingly new-fangled things like "organic" foods.]
Anyway, Mr. Salatin is anti-“USDA Organic” and anti-industrial organic (i.e. places like Whole Foods), largely because of their politically-based, watered-down standards.
He is also proof that if farmers would only go back to the very old ways of farming, they can be profitable. "I am absolutely bullish on the future of this kind of farming," says Salatin. "The weak link is the farmers who don't have the savvy to meet the challenge" (from: http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/113/open_48-polyfacefarm.html). I feel that is farmers don't adapt to an evolving market (i.e. towards "natural" or even "organic" products), then it's their fault if/when they go out of business. You can't live in the 1950s forever! (But don't tell any of my rockabilly friends I said that.)
[Oh the irony ...]
The man who has really pushed the idea of “beyond organic” is Joel Salatin, of Polyface Farm in Swoope, Virginia. Regarding a pick-up day at Polyface Farm, Lynsie Watkins at perfectflavor.com had these select things to say: "… not an organic farm, but rather a better-than-organic farm” and "These older individuals probably never had to stand in line at a farm delivery. They most likely got most of what they needed from the farm they lived on. … This eat local movement is more like an ‘Ah-ha!’ moment for us, as for the older generation it's a, well, ‘Duh!’ sort of response instead ... " [That statement points out rather well how we're really just going back to an older way of farming; I'm always interested in how "old timers" think about seemingly new-fangled things like "organic" foods.]
Anyway, Mr. Salatin is anti-“USDA Organic” and anti-industrial organic (i.e. places like Whole Foods), largely because of their politically-based, watered-down standards.
He is also proof that if farmers would only go back to the very old ways of farming, they can be profitable. "I am absolutely bullish on the future of this kind of farming," says Salatin. "The weak link is the farmers who don't have the savvy to meet the challenge" (from: http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/113/open_48-polyfacefarm.html). I feel that is farmers don't adapt to an evolving market (i.e. towards "natural" or even "organic" products), then it's their fault if/when they go out of business. You can't live in the 1950s forever! (But don't tell any of my rockabilly friends I said that.)
[Oh the irony ...]
