Organic movement
The organic movement broadly refers to the organizations and individuals involved worldwide in the promotion of organic food and other organic products. It started during the first half of the 20th century, when modern large-scale agricultural practices began to appear.[citation needed]
Definition
An organic product can broadly be described as not containing toxic chemicals (including synthetic
In the United Kingdom, the term used with food is natural food.[6]
History
Origin
The organic movement began in the early 1900s in response to the shift towards synthetic nitrogen fertilizers and pesticides in the early days of
Historians consider Albert Howard, Viscount Lymington, Robert McCarrison, Edgar J. Saxon and Frank Newman Turner as pioneers of the organic movement in Britain,[8][9][10] and the term "organic farming" was coined by Lord Northbourne in 1940.[11]
Today, organic foods stores have captured a significant share of the grocery shopping market, specifically, Whole Foods Market, Wild Oats, Trader Joe's and others.
Timeline
- In the summer of 1924 Rudolf Steiner presented what has been called the first organic agriculture course to a group of over one hundred farmers and others at Koberwitz, now Kobierzyce, Poland.[8][12] In Germany Rudolf Steiner's Spiritual Foundations for the Renewal of Agriculture, published in 1924, led to the popularization of biodynamic agriculture, probably the first comprehensive organic farming system, that was based on Steiner's spiritual and philosophical teachings.
- The first use of the term "organic farming" is by Lord Northbourne (aka Walter James, 4th Baron Northbourne). The term derives from his concept of "the farm as organism", which he expounded in his book, Look to the Land (1940), and in which he described a holistic, ecologically balanced approach to farming. Northbourne wrote of "chemical farming versus organic farming". http://www.orgprints.org/10138.
- In 1939, strongly influenced by Sir Howard's work, Lady Eve Balfour launched the Haughley Experiment on farmland in England. It was the first, side-by-side comparison of organic and conventional farming. Four years later, she published The Living Soil, based on the initial findings of the Haughley Experiment. It was widely read, and lead to the formation of a key international organic advocacy group, the Soil Association.
- Sir Albert Howard's 1940 book, An Agricultural Testament, was influential in promoting organic techniques, and his 1947 book "The Soil and Health, A Study of Organic Agriculture" adopted Northbourne's terminology and was the first book to include "organic" agriculture or farming in its title.
- During the 1950s, sustainable agriculture was a research topic of interest. The science tended to concentrate on the new chemical approaches. In the U.S. organic gardeningto the general public.
- In 1962, Rachel Carson, a prominent scientist and naturalist, published Silent Spring, chronicling the effects of DDT and other pesticides on the environment drawing on the research of biodynamic agriculture advocates Marjorie Spock, Mary T. Richards and Ehrenfried Pfeiffer.[13][9] A bestseller in many countries, including the US, and widely read around the world, Silent Spring was instrumental in the US government's 1972 banning of DDT. The book and its author are often credited with launching the environmental movement.[13]
- In the 1970s, worldwide movements concerned with environmental pollution caused by persistent agrichemical increased attention on organic farming. One goal of the organic movement was to promote consumption of locally grown food, which was promoted through slogans such as "Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food".
- In 1972, the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM), was founded in Versailles, France. IFOAM was dedicated to the diffusion of information on the principles and practices of organic agriculture across national and linguistic boundaries. In the same year, John Battendierifounded Santa Cruz Organics, which marketed some of the first packaged organic products.[10]
- In the 1980s, around the world, various farming and consumer groups began seriously pressuring for government regulation of organic production to ensure standards of production. This led to various legislation and certification standards being enacted through the 1990s and to date. Currently, most aspects of organic food production are government-regulated in the US and the European Union.
- In the 2000s, the worldwide market for organic products (including food, beauty, health, bodycare, and household products, and fabrics) has grown rapidly. More countries are establishing formal, government-regulated Organic certification.[14] Monitoring and challenging certification rules and decisions have become a regular, high profile aspect of activists in the organic movement.
Organic food
In the 21st century, the
From an environmental perspective,
Demand for organic foods is primarily driven by consumer concerns for personal health and the environment, such as the detrimental environmental impacts of pesticides.[21] From the perspective of science and consumers, there is insufficient evidence in the scientific and medical literature to support claims that organic food is either substantially safer or healthier to eat than conventional food.[21]
Organic agriculture has higher production costs and lower yields, higher labor costs, and higher consumer prices as compared toOrganic companies
The recent interest in the organic industry has sparked the interest of many businesses from small local distributors to large companies that distribute many products nationally. The organic market is now a 13 billion dollar a year industry, that continues to grow especially from large corporations such as Wal-Mart that are now offering organic choices to their customers.[22] Other companies that offer organic options include General Mills and Kraft. Some large companies have bought smaller already established organic companies such as Earth's Best, Rice Dream soy milk, Garden of Eatin', Celestial Seasonings and Health Valley. When larger companies buy smaller companies it is called stealth ownership.[23]
Organic cosmetics
Organic cosmetics are products that are made with organic ingredients that were produced without the use of synthetic pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, and fertilizers.
The
The USDA (the U.S. Department of Agriculture) requirements for the use of the term “organic” are separate from the laws and regulations that FDA applies for cosmetics. For more information on "organic" labeling for cosmetics, see the NOP publication, "Cosmetics, Body Care Products, and Personal Care Products." Cosmetic products labeled with “organic” must follow both USDA regulations and FDA regulations of organic claims for labeling and safety requirements for cosmetics.
The Agricultural Marketing Service of USDA supervises the National Organic Program (NOP). The NOP regulations have the definition of "organic" and provide certification for agricultural ingredients if they have been produced under conditions that would meet the definition. Moreover, the regulations also include labeling standards based on the percentage of organic ingredients in every product.[25]
The COSMetic Organic and Natural Standard (COSMOS) sets certification requirements for organic and natural cosmetics products in Europe.[26]
Organic farming
Organic agricultural methods are internationally regulated and legally enforced by transnational organizations (as European Union) and many nations, based in large part on the standards set by the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM), an international umbrella organization for organic farming organizations established in 1972.[38] Organic agriculture can be defined as "an integrated farming system that strives for sustainability, the enhancement of soil fertility and biological diversity while, with rare exceptions, prohibiting synthetic pesticides, antibiotics, synthetic fertilizers, genetically modified organisms, and growth hormones".[39][40][41][42]
Since 1990, the market for organic food and other products has grown rapidly, reaching $63 billion worldwide in 2012.[43]: 25 This demand has driven a similar increase in organically managed farmland that grew from 2001 to 2011 at a compounding rate of 8.9% per year.[44]
As of 2022, approximately 96,000,000 hectares (240,000,000 acres) worldwide were farmed organically, representing approximately 2% of total world farmland.[45]
Organic land care and landscaping
Organic land care, organic landscaping or organic lawn management is a form of horticulture that relies on organic land management techniques such as mowing high, proper watering, use of compost, soil amendments and organic pest control.
In the late 20th century, a movement to manage lawns organically began to grow out of the practices of the organic farming movement. Activists in a number of U.S. cities have pushed local governments to require organic landscaping. Many private properties around the world are managed organically, but some locations require organic land care.[47] Local regulations are often responding to a lack of regulation from the federal government and billion-dollar settlements against pesticide manufacturers.[48]
The organic land care movement gained public recognition in 1996 when England's
Criticisms
There have been multiple criticisms regarding organic food and organic marketing practices. Scientists at the University of Washington did a test of the urine of children who are on organic food diets and children who are on conventional food diets. The result was children on organic food diets ‘ urine had a median level of pesticide byproducts only one-sixth of children on conventional food diets. However, at the same time French, British and Swedish government food agencies have all concluded that there was no scientific proof that organic food is safer or has more nutrition than conventional foods.[53]
A 2014 study by a non-profit academic think tank funded by the Council for Biotechnology Information alleged consumers are "routinely deceived" by intentional and endemic misleading health claims in organic marketing.
See also
- Organic certification
- Organic horticulture
- Organic lawn management
- List of organic food topics
- List of organic gardening and farming topics
- Holistic management
Notes
- ISBN 978-0-313-33725-3.
- ^ "Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (eCFR)". Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (eCFR). 5 November 2020. Retrieved 8 November 2020.
- ^ "Can GMOs Be Used in Organic Products? | Agricultural Marketing Service". www.ams.usda.gov. 1 May 2013. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
- ^ McEvoy, Miles (21 February 2017). "Organic 101: Can GMOs Be Used in Organic Products?". www.usda.gov. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
- ^ McEvoy, Miles (21 February 2017). "New Allowances for Including a "Non-GMO" Statement on Certified Organic Meat and Poultry Products". www.usda.gov. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
- ^ "Criteria for use of the terms Fresh, Pure, Natural etc. in food labeling" (PDF). Food Standards Agency. 1 December 2002.
- ^ Paull, John "The Lost History of Organic Farming in Australia", Journal of Organic Systems, 2008, 3(2):2–17.
- ^ Conford, Philip (1998). "A Forum for Organic Husbandry: The "New English Weekly" and Agricultural Policy, 1939–1949". Agricultural History Review. 46 (2): 197–210.
- ^ Conford, Philip (2002). "The Myth of Neglect: Responses to the Early Organic Movement, 1930–1950". Agricultural History Review. 50 (1): 80–106.
- ISBN 978-0-85199-833-6
- ^ Paull, John Lord Northbourne, the man who invented organic farming, a biography. Journal of Organic Systems, 2014, 9(1), 31–53.
- ^ Paull, John (2011) "Attending the First Organic Agriculture Course: Rudolf Steiner’s Agriculture Course at Koberwitz, 1924", European Journal of Social Sciences, 21(1):64–70.
- ^ a b Paull, John (2013) "The Rachel Carson Letters and the Making of Silent Spring", SAGE Open, 3 (July), pp. 1–12.
- ^ "The History of Organic". Greenlife. 25 July 2023. Retrieved 22 September 2023.
- ^ "Pesticides in Organic Farming". University of California, Berkeley. Retrieved 11 December 2022.
Organic foods are not necessarily pesticide-free. Organic foods are produced using only certain pesticides with specific ingredients. Organic pesticides tend to have substances like soaps, lime sulfur and hydrogen peroxide as ingredients. Not all natural substances are allowed in organic agriculture; some chemicals like arsenic, strychnine, and tobacco dust (nicotine sulfate) are prohibited.
- ^ "National Organic Program". Agricultural Marketing Service, US Department of Agriculture. 12 December 2018. Retrieved 25 February 2019.
- ^ "Organic certification". European Commission: Agriculture and Rural Development. 2014. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
- .
- S2CID 209429041.
- ^ Lowell, Vicki. "Organic FAQs". Organic Farming Research Foundation. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
- ^ a b "Should you go organic?". Harvard Health Publishing, Harvard Medical School. 9 September 2015. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
- ^ Clark, Georgia. "The New Horizon for Organics: A Market Outlook of the Effects of Wal-Mart on the International Organic Market". June 2007
- ISBN 9780865717732.
- ^ ""Organic" Cosmetics". U.S. Food & Drug Administration. 25 February 2022. Retrieved 24 March 2024.
- ^ Gpo.gov
- ^ Alex, Cosper. "Understanding COSMOS – the COSMetics organic and natural standard". Desjardin. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
- ^ Labelling, article 30 of Regulation (EU) 2018/848 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2024 on organic production and labelling of organic products and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 834/2007.
- ^ "History of Organic Farming". biocyclopedia.com. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
Various types and methods of organic agriculture have been developed in the Northern Hemisphere, such as the biological-organic and biodynamic method
- ^ "Biological Farming/Ecological Farming". USDA National Agricultural Library. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
the term biological often refers to organic farming, whereas the term ecological refers to organic plus environmental considerations such as on-farm wildlife management
- ^ "Organic farming". Lexicon Wein‑Plus. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
A form of production (also organic farming, ecological farming, ecological-biological farming, ecological agriculture, alternative agriculture) for the production of food and other agricultural products
- ^ "Clean & Organic Agricultural Products" (PDF). RIRDC. October 2000. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
Biological farming and 'bio' products are terms often used in European countries as equivalent to organic farming. [...] Ecological farming and 'eco' products are terms also used in European countries as equivalent to organic farming.
- ^ Paull, John (2019). "Organic Agriculture in Australia: Attaining the Global Majority (51%)". Journal of Environment Protection and Sustainable Development – via Academia.edu.
- USDA. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
- ^ Paull, John (2011) "Nanomaterials in food and agriculture: The big issue of small matter for organic food and farming", Proceedings of the Third Scientific Conference of ISOFAR (International Society of Organic Agriculture Research), 28 September – 1 October, Namyangju, Korea., 2:96-99
- ^ "USDA List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances in Organic Agriculture". USDA List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances in Organic Agriculture. USDA. 4 April 2016. Archived from the original on 28 December 2015. Retrieved 6 April 2016.
- ^ Arsenault, Chris. "Only 60 Years of Farming Left If Soil Degradation Continues". Scientific American. Retrieved 29 May 2016.
- ^ ISBN 978-0930031756.
- ^ Paull, John "From France to the World: The International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM)", Journal of Social Research & Policy, 2010, 1(2):93-102.
- ^ Danielle Treadwell, Jim Riddle, Mary Barbercheck, Deborah Cavanaugh-Grant, Ed Zaborski, Cooperative Extension System, What is organic farming? Archived 3 May 2016 at the Wayback Machine
- ISSN 1198-712X
- ^ Dale Rhoads, Purdue Extension Service, What is organic farming? Archived 10 June 2016 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Gold, Mary. "What is organic production?". National Agricultural Library. USDA. Archived from the original on 7 August 2007. Retrieved 1 March 2014.
- ^ Helga Willer, Julia Lernoud and Robert Home The World of Organic Agriculture: Statistics & Emerging Trends 2013, Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL) and the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM, 2013).
- ^ Paull, John (2011) "The Uptake of Organic Agriculture: A Decade of Worldwide Development", Journal of Social and Development Sciences, 2 (3), pp. 111-120.
- ^ "The World of Organic Agriculture - Statistics & Emerging Trends 2024" (PDF). Research Institute of Organic Agriculture and IFOAM - Organics International. p. 12. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
- ^ "Scientists urge EU to allow the use of novel breeding techniques and modern biotechnology in organic farming". Wageningen Plant Research. 23 April 2021.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 17 September 2021.
- ^ "Pesticide industry influence at the local level". EHN. 16 November 2021. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
- ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
- ^ Billings, Randy (4 January 2018). "Portland's tough new ban on synthetic pesticides allows few exceptions". Portland Press Herald. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
- ^ Caldwell, Zelda (2 August 2019). "The Vatican Gardens are going "green"". Aleteia – Catholic Spirituality, Lifestyle, World News, and Culture. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
- ISBN 978-0737737943.
- ^ Organics Exposed (Academics Review Organic Marketing Report 2014), by Steve Kopperud, Brownfield News, 2 May 2014.
- ^ Academics Review: The Making of a Monsanto Front Group, by Stacy Malkan, U.S. Right to Know, May 31, 2018.
- ^ Winter, CK and SF Davis, 2006 "Organic Foods" Journal of Food Science 71(9):R117–R124.
- ^ The Food Standards Agency’s Current Stance Archived 31 March 2010 at the Wayback Machine
- London Evening Standard. Archived from the originalon 1 August 2009. Retrieved 29 July 2009.
- ^ Naturally, by Michael Pollan, The New York Times Magazine, 13 May 2001.
References
- Kuepper, G. (2010). A Brief Overview of the History and Philosophy of Organic Agriculture
- Blythman, J. (2005). The Trouble with Organics. Academic Search Complete, 35(6), 24–25 h
- Miller. (2004). The Organic Myth. Ebscohost, Vol 56(2). 7–10.