Bob's Story

Bob was originally trained as a "chemical farmer." He was hired on to work at a grain farm shortly after graduating from university. The farm wanted to cut cost so they decided to simply not spray some fields, and instead, use more intense mechanical methods of suppressing weeds. This was a successful experiment, which sparked Bob's interest in growing organically.

When Bob began farming he aligned with "organics" as the EU defined it. He believed he and the organic movement shared common values and growing methods. However in recent years Bob feels that "organics" has strayed from its original vision and he no longer feels aligned with its values.

For instance, using jet fuel to import "organic" veg is a contradiction in his mind. He is also dissatisfied with organically approved fertilizers, mainly organic chicken pellets. While fed organically, Bob believes that because they come from large-scale chicken farms with inhumane living conditions for the birds they are far from the meeting organics goals in the broader sense. So for the EU to dictate he use the chicken pellets instead of small amounts of chemical bi-products of a local steel industry is also a contradiction in his mind. He is also fed up with the fees and paper work involved in organic labels and has some frustration with organic inspectors. For these reasons he does not participate in the EU organic scheme.

This is also a common story in the US. Many farmers that sold in the Lansing area dropped the organic label for one reason or another. One set of farmers called their produce "Eco-farmed" instead. According to Bob, he is doing fine without the label. He believes that the reputation he has cultivated with the neighboring communities for the past 20 years will substitute for the label. It has for now, but if he had to enter a new market it could be a problem.