In Organic We Trust
We put so much into this word “organic,” but it really isn’t about the word. Indeed, as the film “In Organic We Trust” clarifies, the word is more like a baseline for a most important public discourse.
As an official term, we’re almost forced to cede the word “organic” to governments and corporations. “Certified Organic” creates paperwork and other hoops for farmers, and if you want to sell people organic food for a living, you probably resign yourself to that regime. Alas, industrial corporations compete for the cash from the cache that the term “organic” has earned.
As marketers have realized, the label can stamp even processed food “Certified Organic” if it meets the technical guidelines. As big businessmen have discovered, the label provides the advantages found in thinking narrowly and scaling big.
As a philosophical approach, organic may be somewhat inexact, but it is far reaching as an individual and societal ethic. The ethic of organic includes things like caring about the vitality of the soil where food is grown. It considers whether a crop emanates from a monoculture environment and the time and distance that food travels from farm to consumer. It thrives in home ground and community where small makes profound sense and satisfaction.
Discussion of things like taste and nutrition actually can bear inconclusive fruit. However, one aspect stands out particularly. Whether it’s Certified Organic or philosophically organic, pesticides and other chemical applications get dialed out. This consideration grounds any discussion of organic.
“In Organic We Trust” does solid service as a documentary. If flows well. It adds something to its appropriately chosen tone about an increasingly familiar topic. It suggests that the idea and practice of “organic” has not been fully digested in America. Whether you find a few new things in this film or just realize that your sense of “organic” can use some reinforcing, “In Organic We Trust” does a nice job.