Webmaster's Note: This was a response to a an article published in the Indiananopolis Star, January 4th. It was an article by Dennis Avery of the Hudson Institute. The letter was never published.

To the Editor:

Below is my response to the essay you printed by Dennis Avery in January. Mr. Avery advocated the chemical approach to agriculture, and some of us feel differently.

If you have any questions, I can be reached at (phone no. deleted at request of author - ed.).

Thanks,

Heydon Buchanan

The Organic Life

Let's note the few agreements which Mr. Avery's article and the organic philosophy have in common. 1) Earthworms and subsoil bacteria are good for the environment. 2) Integrated Pest Management is a positive form of pest control.

Beyond that, Mr. Avery feels that chemical agriculture is the only solution to an ever-expanding population. I disagree. Chemical agriculture is not a sustainable form of production. We have peaked out on high-yield, chemically-produced agriculture.

The resulting loss of soil micronutrients has many farmers concerned, and as Purdue agronomist David Mengel, wrote, "When micronutrients become a limiting factor, water, fertilizer and other high-energy production inputs may be wasted."

As a friend once told me, when checking someone's motivation for doing something, "First follow the money trail." In the case of Mr. Avery, that trail is very direct. Mr. Avery is employed by the Hudson Institute. I have read the Hudson Institute's 1996 Annual Report and their list of "Sponsors". In their highest circle of Sponsors is Dow Elanco, and Dow Elanco is the world's largest manufacturer of chemical insecticides and fungicides. Surprised? In the second circle of Sponsors is Monsanto, and Monsanto produces Roundup, the largest selling herbicide in the world. Surprised?

The point is that the big money is in chemicals-chemical fertilizers, chemical pesticides, chemical herbicides, chemical fungicides. And, the multinational corporations who produce these products put profits before people.

On December 16, 1997, the Star printed an article headlined "Youngsters Reaping a Harvest of Risks-child farm workers face bountiful health problems from exposure to chemicals". The headline says it all. According to the U.S. Dept. of Labor, 123,000 children between the ages of 14 and 17 work in America's farm fields. Uncounted thousands more are under 14. Those children are just working America's farm fields.

Since NAFTA went into effect we have dramatically increased our imports of fruits and vegetables from Latin America. That produce is grown with DDT which we have banned in the U.S.

If our child farm workers are facing serious health risks, imagine how much worse it is for the children of farm workers in Latin America who harvest an ever-increasing amount of produce for U.S. consumers. The health complications from our addiction to chemical agriculture just go on and on.

High Yield? Maybe. However, the image we already carry of nuclear-generated "super growth" is not a healthy one. I doubt that Mr. Avery would argue that.

For those of us in the Vietnam generation, Dow came up with another little special product-Agent Orange. And Dow made a fortune on it. Of course many of my contemporaries-infantrymen in the field-and their children paid a horrible price with multiple cancers and birth defects. (As soldiers, we were told that Agent Orange was only a defoliant and did no harm to humans.) Vietnamese victims will be suffering Agent Orange's aftermath for a long time to come.

Yes, Mr. Avery, organic food is mainstream now. And this is market-driven, the purest form of capitalism. People are better educated in today's world and want to know what they are putting into their bodies. Yes, as you say, European governments are subsidizing organic farming. The Europeans are not blind to the health needs of their citizens. Many of them live longer than we do, and they live nutritionally healthier.

We in the United States can't wait for our government to promote a similar program before we take action. The American people understand more and more of the role multinational business plays in influencing our politicians. As a result , I am not holding my breath for healthy change to occur.

However, we can make a difference. Just as Victory gardens were promoted in World War II, we need to grow whatever we can at home now. Anyone who has a backyard garden knows the improved quality and taste of their vegetables as opposed to what the store has.

The sooner we pressure our markets to support organic produce, the sooner it will be available, and the sooner the price will come down. I can't afford much organic produce myself, so I grow what I can and have learned how to clean other produce. DDT may be banned here in the U.S. now, but it's still used on some of the food we import from other countries. The U.S. government has now established some guidelines for organic certification. That is only the beginning.

"Organic" is really much more than a buzz word for produce. It involves an approach to life. Pay attention to your food, your air, your water. If these things are unhealthy, work to change them.

I belong to a small group of organic growers who try in our own way to make a difference and share what we know with others. We are different in age, economic levels, politics. Some are produce farmers; some raise livestock for a living; some are gardeners. Some are business owners; some are technicians; some are teachers; some are retired. Individually, we make what changes we can. However, we all come together for what we have in common, and that is an interest in a healthier environment for everyone. I am not sponsored to write this recommendation for the organic way. I will receive no payment and also am giving up my time to do it. I believe humanity is worth it. Is that naïve? Maybe, but something my mother taught me long ago comes to mind, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." And if others have a better way to do things, I'm certainly willing to listen. But I will pay particular attention to people whose info-sharing is not financially motivated.

On this subject, a couple of our tax-supported resources are worth studying. Purdue University's "Agronomy Guide" has great information provided by their agronomists. Purdue is paying more and more attention to the organic approach to agriculture.

Another tax-supported group is ATTRA-Appropriate Technology Transfer for Rural Areas. ATTRA is the national sustainable agriculture information center funded by the USDA's Rural Business-Cooperative Service. Their toll-free number is 1-800-346-9140. We are already paying for their research services, so we might as well benefit by it.

If you are interested in checking out the organic approach to life, come to one of our meetings. We are the IOGA-Indiana Organic Growers Association. For further info on IOGA, you can call Gary Shideler at 899-2792.

In conclusion, I believe most people in the world are ready to try a new approach. As we've reconsidered DDT and Agent Orange, let's reevaluate the other products in our agrichemical war chest. Let's adopt healthy soil, air, and water so we can provide our children with a healthy environment instead of a bankrupt, burned-out wasteland.

Heydon Buchanan