When is organic food truly organic? (2)

Why an organic crop could still be wrongly defined
even it doesn't get in touch with a single molecule of
harmful chemical, pollutant or contaminant?

This is because:

1. the four criteria mentioned previously
    could be technically 'plagiarised',
    e.g. fertilising crops with high-Nitrogen biomass-derived
          (ie non-synthetic) fertilizer
          that boosts the growth and green-ness of a crop,
          will result in risky level of residual
          nitrites in the plant, causing harm to consumers.

2. the fulfilment of the four criteria doesn't necessarily
    adheres to the core principle of organic agriculture
    e.g. traditionally crossing related species of crops to derive a super variety,
           eventually resulting in wiping off its wild type relatives in nature.
          [this effect can be as bad as growing a GMO, environmental-wise; but
           the crop is still defined as organic, since it fulfills all 4 criteria]

The four certification criteria emphsize on
only the measureable aspects of organic agricultural practice.

The 4 basic criteria hence have to be supplemented with
a 5th criterion which is
natural farming.
This is when 'organic' is getting difficult to measure or it's almost inmeasurable.

Natural farming means going by the flow of nature.
As mentioned, it's not quite measureable,
so it's not possible to list out all the parameters.

But there are a few examples here to illustrate:
E.g.1  to grow crops which are local
E.g.2  to grow crops according to season
E.g.3. to refrain from human manipulation (like cross-breeding, air-conditioning & sheltering)

~ growing crops on a non-indigeneous land or in the wrong season,
will compromise the survival/competence/health of a crop.
This in turn "justifies" for heavy fertilisation (even tho' non-synthetic)
and eventually leads to possible 'poisoning' of crop and low nutrient content.

That's why it's not surprising to see no difference in nutrients level between
both chemical-free organic Choy Sum
and non-organic Choy Sum grown in tropical Singapore
(which is not native to Choy Sum of temperate origin).

--  This is when parties with 'vested interest' invest in research studies
and claim that it's not worthwhile growing organic crops
since there is no added value in nutrition.

As one may observe by now,
Criteria 1-4 are actually the measureable subset of Criteria 5,
to facilitate certification and easy referencing.

To grow a crop organically
is to grow a crop in a manner abiding to natural laws,
so that the crop is full of life-force.
(note: the word 'organic' means pertaining to life)

So, if a crop is grown naturally and is full of life-force,
can it be fully-defined as an organic crop?

May or may not be.

Explanation to come..

Well wishes,
Kee Yew

When-is-organic-food-truly-organic


{Learning Holistic Wellness for Wisdom and Compassion}