From The Roots Up

A classic case of man versus nature plays out in todays food markets

Story and photos by Eva Mizer

Natalie Burke sits in her college dorm. It’s winter, but she is somewhere warm and sunny. She is remembering her childhood when she would visit her grandfather and see his garden.  She wasn't interested in gardening back then, and didn't like vegetables, but something about his gardening was special. "Even vegetables I wouldn't normally eat would just taste better," she explains, "because he didn't coat them in pesticides and all that junk." For years, her grandfather would plant natural seeds in his garden and grow them without chemicals. Today, her family eats organic instead of genetically modified or chemically farmed food because of the possible health risks associated with them. "Because," she explains, "it's like eating poison."

Although branded as something used only by naturalists, organic farming is a method of farming that has been around for thousands of years. In the past 10 years, chemical farming and genetically modified seeds have grown from a rarity to something that is used today in most commercial agricultural industries. In chemical farming, farmers buy chemical fertilizers, and insect repellents, while genetic engineering is where certain genes are combined, modified, or added to plants to gain a certain outcome like resistance to herbicides.

"Because," she explains, "it's like eating poison"

On one hand, using seeds and chemicals produced in laboratories reportedly ensures the farmer of fertile fields free of bugs, and plants that produce bigger and better yields. However, recent studies and probing of the safety and effects that these products have on the environment, animals, and humans, have increased the discomfort felt by so many Americans when they browse the grocery store aisles. One of the most talked-about names in these recent debates is Monsanto, a chemical company known for bringing the world Agent Orange (a defoliant used in Vietnam), NutraSweet (aspartame), and the recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone (banned in Canada).

Monsanto is renowned for research into genetically modified foods (GM), and responsible for patented genes inserted into about 95% of all soybeans and 89% of all corn grown in the US. Overall, the giant owns about 90% of the market share, meaning that the majority of the food you buy in grocery stores today is no longer natural, but genetically modified in some way, shape, or form. This can mean that genes were added for anything from increasing the shelf-life to being infused with RoundUp and pesticides. While the benefits are said to outweigh the risks, the idea of things we and animals eat containing elements of pesticides and herbicides have some cringing.

"Zambia, once affected by widespread famine, denied food aid from the UN World Food Program..."

The FDA does not require genetically modified products to be labeled, whereas in the United Kingdom, anything containing more than .5% of a genetically modified ingredient must be labeled. Some countries have taken the matter on a whole other level. The European Union has put together a biosaftey protocol for countries to ban certain imports on GM foods and requires exporters to label their shipments of GM products. Zambia, once affected by widespread famine, denied food aid from the UN World Food Program until the famine had escalated. Once recovered, Zambia reinstated the ban. Venezuela, Hungary, and India have all banned GM seeds and products to some extent, while other countries attempt to follow suit.

The fear that follows these stigmas has led many consumers to try their hand at organic, or natural, gardening. Although gardening has been a part of our culture for thousands of years, many people in modern society in America do not farm or garden their own food due to the ease of buying the food in supermarkets. However, when compared to the costs of buying food in the store or gardening with herbicides and pesticides, organic gardening produces at a much lower cost to the gardener.

For example, a head of lettuce costs around $3 at Price Chopper. Take the same $3 and buy a packet of 250 lettuce seeds from Seed Savers Exchange. With patience and a little care, you could plant and grow the seeds yourself, and have as many heads of lettuce as you can grow. A pound of onions cost about $2, but for $2.75, you can buy a packet of 100 Yellow of Parma onion seeds and grow up to 100 pounds of onions, cutting the cost down to about $.03 an onion. Perhaps one of the most striking of the price comparisons is the case of the bell peppers. King of the North peppers, hailed for their success in the northern region of the US, costs $2.75 for a packet of 50 seeds. In optimum conditions, each pepper plant can produce up to 3 or 4 good sized peppers in a season, giving you an average cost of $.02 a pepper, which is considerably less than buying peppers in packs of 2 for $5.99.

"You spend an extra $30 on pesticides, but you would only lose an extra one or two tomatoes [without them]"

Aside from the money saved by just buying seeds to plant rather than the finished product, organic farming saves growers money and consumers stress by not using pesticides or herbicides. Jessica Murphy loves to plant and grow herbs and rare vegetables. Her mother has always been the veggie gardener of the family, and for years she sprayed her plants with pesticides until her daughter persuaded her to try it. "Of course plants got eaten," she admits, "you spend an extra $30 on pesticides, but you would only lose an extra one or two tomatoes [without them]."

Instead of buying chemical fertilizers, which can be very expensive and weaken the soil in the long term, Murphy and her family get cow manure free from a neighbor (free of hormones). The difference, she contends, is very palpable. "Vegetables taste ten times better organic than nonorganic," she says, "and from the visual standpoint, they look better." Murphy photographs different vegetables she grows for photography class, giving her an edge for spotting the differences between the qualities of different harvests. Another way her family saves money is to preserve what they do grow each season. "We freeze our pumpkin, peppers, and beans," she says, "and we can all of our tomatoes and make sauces out of them." While she doesn't grow apples, Murphy also cans her own applesauce. In the winter, her family enjoys pumpkin cookies and pies, along with home-cooked foods of the summer, at a fraction of the cost and caution.



Going organic is an option many Americans have followed to ensure the quality of their health as well as the economic impacts on their wallet and the local economy. There are many ways to experience organic foods including planting and growing your own food, buying a CSA membership, or visiting local farmer's markets or organic food stores in your area. To see what is availble in your area, be sure to search helpful websites such as Local Harvest, Rodale's Farm Finder, and Advice on Gardening.

What are your garden secrets?

What is your opinion on genetically-modified fruits, vegetables, and meat?