Organic Freefall?

Today’s New York Times reports that many organic dairy farmers in the United States are facing severe economic hardship for the first time. It seems the economic recession is causing pocketbooks previously open to organic products to close shut like a disturbed mussel. Previously I extracted my own experiences working on an organic city ‘farm’ to make the case for higher organic prices. It seems many families cannot justify the extra expense of organic milk when their own economic fortunes are in question.

Such a trend raises a whole set of questions about why consumers were (slowly) shifting to organic products and what values they place on the food they consume. This is not intended to pass judgement – the organic and local food movements have their fair share of guilt in this regard. Rather it is important to examine the cultural forces that brought organic milk a more mainstream profile.

The very forces that resulted in rapid growth in the organic milk market are the same forces that are now holding it back – aspiration and affluence. A discourse emerged whereby organic and healthy provisions are the provenance of the well to do, worldly, and health conscious. In essence it became a means of representation for other values that have no direct relationship with the practice and production of organic milk. With this dominant ‘construction’ of what organic ‘means’, it will be relegated to a niche market of environmentalists and hippies for sometime.

Consumption of organic milk (and other foodstuffs) is about values – valuing your body, the environment, community, etc. This is not meant to be a judgment on morals, but a personal evaluation of what is important. The current discourse of consumption does not place an emphasis on these values. What the media emphasises is instant gratification and status. Unless this changes, progress in growing organic agriculture will stall and those who support the organic movement will pay with higher prices. Engagement is required with those around you to shift this discourse. Sacrifice in another area of life may be needed. If your values are aligned such that the quality and environmental impact of your food is important enough, the balance can be maintained. I say this as a fellow individual enduring an economic hardship presently. Life is full of tough choices – what’s it going to be then, eh?