why i disagree with "Boycotting Pro-GMO Organic Brands Not the Way"

check out this article from the jackson free press. 

“…consider what boycotting those brands might mean.

Will it promote organic? Or other organic products? Or organic growers? Or the companies that sell organics? Hardly. Rather, it will simply retard market share for organics. This will, in turn, feed the idea that organics isn’t growing as a consumer market, which it is. And it could undermine those who are actually growing organically and the stores that carry these organic brands.”

i disagree. the boycott, called by the organic consumer’s association, doesn’t say to not buy organic, local brands. it simply calls for you to stop supporting the fake organic brands that are money funnels for the big-ag-supporting food companies, like pepsi and kraft. why would people who always buy kashi start buying cornflakes just because they learn kashi is fake? they are going to find a smaller, more local brand of breakfast food, or maybe, start making their own granola!  or maybe trading it with their neighbor who makes granola for some eggs! who knows.

the point is, when people are aware what they are voting for with their money when they buy fake organic brands, they are going to be motivated to make an even better decision. and who cares about “feeding the idea” that organic isn’t growing? to hell with all the talking heads on tv! they don’t know what you feel in your heart. and my heart is telling me that supporting these fake organic brands is simply wrong. it does not align with my beliefs. i cannot feel good about supporting these companies. and feeling good is an essential part of my health, which is the whole point i choose to learn about the secrets of the food system. 

also, if the market share of organics is growing, but it’s growing in terms of industrial organic, then that’s another battle we’ll have to fight in the future. you see, there’s farms and brands that are going organic to cash in on the trend. they just buy organic soil amendments, organic herbicides and pesticides, and pay for the certification. this does not actually help build better soil, or even grow better food. the love, the care for the earth and the plants and the people, still isn’t there. soil amendments, organic or chemical, still burn the little delicate feet, the roots, of plants. they still alter the natural balance. just like using a tractor and mechanical harvester can be considered organic, but it disrupts the natural fertility of the soil and degrades the food in ways that can only be felt, not explained through words. 

real organic farming is more than organic. it is about a system that nourishes the body of the earth with an understanding that it’s the very same flesh and blood body we live in. it’s about building the soil, not tilling it and driving over it with heavy machinery. it’s about developing a connection and an understanding for our place in the web of life. that one action out of step with the natural balance of nature can send everything in the wrong direction. 

these are the people i want to support with my money. the people who get that farming isn’t about food. or money. it’s about something much greater, much more powerful.  and when i eat silk almond milk or maybe some tostidos, i feel unaligned with what i know and hold to be true and right in the world. 

i have another issue with this article.

“Moreover, it accelerates the trend away from small growers to Big Ag corporations that can afford a smaller profit margin as part of a mix of organic and nonorganic products. In other words, a boycott plays into the hands of those who are being boycotted: the very corporations that sell both organic and nonorganic products. They win either way while it penalizes those who solely sell organic products, grow organics and buy organics.”

can someone explain this to me?  is it just me that thinks this makes absolutely no sense? how do they win either way? they need us to vote for them with our dollars (well…they also have the government backing them…). how can our choice not to support the fakers of organic only hurt the real organic people? they only win if we buy their products, organic or non organic. so we need to find the people doing it right, we need to find the small, local, organic, biodynamic, permaculture, community oriented, cooperative, and loving business and companies that want to help heal the body of the earth by feeding our bodies with good, clean and fair food.