Several months ago I was asked to discuss organic options for
apple disease control at one of our NY State fruit grower meetings.
I had some hesitations about making the presentation despite the fact
that organic disease control for apples is relatively easy to
summarize. For apples, we still have no effective organically
acceptable substitutes for sulfur, liquid lime-sulfur, and copper.
(One might argue that disease-resistant cultivars are a viable
option, but most growers still have difficulty marketing them.)
Effective programs for using sulfur, liquid lime-sulfur, and copper
were outlined in the 1930's and 1940's. Thus, it was not too
difficult to dig out that historical material, update it with a few
more recent studies, and then add the modern "glitz" by putting it
into a Power Point presentation.
My main hesitation about making the requested presentation
was that organic farming is not (and never has been) based in
science. Rather, depending on which proponents are involved in the
discussion, it is either a personal philosophy, a marketing scheme,
or both. I was concerning that asking a skeptical scientist to
address organic farming might be somewhat similar to asking high
school science teachers to provide theological explanations for the
origins of man.
I agreed make the requested presentation despite my
hesitations, But in the interests of full disclosure, I decided
that I should provide the audience with my own perspective on organic
farming at the outset of the presentation. I devised the following
statement to summarize my perspectives:
"As currently defined, organic farming is a mystical mixture of
1930's technology and new age religion designed to quell the fears of
the gullible wealthy in their fruitless search for a risk-free life."
Given that definition, it is not surprising that our public media (a
subset of the gullible wealthy) constantly promotes "organic" while
fastidiously avoiding any mention of the fact that organic farmers
also use pesticides. I agree that the tide may be shifting from "buy
organic" to "buy local," but the false promises of organic will
continue to attract a sizeable contingent for a long time to come.
The more thoughtful segments of society are likely to make the
transition to sustainable farming, and that will certainly allow for
increased emphasis on local production.
Some farmers (especially producers of annual crops) can still
make a good living producing and selling organic produce. I don't
have any problem with that, especially since our whole economic
structure is based on meeting consumer demand. Furthermore, I
believe that scientists often can help to improve production systems
within any given set of constraints, no matter how nonsensical those
constraints may be. Thus, scientists will continue to assist in
improving organic agriculture so long as there is a demand for that
production system.
The problem arises when scientists themselves begin to
formulate the artificial constraints and promote their value, thereby
abandoning their commitment to objectivity and descending to the
level of hucksters. Thus, I'm perfectly willing to provide advice on
how one might grow organic apples. Just don't ask me to believe in
them!
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Dave Rosenberger
Professor of Plant Pathology Office: 845-691-7231
Cornell University's Hudson Valley Lab Fax: 845-691-2719
P.O. Box 727, Highland, NY 12528 Cell: 845-594-3060
http://www.nysaes.cornell.edu/pp/faculty/rosenberger/
