organic agriculture

Find a screening to check out What's Organic about Organic—or host your own.

A new documentary gives organic farmers a chance to talk about their farms.

RODALE NEWS, WASHINGTON, DC—Did you know that cows should graze near apple trees? That 70 percent of the antibiotics sold in this country are for use in animals? Would you be surprised to learn that organic agriculture, not the "conventional" agrichemical approach, is the answer to feeding the world?

Whether you are totally steeped in the differences between industrial and organic agriculture or you haven’t got a clue—or couldn’t care less—you will find the newest food and ag documentary, with its down-on-the-farm viewpoint, engaging and surprising. You might even learn something from What’s Organic about Organic?, an hour-long film that has taken a more upbeat approach to sustainable agriculture than any of its predecessors.

I know I did.

THE DETAILS: The film is just the latest in what is increasingly the hottest topic in independent filmmaking: food. This time around, from the gritty streets of Harlem and the bucolic landscape of upstate New York to the wide-open spaces of the Rockies and the tropical landscapes of Florida, an appealing group of men and women farmers, accompanied by fiddle music, tells the story of a return to old-fashioned farming in the 21st century. Crop rotation and farmers in the fields are positioned as the future of farming, rather than crop dusters in the sky sending down a rain of chemicals. There is no doubt what side this documentary is on: Organic is sustainable and good; industrial is destructive to the land and bad.

Previous documentaries—the most famous of which is probably Food, Inc.—have focused on the dark side of industrial agriculture: inhumanity to animals; dangerous working conditions for humans; disregard for the safety of the chemicals added to crops and animals. What’s Organic, produced by Shelley Rogers and Emily Triantaphyllis, and directed by Rogers, has chosen to emphasize the benefits of growing and eating organic, and clearly lays out the reasons people should care about the differences. The film addresses questions on the minds of many consumers: What does an organic label mean, and what regulations must be followed for a product to receive the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s organic seal of approval? And it poses the question: Is the organic label just marketing hype, or is it beneficial to humans and the environment?

Many of the questions and answers are discussed by farmers. Andy Grant, of Grant Family Farm in Colorado, talks about growing up on a conventional farm and becoming aware of the hazards of chemical pesticides when he was young. The family’s crops were plagued by an infestation of grasshoppers, so they were sprayed with a pesticide. Grant’s dog ate the grasshoppers and died. “At the age of 7, I was very committed to farming without chemicals,” he said, adding: “I always liked dogs better than people.”

Another farmer is incredulous that people eat industrial-farm-grown apples. “The stuff they spray on apples is designed to stay forever in rainstorms,” said Jim Gardiner of Hidden Opportunities Organic Dairy in upstate New York. “How much of a rainstorm is there in your kitchen?” he wondered. And speaking of apples, old-timers in the film told another young farmer that cows, especially heifers, should have access to an apple orchard because an apple’s malic acid helps them develop healthy livers.

In addition to farmers telling their stories, others connected with organic farming talk about instances, during the previous administration, when the Department of Agriculture didn’t do the right thing—or, sometimes, anything at all. One of the most egregious cases concerned dairy cows. The agency turned a blind eye to a mega dairy operation's labeling milk as organic that came from cows that were not being raised organically. Under the current administration that lapse, at least, has been rectified.