Green manure

Envirospin Watch this week features a guest essay from Matt Ridley (author of Genome) which looks at the environmental movement’s criticisms of GM crops and finds their arguments illogical and inconsistent. Sounds about right to me.

A lot of people seem to view the debate between organic and GM crops as a battle between rapacious biotech companies and an enlightened group of informed consumers in the form of the environmental movement. They seem to forget that the organic sector is itself an industry with its own highly effective propaganda machine. The certification of organic foods is essentially little more than a marketing tool for farmers who would otherwise be marginalized by their backward methods, low crop yields and poor quality produce.

I guess I should really declare an interest here. I’ve been involved in organic agriculture, off and on, for over twenty-five years and I’ve worked in the organic industry. My interest began in the 1970s, when organic agriculture was seen as part of the solution to some of the undesirable externalities of large-scale intensive agriculture. I don’t think organic produce is bad (I even eat some of it from time to time) but organic cultivation now seems to have become an end in itself rather than a means of achieving wider social benefits.

At the same time, the arguments in favor of organic agriculture have become more and more divorced from reality. In part, this is due to the influence of deeply unscientific thinking by many in the organic movement, which now seems dominated by New Age hippies, bio-dynamicists, and assorted eccentrics.

Growing organically is a valid lifestyle choice but unfortunately, organic cultivation is not the answer to life, the universe and everything, as many of its adherents seem to believe. When radical environmentalists destroy crops, intimidate farmers and threaten people’s livelihoods in support of their ideals, they cease to be harmless “do-gooders” and become the enemies of freedom of choice.

Elsewhere on Envirospin Watch, Philip Stott joked about there being a niche in the market for a restaurant that sold only GM foods. I’ve often thought of opening a restaurant myself (I’ve been involved in a few in the past), but it’s no exaggeration to say that it would be impossible to run a GM restaurant in this part of the country. I doubt whether there would be a sufficient market for it, but in any case, I expect vandalism and intimidation by radical environmentalists would effectively prevent me from doing business.

I’m sure that wouldn’t worry the organic movement but it should deeply concern the rest of us.