The definition of a fad is: ‘a temporary fashion, notion, manner of conduct, etc., esp. one followed enthusiastically by a group’. And the answer is: No. The phrase ‘organic’ was first coined by Lord Northbourne, an agriculturist, educator and writer. In his influential book ‘Look to the Land’ first published in 1940, Lord Northbourne introduced the concept of organic farming by recognizing the farm as an organism – each part of the whole (soil, water, fauna, flora and air) being interdependent. ‘The farm as an organism’ concept though, goes beyond just abolition of harmful pesticides and invasive genetic meddling, it recognizes that we are custodians of the earth in every sense, and our health and survival is connected intricately to the health of the soil and the survival of all living things, what better place to start than where we grow our food?
Thankfully, today organic foods is the fastest growing agricultural market, with Bloomberg recognizing many new ‘organic and wholesome food’ start ups as ‘most promising’. Organic enthusiasts have over the years extended from free-spirited hippies to include a much broader spectrum of the population who care about what they eat, and want to raise healthy families in healthy communities (thank you Generation Y). And by healthy communities I mean local farms, open spaces and indian summer hayrides or autumn apple picking.
So here we are, 70 years later and it is still a popular and growing topic, centering more and more around lifestyle choices, and our choices as custodians of our land, and our childrens future. We can't all grow our own food and eat from our gardens, but our choices today influence growers of tomorrow. Is it a fad? No, I don't think so. Is it a growing movement that will restore goodness to our fresh foods, reduce obesity and chronic disease and leave a legacy we can be proud of? Absolutely!
