To my mind, the biggest problem with “organic” is that the term is so inscrutable. As consumers, we only have a casual understanding of the term, mostly based on marketing, popular culture, and packaging. It sure sounds good!
But despite common assumptions, organics are not necessarily produced by small farms… It doesn’t mean better labor standards for workers. It doesn’t mean “no pesticides,” or even “fewer pesticides” in all cases. Hell, “organic” doesn’t even (necessarily) mean “non-gmo.” The lack of consistent standards leads to confusion at the marketplace, and many are happy to keep those misunderstandings in place.
There is a very nasty history with “conventional” agriculture, so people are weary of it for good reason. We want crop diversity. We don’t want monopoly control over seeds and farmland. We want healthy, well-treated livestock. We want scientific studies produced by parties without a vested interest in the outcome.
We want products that are healthy to consume, safe for the environment, and with good labor practices. It would be nice if there was some sticker on the food that could assure us that those wishes were being met. But “orgainic” is not it, and this is the problem with market-based solutions to these major problems… Since there’s so much misinformation, just leaving it up to consumer choice isn’t a great way to get large-scale, safe, sustainable agriculture
