Pesticides, which became the rage after World War II, have their roots in the chemical weapons developed in the two world wars. The agricultural establishment has come under fire under recent years for a host of environmental and social problems, ranging from topsoil depletion and groundwater contamination to the decline of family farms and poor living working conditions for migrant laborers. Progress and profit. It may sound jingoistic, but I love America. Other forces are going to take over.
Organic agriculture is based on a strikingly different set of values.
They don't feel like they have to own her, or that they can do better than her. Rather, they seek to work in alliance with Mother Nature's powers, and they respect her abilities. Leaders in the organic farming and sustainable agriculture movement are well aware of our connection to the fragile web of life, and strive to maintain an ecological balance. The dichotomy between the two mindsets reminds me of Daniel Quinn's description in his popular environmental novel, Ishmael , of Leaver peoples, who are willing to live in the hands of the gods, and Takers, who feel they must seize control from the gods for themselves. Another author I've turned to in order to make sense of this dichotomy is Jerry Mander, author of The Absence of the Sacred .