The Alaska Equation Considered -
I would like to respond to Alex Sheshunoff's article "Organic farming is un-green land grab." (Anchorage Daily News - November 29, 2007) Alex does not understand the issues of organic farming, local production, good agricultural practices, or quality of life. In addition, he misses the boat on the cost of shipping produce to Alaska, not to mention food security and safety issues.I am a farmer in the Palmer area, as well as the Market Manager for the South Anchorage Farmers Market, so I am admittedly biased. However, I am not a certified organic producer. My response is based on the fact that we live in Alaska, not California.As Mr. Sheshunoff states, yields are less with organic crops. But consider this: if a farmer has ten acres, it is his choice of what production methods he will use; how is that a land grab? It is more work to farm organically and do it right, hence the value of and necessity for the certification process. Unlike the gasoline you put in your car, land that is being farmed properly (whether using organic or conventional methods) is not being used up; it’ll still produce the next year, The real resource that is being used is labor, as in manual labor. Manual labor is a renewable resource. Certified organic farming is only a small fraction of the farming that goes on here in Alaska. There is still plenty of farmland available for farming here; the resource that we need more of is farmers. Alaska is not a grain producing region; what we do produce is yummy vegetables. Vegetables are a crop that requires intensive manual labor, and organic vegetables are even more labor intensive. The lower yields are only one reason for the higher price of organics, and labor is the other. The organic farmers in Alaska are farming smart and are using strategies to minimize tillage and reduce the labor to control weeds.Local production in Alaska requires far less and in some instances no pesticides. Why? Because a lot of the bugs and diseases that are only controlled by the regular application of pesticides in the Lower 48 can’t survive Alaska's climate, or they haven’t been introduced here. For example, corn in Hawaii must be sprayed every two days to keep bugs from burrowing into the ears and eating the kernels. I have grown corn commercially for the past five years in Alaska, and I have never seen a bug burrow into any of my ears of corn, because the bugs that eat corn aren’t here. I don’t spray my conventionally-grown Alaskan corn.Alex refers to "pesticide-intensive stuff." I would like to argue that in Alaska we don’t have and probably don’t even know what it means to grow a pesticide-intensive crop, unless he counts a manicured suburban lawn as "an agriculture product." Good agricultural practices preclude farmers from applying pesticides unnecessarily, furthermore I don’t know of a farmer in Alaska who wants to apply pesticide, unless absolutely necessary. In California, pesticide application is a big, huge business. Get your Alaskan phone directory out and look up pesticide applicator; you won’t find a single local listing for an agriculture applicator for pesticide. Alaska-grown carrots have up to three times the sugar content of the best carrot from California; this a measurable difference. It is not just carrots that taste better, go to any Alaska farmers market and you will be amazed at how much better everything tastes. Part of the difference is the weather up here (cold nights make the carrots and other vegetables sweeter) and the other difference is the time and the toll that it takes to get our food shipped in from 4000 miles away. What do you think happens to the nutritional content of vegetables that are picked green, packed into a box, chilled to 33 degrees, and shipped this way for ten days to two weeks before they see the light of day? Alex fails to mention the loss incurred from this two week trip. “Shrink” is the term used by produce managers for the amount of produce that must be hauled to the local landfill after it is bruised or otherwise damaged after its voyage to Alaska. Alex says "Big semitrailers carrying lots of lettuce emit fewer emissions than fleets of small pickups running hither and thither." He asserts that the roughly four thousand mile trip from California for a forty foot box van is more cost efficient than a 24 foot box truck driving the forty miles to Anchorage. This is absurd. Remember, it is actually an 8,000 mile round trip, because the van has to get shipped back to California, empty!What about preserving and maintaining the ability of Alaska to feed itself? I know that we will always need to ship food and supplies into our state due to the limitations that nature presents here, but doesn’t our limited ability to produce food make what production we do have all the more valuable? What about the next big earthquake that hits? Don’t you sleep better at night knowing that 40 miles north of your home there is a supply of food that can potentially keep your kids from going hungry? The barges could stop coming, and in one week there won’t be anything left on the grocery store shelves but locally-produced food. Food security should be reason enough to support your local producers, Local dairies produce milk year-round. If you support them, it is actually an investment in your and your children’s future well being. Call it an insurance policy if nothing else.Farming is hard work whether it is organic or conventional. Good agriculture practices are a must no matter what farm you support. Shipping produce to Alaska is not efficient now, never has been, and never will be, especially when you factor in the loss of nutrients, quality of the produce, and the cost of discarding the damaged products. The higher the cost of fuel gets, the more innovative ideas and technologies we will see to improve and maximize efficiency of farming here.The bottom line is this: you are lucky to have the opportunity to eat fresh produce grown in Alaska. Take advantage of those delicious vegetables, and while you’re at it, you’ll be protecting your future food supply.Arthur KeyesA&M FarmsSouth Anchorage Farmers MarketMarket Manager