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organic milk: letter to Nytimes editor
November 10, 1996
To the Editor of the New York Times
Our family dairy, a relatively-small farm near San Francisco, completed
the four-year
transition to certified organic in 1994. Although excellent, "Developing
A Taste for
Organic Milk" (Oct 30, 1996) largely overlooks an a major underlying
issue: the interplay
of family farming, food production and the organic movement.
Organic farming is a reaction by small farmers to the demands of an
urbanized population
which is increasingly disconnected with the source of their food. The
fabled "small family
farm" is dying, being replaced by large-scale and often chemical-intensive
agriculture.
Fewer than 1.5% of the American population is involved in agricultural
production, down
>from around 50% just sixty years ago. Prime agricultural lands become
suburbs; water
tables are contaminated - and tremendous demands are placed on a
diminishing
agricultural-base.
Organic farming is one alternative for small farmers who are struggling to
compete against
cheap international imports, while maintaining environmentally-sensitive
land practices.
These farmers are risking everything on the hope that people will
understand and support
the connection between the land, food quality, and the tangible
environmental benefits of
sustainable agricultural practices.
Sincerely,
Michael Straus
Straus Family Creamery
P.O. Box 768
Marshall, CA 94940
Tel: 415/663-5464
Fx: 415/663-5465
Email: StrausMilk@aol.com