Some questions have been pressing me in my time here, especially
as the four of us have been working on our first project. Neil asked us a
question from which to base a discussion: Is organic farming a sustainable
practice in Jamaica? The four of us all have different opinions of the issue,
ranging in a spectrum of optimism and pessimism. Some of my colleagues are
completely optimistic about organic farming as it plays into sustainability,
but on the other hand, I’m stuck. I see multiple sustainability frameworks. I
don’t just see the Natural Step framework, with its four principles based under
degradation, pollution, extraction, and barriers. I also see another framework,
briefly mentioned to me by Dr. Smith (from the University of the West Indies).
This framework involves not only the environment, but also personal welfare,
economics, and social interactions.
The Natural Step is useful for evaluating
the sustainability of something from a primarily environmental lens. But if we
want to analyze a system as it would truly functions, we must consider all
aspects of that system: this includes bringing the system out of its bubble and analyzing market
and community interactions. Going organic or going sustainable isn’t easy
because it’s complex. That sounds like a simple statement, but I continuously
meet people who are championing organic, when in reality, it’s not feasible for
the Jamaican market as it works today. The price of organic is too high right
now to be economical for the average Jamaican who goes to the store to buy food
for his or her family. Organic farming is interesting, because it takes so much time and so much labor
and quite frankly, some assets with which to start, to run such a venture. In
the scope of feeding one’s family, growing commercially makes ends meet. To
completely put all other needs on hold to be ‘certified’ organic is a toll paid
in money (that can be spent on school fees), manual effort (which means a
bodily toll), time (that can be spent with loved ones), etc.
The sacrifices
that need to be made by a small Jamaican farmer just may not warrant the
benefits of becoming organic certified. If you are fending in the short-term,
there isn’t time or resources to plan for the long-term. The costs to personal welfare
automatically shut down a branch of the broader sustainability framework.
Unless the Jamaican government were to decide to regulate that everyone is to
go organic, then I will make the argument that under the current conditions
(some of which I talked about, but many of which I left untouched) organic is
not a sustainable practice for Jamaica. This of course comes with the
understanding that much of what small farmers like Lise and Lisa do are organic
and sustainable. Neither farmer has a typical Jamaican background though. These
are all things to keep in mind as we move forward in our discussions.
~ Melissa Peterson
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