It takes stuff like The Daily Show to point out how absurd the typical objections to organic food truly are. The saddest part is that the lies being fed to us by so-called experts are based on studies funded by chemical companies. Big oil, big fertilizer, big pesticide have to convince us that dumping tons of their synthetic chemicals into the environment is the only way to grow good crops in order for their companies to survive.  In fact they even sell genetically engineers seeds that require stronger and more potent doses of their chemicals to grow. Of course, they are going to say whatever they can to ensure they keep selling product – even if what they are doing harms people and the planet.

But people believe what they are sold in advertisements. And these businesses know how to use the language of organic to their own ends – saying that farming without synthetic chemicals is uncaring, unsustainable, and unhealthy. It reminded me of food activist Michael Pollan's recent lament on Democracy Now!. After his recent books have pointed out the health and environmental dangers of High Fructose Corn Syrup, he has noticed a number of products advertising that they are made with "real cane sugar" as if it's a health claim. They took his warning about how we are slipping synthetic sweetener into everything as a way to sell sugar as the healthy option. It's not that people are missing the point, it's that the point has been twisted to serve those it originally tried to fight. (Pollan's advice by the way, is to simply don't buy any food you have ever seen advertised.) But Pollan also comments, "the language of sustainability and the critique of industrial food is being picked up by some of the major players within industrial food, either as an effort to co-opt the rhetoric or simply confuse the consumer and the citizen."

It is this deliberate confusing of the public that gets to me. I have no issue with advertising in general – if you've got a product to sell, sell it. I even don't get too bothered by the "buy our wrinkle cream and you too will look as young and sexy as our 19 year old airbrushed model" sort of advertising either. We all know that stuff is a lie, but we buy the stuff anyway because we wish it were true. But having Monsanto claim that over-farming, trends towards mono-crop varieties, and continued use of synthetic chemicals in farming are "sustainable" is a damned lie. Sure people have the right to define words however they like, but this is one of those times where I really don't want the bad guys to win just because they have more money and power.

So once again, thank you The Daily Show, for being the voice to speak truth to power.

The weight of biblical tradition makes me feel like the first fruits of the season should be offered up in some holy ritual. Instead Emma and I shared a moment savoring the first ripe (albeit imperfect) strawberry together. Then we had some of the arugula with dinner. Celebrating the earth in these ways is yes, simple, but it is a sort of ritual unto itself.

But as the season progresses I am spending more and more time pulling the weeds that choke out the life of the food and attempting to do something about the bugs that are eating my food. I don't want to dump toxins onto the land, but I really don't want to be sharing my swiss chard with the critters either. So I'm experimenting with organic pesticides. Yesterday I made up a batch that was pretty much a mixture of pureed garlic and habanero peppers. I could barely stand being in the kitchen with the stuff my eyes stung so bad, so I hope the bugs have the same aversion to it. We shall see.

All that to say, organic gardening is work. Growing my own food and doing so in sustainable ways that doesn't harm the environment or my kids takes works. It reminded me of last weekend during EVDC09 when Eliacin made a comment about the use of the term "organic." He mentioned how all too often we speak of organic leadership or organization as if it is this nebulous unstructured thing. People who despise brands or hierarchy will suggest organic systems instead. But, as he pointed out, organic gardening is hard – it takes a lot of deliberate effort. No organic gardener is going to go in without a plan, without knowing when to plant. They aren't going to let pests or weeds take over the garden if they care about actually producing food. It's just that as they go about their work they do so in loving, careful, and considerate fashion without imposing unnatural elements onto the garden. Understanding that work (by doing it myself!) really helps me understand more the spiritual metaphor of what an organic community should be like.

But as for the food garden – it was a tough week. We've had rain – but in the form violent storms. The picture is of the golfball+ sized hail we had on Wednesday. I think all my lettuce bit the dust, and I'm still waiting to see if the squash will pull through. But the arugula, chard, strawberries, and corn are all looking good.

I meant to get some of my seedlings in the ground this past week, but we've had nonstop rain all week and I am too much of a wimp to go play in cold wet mud. But the rain is a huge blessing. Central Texas has been in one of the worst droughts in living memory. While other parts of the country are dealing with record snowfalls and flooding rain, we have gone months without rain. My family who run a cattle ranch say the cows are literally starving because of that. Not only is there no grass for them to eat because it is so dry – there is no hay to be bought either. Everyone in this area is so desperate and the supplies are gone. Even with a week of rain its hard to know if they can recover. But I'm glad for a nice ground soaking to plant my seedlings into soon.

Which brings me to seeds. I've taken up the southfacing windows in our house with trays of seed starters. I'm not sure how well all these seeds will do, but I prefer to grow my plants from seed. For starters, it is far cheaper than buying starter plants, and you can more easily find heirloom varieties in seeds. I am a strong supporter of growing heirloom varieties of produce. These older, treasured varieties (hence the heirloom term) represent the vast array of creation. The supermarkets have grown us accustomed to a very small selection of food types. Generally we only know the types of say carrots or tomatoes that travel and refrigerate well, don't bruise easily, and look pristine (even if they are seriously lacking in the flavor department). But our ancestors grew so many different types of fruits and vegetables with complex flavor profiles, varying textures, and a rainbow of colors. We not only miss out on enjoying these tasty fruits of the earth, we are contributing to creating a potentially dangerous future for our food supply. Whenever a culture comes to rely too heavily on one particular variety of food (like the Irish with the potato), there are serious consequences when a disease or pest invades and decimates that particular strain of food. As our world comes to rely on fewer and fewer varieties of food, we are leading ourselves down a potentially hazardous path.

So I support the groups that attempt to preserve heirloom varieties. Not only to they allow us access to forgotten tastes, they help preserve natural variety. I get my seeds from the Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Company which carries some 1275 varieties of natural, non-GMO, heirloom seeds. Just flipping through their catalog is an experience – I had no idea most of the foods in there even existed. And they carry seeds from around the world – including in recent years heirloom varieties sent from Iraq in a desperate attempt to preserve strains that have grown there for years. So we'll see how my garden grows – if my seedlings bear fruit. I hope so, because the stuff in these pictures looks yummy.

That said – my garden is just now getting going.  Mike built me a garden as my Christmas present this year and I've spent the past month preparing the soil and starting my seeds.  The seeds are just about ready to be transplanted outside, but as you can see Emma was a tad impatient with the whole process and planted her own food (mmm, doesn't that roast chicken leg look yummy…).  It's been fun explaining to her the process of growing food.  Every morning she runs first thing to check the seeds and exclaim over the new sprouts.  For her it is difficult to even wait an afternoon for bread to rise and be baked, so the months it takes for a seed to transform into a tomato or eggplant is hard for her to wrap her mind around.  It will be fun walking through the process with her.