Congratulations to The Tribune, India
22 August 2012, Punjab; Congratulations to The Tribune, India, for showing principles of fair journalism.
An article on ‘The great organic myths‘ by Rob Johnston, published in The Tribune on August 8th created a degree of confusion about organic farming and organic food, especially at the consumer end.
It suggested that organic farming and organic food can neither help in combating climate change, nor can it resolve the hunger problem of the planet with rising population, but they are an unaffordable and additional burden.
As a response, EcoSikh wrote to the editor, pointing out that when the article was originally printed in the UK newspaper The Independent in 2008 it was followed swiftly by a counter article by Peter Melchett of Soil Association, ‘The great organic myths rebutted‘. We requested for The Tribune to publish an Indian answer to counter the great organic myths and guide the Indian readers with a reality check. We wanted to show, how organic farming is a sustainable way to produce healthy food, healthy soil and healthy human and how organic farming helps in ecological function of biodiversity.
And today, showing the fairness for which we hope in our Indian press, The Tribune published, ‘Making a case for organic farming’ by Dr. Vandana Shiva as a preliminary answer to the myths. Link to The Tribune.
“Industrial production has led to such a severe ecological and social crisis, to ensure the supply of healthy food that we must move towards agro-ecological and sustainable systems of food production that work with nature, not against it,” she writes. Read more here.
Dr. Shiva has promised to write another article for readers to portray a real picture of what are not myths of organic farming and organic food.
EcoSikh supports organic farming because our Gurus tell us that humans are superior to all other forms of creation, yet we do not have the right to exploit nature. Since the Earth is created by God, everything has the right to live, exist and flourish. We do not have the right to destroy, exploit or modify any part of the ecosystem. Since we have not created it, we do not have the right to destroy it or make any species extinct in it. The Guru Granth Sahib states that:
“Nature is created by the Will of the Divine. The Divine knows best and having created everything complete. The Divine has left no process incomplete.” (SGGS, M. 1)
