Hope. 

For me, that is what IFOAM stands for. Day after day we hear news about the destruction of the planet and the decay of society. And yet, we also see that community-embedded organic agriculture practices are the solution to these threats and to the malaise and angst it causes.

Hope. 

Because across the world people and joining to grow, process, and trade food outside of predatory corporate interference. These are stories I seek out and re-tell. People need something to believe in that is real, tangible, doable, and inspiring. People need the opportunity to undertake hard and humbling work in community with others. For some that opportunity may look like talking to a stranger, attending town meetings, watching someone’s children, starting a garden, joining a co-op, raising chickens, planting trees, volunteering on a farm or in a kitchen, or becoming a full-fledged market gardener. For others, it is re-upping the lease and operating loans on land to farm.

Take note that these hopeful activities are what is contemplated by Organics 3.0. If not by name, then by intention, the “movements” which IFOAM “federates” are human scale efforts to build a just and equitable society with a safe, functioning, and sovereign food system.

WhyFOAM? As engaged citizens, we interact with and support hundreds of farming/agriculture organizations such as ROP, ROC, NOC, OTA, OFA, OFRF, etc., etc. etc. Collectively they are focused on building markets for products created using agroecological principles, while encouraging farmers with policy, technical, and financial help. At the same time, individually we engage any number of groups and agencies that provide support for housing, education, nutrition, safety, mental health, and other issues that our agricultural acronyms are for the most part unable to engage with. The principles of Organic 3.0 bridge all these issues by accurately imagining agriculture as a system not apart from people living within community, but deeply embedded in it. That’s WhyFOAM.

As an aside, note that the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were imagined as inextricable from the ideology of growth for growth’s sake, with the implication that the Global South should be developed for the benefit of industrialized societies and the corporations that dominate them. The SDGs are widely dismissed by activist free-thinking communities because they lead to cultural and economic dependence. Again, Organic 3.0 is the counterpoint to the SDGs. That’s WhyFOAM.

In regard to the time and resources we spend on IFOAM North America, I admit it can seem unfocused and unproductive. We all have busy complicated lives and “talking about stuff” can feel like a waste of time. I am privileged in that I have a job that pays me to participate, although in practice this means using mostly my own time for IFOAM and other efforts. Still, my bills get paid. I believe we are passing through a historical moment in time where the vision of community agroecology ascends in the face of the descent of corporate industrial production. We won’t see the resolution in our lifetimes. We won’t be remembered for jack. But, in my day-to-day interactions — with friends, family, colleagues, political staff, regulators, officeholders, and everyone else — sharing that there are proven alternatives to our unfolding global disaster provides hope, curiosity, and vision that people need. Frankly, people are desperate for something to realistically hope for. The world is better with IFOAM North America in it.

WhyIFOAM?

To give energy to the regular folks who are undertaking the changes to create a livable future.