I was never going to be a Franciscan monk…

November 8, 2024 by Kenneth Keavey

I must have been 13 years old when I started working as a helper gardener with the Franciscan monastery in Corrandulla, and no this was not to be my path! It was purely a means to an end for a young lad and to be fair I had an interest in working outdoors and with plants.

The monastery had glass houses and a walled garden, it was amazing and unheard of back then in the mid 80’s. There were tomato plants in those glass houses. I cannot tell you how unbelievable it was to see tomatoes growing in Galway back then. One job I remember in particular was using a knapsack sprayer for the first time. This is a sprayer that you put on your back. The head Gardener filled up the sprayer and I was given the job of spraying the tomatoes, I was told the spray was for the plants and that was it, and off I went to do my job.

The tomatoes were doing really well, so I sprayed the plants thinking I was doing some good. The day finished and I remember it was a Friday, and I went home. On my return to work on Monday I was greeted with a less than happy monk, the plants were all dying, I guess he added the wrong chemical to the mix, it was quite probable it was Roundup. Since Roundup’s introduction in 1974, weeds have out paced the ability of chemicals to control their presence. Superweeds are now well documented such as Palmer amaranth. The chemical company’s response has been to increase the application rate of the said chemical or/and merge two herbicides such as Glyphosate and Dicamba, the second of which is now banned again.

These increased toxic cocktails are not a step in the right direction.

The entomologist Robert van den Bosch coined the term “pesticide treadmill,” a concept referring to the slow escalation in the potency of the chemicals needed to control pests and maintain crop yield. The challenge of course though is in a world now reliant more and more on GMO seeds and heavy doses of one single herbicide, how do farmers in this system produce food when it fails as it is now.

There are different possibilities, but there is little doubt that the years of cheap commodity crops being raised to feed animals may be coming to an end.

The number one reason that organic food is more expensive than conventional food is the labour required to manage weeds. Spraying a field with a chemical is easy and cheap. Having said all of that the potential benefits of moving away from chemical agriculture towards a more holistic approach to food, can be financially viable. The costs associated with less sickness, increased biodiversity, less pollution, clean water, clean soil and healthier food; these hidden costs of the impact of our current approach to agriculture could then be redistributed fairly to farmers to protect our amazing planet. Like the tomatoes in the green house, it was as I know today completely possible to grow these phenomenal plants without any synthetic chemicals whatsoever.

As always thanks for your support.

Kenneth

The EU has granted a further 10 years to Glyphosate…

November 24, 2023 by Kenneth Keavey

On Thursday 16^th of November, The EU commission decided to extend the licence for the use of Glyphosate for a further 10 years.

Using chemicals to fight nature will never work. In the short term it may give a temporary reprieve from a certain disease or pest, but that pest will come back stronger and more resistant next time. It is in a way a self-perpetuating industry. It is not the way to produce food and IT IS CERTAINLY NOT OUR WAY.

I imagine that lobbying bodies and Bayer will be rubbing their hands together in glee at the thought of another ten years of sales.

In the meantime, you and I must be content with ingesting glyphosate in the food we eat. A recent study showed that more than 80% of urine samples drawn from children and adults in a US contained glyphosate, a finding scientists have called “disturbing” and “concerning”.

Right here in Galway another analysis showed glyphosate was detectable in 26% of samples, AMPA the byproduct when glyphosate is broken down was detectable in 59% of samples.

The Agri industry will stipulate that the chemical is safe and provide evidence to corroborate this, of course they design and pay for these studies, so the results generally will cast their products in a favourable light.

Aside from the obvious health related issues of continuously consuming a chemical we do not want in our food and the destruction of habitats and all the associated biodiversity, there is the key question of why, why use this stuff, we didn’t always need it so why now? There is the argument by the agroindustry that banning glyphosate would introduce a whole host of food production problems, including further increases in prices of food.

There is no denying that as with any major change a transition period would be necessary but as organic farmers have demonstrated the world over there are alternatives to the use of chemicals in our food system and these alternatives are better for our health and for biodiversity.

This year our work apart from one or two mishaps has kept pace with the weeds. But our approach to weed control is not one of total dominance, quite frequently once you get the crops to a certain size the weeds are no longer a problem.

In fact, they can provide a basis for a wide variety of life: flowering weeds that bees come to, the lush green undergrowth, a haven for a myriad of tiny creatures that would not be there otherwise.

Thus, in turn providing food for the birds, and at times, the necessary predators such as ladybirds and hoverflies that feed on aphids. A natural ecosystem living below the giant shading leaves of the broccoli plants or cabbages develop. Each plant brings something different to the fray and generally none are unwelcome.

Now please do not misunderstand me, if we did not take a pragmatic approach to weed control and utilise all the tools at our disposal there would be no crops, no food, and no farm. We have worked extremely hard to ensure the crops are healthy and weed control is part of the process. No, our approach is just different, less harsh and embraces the idea that yes, we can work with these other plants, and they too have a place on our farm.

Organic agriculture is much more than saying no to the use of chemicals, it represents a holistic approach to working with nature, to our land and to our food. It means no chemicals, but it also means no artificial fertiliser, it means tree planting, it means hedge planting, it means allowing nature its place to thrive while also producing food. It means taking care of the soil and it means producing food that tastes fresh and good and crucially is good for us and for the environment.

Here’s to fresh organic chemical and glyphosate free food.

Kenneth

Our Food Shouldn’t be Scary!

October 22, 2021 by Kenneth Keavey

Our organic farm is situated is in rural Ireland and it is beautiful in its own way. It’s vibrancy is defined by a myriad of greens, that supports an amazing array of biodiversity.

Over the last couple of months have you noticed fields with the now all too familiar bright iridescent yellow of dead vegetation?

These fields are yellow because multinational global corporations have forced their tendrils into every aspect of our food system and they do not have the good of you or I or nature at the heart of their operations.

These companies make it their business to ensure their profits grow whatever the expense even if the cost is our health and the health of our planet. These yellow fields represent what we are told is best practice by advisers. This is complete rubbish, it is anything but best practice.

Over the last couple of months, I had forgotten how grounding growing food is. On a sunny day walking through the crops, you feel alive. It’s the vibrancy of nature that recharge us, don’t we have a duty to protect this fragile system of life?

Using chemicals to fight nature will never work. In the short term it may give a temporary reprieve from a certain disease or pest, but that pest will come back stronger and more resistant next time. It is in a way a self-perpetuating industry.

I spent a good percentage of my early life studying and working with chemistry and I am thankful for the many benefits modern science makes possible, but synthetic toxic chemicals have no place in our food chain, end of story.

The active ingredient in Roundup: glyphosate is the most widely used herbicide in human history, nearly 10 billion kg have been used globally. It is a probable-carcinogen and it now contaminates most non-organic food stuffs. It has caused the dead yellow fields that you may have seen. The pinnacle of this madness is the application of this chemical to wheat crops right before they are harvested to be ground to make flour. It stays in the flour that is used to make our bread.

This invisible cocktail of chemicals in and on conventional food is not good for our health. It damages our health and does untold damage to nature and biodiversity.

Organic agriculture is much more than saying no to the use of chemicals, it represents a holistic approach to working with nature, to our land and to our food. It means taking care of the soil and the land and it means producing food that tastes fresh and good and crucially is safe and good for our health and for the environment.

If we want to have a resilient agricultural landscape for future generations to enjoy, that can withstand the pressures of climate change, then conventional chemical wisdom is not the way.

Here’s to fresh organic food.
Kenneth