Almost any farmer or consumer could agree on the following ideals for our agricultural system: “Farming in ways that are best for us, best for the environment, and best for providing an adequate food supply.” I believe that these are the goals and ideals of organic customers and organic farmers, and I share them. If organic could deliver on these “triple best” goals, I would be among its strongest supporters, but I don’t believe that it can. The organic rules are based on the assumption that “natural” is always best. That assumption originated in a pre-scientific era, and it does not hold up to what we have learned over the last century. The “natural” definition is great for marketing purposes, but often not the optimal criterion to guide farming practices. Read more.