Organic Farming Movement

            "You can't have any dessert until you finish your vegetables.
             A phrase anyone can relate to whether you are the 5 year old receiving these harsh demands to eat your colorful, vitamin enriched food, or if you are the parent giving out these healthy demands. The parent telling their children to eat their vegetables knows that vegetables are nature's way of providing nutrients that are essential for the human body. A question that has been in the making for almost a century now, is that really all these vegetables are providing to our loved ones. Are there hazardous chemicals in our food? Numerous groups and individuals know the answer is yes, and have found refuge in the organic way of life. Organic farms are now well-regulated thank you to legislation passed in the year 2000 that have just recently been enforced this passed year in 2002. These were not the goals of the organic farming movement, which can be ultimate traced down a very narrow path, but deep into the beginning of the 20th century. The focus will be to introduce the pioneers of the organic movement on a linear line through time to the point where the concerns of these pioneers were finally in the public domain. Once the early pioneers have been recognized, the movement will be clearly identified, with groups forming to bring about change. The ideas brought forth by the groups and their leaders will be discussed also on a linear line, showing how the group's demands change as time changes. Finally the present day will be discussed, concerning where the groups are now and their position on current legislation.
             In the early 1900s, Sir Albert Howard, a Chemical Botanist to the Government of the Raj at Pusa in India, carried out a variety of noted agricultural experiments. Observing the reaction of properly grown varieties of plants subjected to insects and other pests, Howard found the primary factor in soil management was a consistent supply of fresh humus prepared with vegetable and animal wastes, and that maintaining soil fertility was the fundamental basis for its health.