To talk about possible healthy choices, we need a word that filters out “cookies” (emphasis on the quote marks), diet cola, and other such “foods” ― foods that are highly processed. But rather than saying “eat less highly processed food,” I have chosen to embrace the word “virgin” to describe foods that are not highly processed so that I can say “eat more virgin food” instead.
In order to further facilitate this conversation, Paul and I came up with two new terms that embrace all of the values of organic with an emphasis on virgin foods: one for omnivores and one for vegans. First, there is “Virgin and strictly Organic” (VO), and then there is “Virgin and strictly Organic and Vegan” (VOV), which is a subset of VO. Diet cola and “cookies” would not make the cut for either.
But this is permies. This is where we talk about going far beyond organic.
So I wish to convey something far beyond VO ― something that embraces VO but, also, has a strong emphasis on building rich soil and
polyculture using
permaculture. So Paul and I came up with “Virgin, strictly Organic, Rich soil, and Polyculture/permaculture.” VORP. (This word sounds so silly that I wish to somehow work it in to regular conversation.) And since we made up the term we get to define what it means.
VORP means:
- low processing, low packaging
- foods are grown in aged soil with a high organic matter level
- polyculture of at least a dozen species
- harvested with minimal soil disturbance
- harvested by hand (no harvesting by machine)
- human-to-acre ratio is very high: more like
gardening than farming
- super localized inputs
- minimal
irrigation
- seasonal foods
- minimized grafting
- super localized plant and animal varieties
- no
cardboard or newspaper in horticultural endeavors
- no pesticides, even OMRI-approved pesticides
- growing plants in a space that suits them ― as opposed to adding fertilizers and using pesticides to force an artificial environment
- pampered animals (bye bye, CAFO)
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