VORP - Expanding our vocabulary to value garden food over diet cola

Apr 05, 2019 06:30:04

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)

Apr 05, 2019 06:43:03

I suppose if you formulate your soil deliberately, and include fungal slurry treatments and compost extract applications, that would count as at least equivalent to "aged soil." Actually, I would suggest that it is perhaps superior.

-CK

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