Organic Schmorganic:

Criticism of Modern Farming Practices in Popular Culture

(Graded Contemporary Reflection)

Recent years have shown a dramatic increase in the production of and demand for organic food and beverages. According to the Organic Trade Organization, sales of these products increased “from $10 billion in 1990 to $26.7 billion in 2010,”  which illustrates the growing significance of organic farming. However, this booming popularity has not come without criticism. Businesses, political pundits, and consumers alike have lambasted various tenants of the practice—including cost, mass marketing strategies, and (perhaps most significantly) the validity of claims lauding potential health benefits. Many of these criticisms appear in the form of comic strips. One such cartoon —published anonymously online and circulated throughout popular Internet sites like Facebook and Pinterest and tagged with phrases like “The Truth About Organic Farming”—uses hyperbolic visual rhetoric to criticize organic farmers and the allegedly healthy products they produce; these food items, the artist argues through the image, contain toxic chemicals that are unsafe for consumption. 

The cartoon, entitled Man in Radiant Suit with “Fresh Farm Produce,” depicts a typical farmer’s market. A middle-aged female shopper carrying a bag of purchased goods approaches a stand labeled “Fresh Farm Produce.” She pauses, raising her eyebrows and putting a finger against her closed mouth. Her eyes—open and large—stare at the man standing behind the rows of fruits and vegetables. He is the owner of the stand, a farmer selling the spoils of his hard work.

Here, however, the image departs from the normalcy of the classic local market. The farmer’s visual appearance is not that of a traditional (or, more accurately, stereotypical) field worker. Where a viewer might expect denim overalls coupled with a plaid t-shirt, they instead see a puffy HAZMAT suit and matching gas mask. His covered arms are folded behind his back, far away from both his customer and the goods he’s offering. Between these piles of fruits and vegetables are signs identifying the products available for purchase. Names such as “Gala” and “Maple” are scribbled on the top of the markers. Beneath them is a symbol matching one that appears on the farmer’s uniform—a hazardous materials warning.

Through these unique and unexpected depictions, the anonymous artist subverts the traditional image of the farmer selling produce in a local market. In doing so, he produces a caustic criticism of the organic farm industry that challenges the association between healthy living and organic “Fresh Farm Produce.” Like the disconcerted woman who appears apprehensive about approaching the fruit and vegetable stand, viewers are encouraged to be skeptical about purchasing products grown and maintained on an organic farm.

(Click HERE to view a PDF version of the reflection.)