El cristianismo primitivo--Primitive Christianity--O cristianismo primitivo

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To Be or Not to Be Organic


Look how crowded the "Organic" bandwagon has become: in east Holmes County there is a store offering "Organic Nursery Furniture"!
I have no idea how many tourists this has trapped, nor how many smiles it may have provoked, nor exactly what the business means that advertised this phrase, but I for one am thinking of jumping off the wagon.  There are other colors in this world besides dark green.
Political correctness now demands "Going Green", so much so that folks are scratching the bottom of the barrel to prove that they are environmentally concerned.  Never mind that the editor in Manhattan who writes scathing articles about the deforestation of the Amazon has a mahogany desk; he can prove his greenness by producing tear-evoking articles about the terrible plight of the Brazilian rain-forest and how it should be left intact.  He won't touch the idea of restoring Manhattan to its pre-European state, of course.
It is confession time I suppose: I believe in living sustainably, but I am not a purist when it comes to organic. I have been trying to grow some organic produce, so that I can sell it better.  Then I take the profits and buy groceries at Sav-a-lot.  Hypocrite?  You decide!
Really, I did try.  Except I did not know all the rules.  After building a little 8X16 greenhouse on to the side of my house-for starting plants and growing some luscious, juicy, organic tomatoes- I found out that the treated posts I used are a no-no.  I honestly never thought of it.  Having never noticed any dead weeds or grass around treated posts, nor having noticed any dead animals because they licked a treated board, I just assumed that the salty-tasting stuff they used to preserve the wood was rather inoffensive.
Yet, treated lumber is not allowed under the Final Rule of the National Organic Program.  Strike one for me.
Next, I bought a bag of potting soil to start my organic tomatoes.  It never crossed my mind that potting soil could contain hazardous materials.  Is not potting soil just good rich dirt?  No, I have learned that many of the commercial potting soils are not approved by the NOP.  Strike two.
Then, trying to build up the soil nutrients of my clay garden, I poured on wood ashes.  Having judiciously piled them up through the winter (except I should not have kept them in the dry so they would not leach out the "goodies" in the rain), I tilled them in this Spring.  Very good...except I did burn some trash in my wood stove.  Burned and half-burned plastic bottles probably do not qualify as organic.  Strike three.
So as not to embarrass myself, other strikes will not be detailed.  I'm simply out, two times.
The National List of permitted and not-permitted items does not go into any details as to how much forgiveness the board will extend to deviant producers.  In reality, I do think I could press forward with my organic produce, and simply abide by the rules from here on out.  But is it worth replacing the "chromated copper arsenate (CCA)" posts in my greenhouse?
Ummm, as I said, I am about to jump off the "organic" band-wagon and simply strive for a sustainable lifestyle.  I am opposed to all-out herbicidal farming, but to Roundup a persistent bunch of Canadian thistles-whose roots have been known to grow down six feet-on occasion would not bother my conscience too much.  Nor would it probably infest the soil with enough chemicals to permanently damage it.  Caring about future generations is the key to sustainable living, not a meticulous purity.
Plop!  That was me, rolling off the wagon!

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I exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.  Jude 1:3

Me ha sido necesario escribiros amonestándoos que contendáis eficazmente por la fe que ha sido una vez dada á los santos. Judas 1.3

Tive por necessidade escrever-vos, e exortar-vos a batalhar pela fé que uma vez foi dada aos santos. Judas 1:3

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