The Significance of One Letter

It is amazing what a difference a letter can make can make in a word. Take the word “oil” for example. OIL OIL OIL OIL. It sounds very nasal and rather bad. Now take the word oil and add an “s” onto the beginning – you can’t help but smile as the word becomes smooth and slips out of your mouth. Perhaps there is a reason this word sounds so much better than the other.

At the Kneading Conference, Dr. Fred Kirschenmann brought up the year of 1859 when the first oil well was drilled and when Charles Darwin published On The Origin Of Species about evolution and ecology. In the year of 1859, humankind made a choice that affected our agricultural system. We did not choose the complex ecology of life-sustaining soil. Instead, we created an agricultural system that depends on oil-derived pesticides, fertilizers and other inputs.

Today, our society still depends heavily on this disappearing resource. Our conventional food system is especially dependent on oil. One of the missions of organic is to maintain soil health by closing the nutrient cycles – using cover crops that fix nitrogen, compost, and manure. We want to build the soil up to maintain nutrients, to grow strong healthy plants to feed ourselves. Healthy soils lead to healthy people. To conclude, I believe it is time to move beyond the system of holes (drilling of oil wells) to a system of wholes (based on the ecology of the soil). Never underestimate the significance of a single letter.