Andy Jones, Resurgence magazine, January/February 2003.

Buying organic produce is one way to reduce society's unsustainable dependence on fossil fuels. It is a given that the growing, preparation, transport and purchase of what we eat involves burning fossil fuels. However, the thirstiest component of this usage is not fuelling the trucks that take our food to market, it is the production of chemicals used in agriculture.

Conventional agriculture uses large amounts of petroleum-based ingredients in the artificial fertilisers used to increase yields and maximise production from available farmland. According to research carried out by Perth's Murdoch University, around one-third of the world's protein intake depends on synthetic nitrogen fertiliser. Petroleum-based ingredients also make up a large portion of the pesticides that kill pests, and harm the health of consumers.

Not only is this process speeding up our consumption of a non-renewable resource, it is also doing untold damage to the agricultural land that feeds us; the same land that will be relied upon to feed generations to come. According to researchers at Murdoch, "leaching to water bodies and ground water is leading to pollution problems, soil acidification and other adverse side effects."

Organic foodstuffs, on the other hand, are not reliant on artificial fertilisers and chemicals that boost yields and temporarily make farmers' accountants smile, even as they damage farmland.Retailers such as The Organic Grocer sell food that is free of pesticide, herbicide and genetic modification; ensuring farmland continues to be valuable in years to come. The Organic Grocer's products are subject to inspection by the Organic Retailers and Growers Association of Australia to ensure they comply with that body's definition of organic.

It is inevitable that more consumers will be attracted to products resulting from this superior method of farming. Despite its lower yields and smaller market share, the organic-food industry will not always produce goods at a higher price in years to come. Conventional agriculture's continued reliance on fossil fuels ensures that food grown this way has a greater exposure to the whims of world oil prices. With the risk of conflict in the Middle East spreading to Iran, one of the world's biggest oil producers, prices already under pressure from increasing economic activity in India and China could well skyrocket even further. Perhaps only then will the folly of our addiction to "edible oil" be realised.