Instructions: Today, many of us health-conscious eaters desire, even demand, that foods from supermarkets and restaurants be as good and pure as foods enjoyed by families who lived three generations ago. Our voices are being heard.

Look around you. Signs of this retro food evolution are everywhere. Even as recently as the 1980s, supermarkets separated tomatoes strictly by type - plum or beefsteak, for instance. Now, they are distinguished by variety, color and how they are grown.

Instead of being grown for flavor and ripened by the sun, the majority of supermarket tomatoes usually spend their infancy inside huge greenhouses. They are nursed with synthetic fertilizers and engineered for shelf life and visual appeal.

After their stay in the greenhouse, they are transplanted to mile-stretching fields saturated with 400 to 600 pounds per square acre of fertilizer and fumigated with methyl bromide, a toxic gas. Weekly, crop planes unleash fungicides and insecticides that destroy plant pests and diseases - and, unfortunately, some migrating birds. But the public has been led to believe that these are the best kinds of tomatoes because they are uniform and perfect-looking.

Today, in many stores, there are more choices. Look for the smaller tomato section, the one that is vibrant with an array of colors and shapes, and yes, the one that typically costs a little more per pound. There is a good chance that you will spot the certified organic label - a signal to health-conscious shoppers that each and every one of these red, gold, purple and green beauties enjoyed a splendid beginning. They developed from strains that inherently have unique flavors, have not been genetically modified, and are grown in nutrient-rich soil on small, local organic farms free of artificial chemicals, pesticides and commercial fertilizers.

This organic return stretches beyond your local supermarket. Many restaurant owners now proudly highlight their menus with dishes made from organic ingredients, showcasing farms names and indicating their preference for organically raised foods.

Whom should we thank for starting the organic food movement? Perhaps the better question is, who rescued it and brought it back?

Before 1900, all food was organically grown. Of course, farmers and shoppers didnt call it by that phrase. They didnt need to. They knew that what they ate came from a local farmer they probably knew, who had grown it with care. There was no need to be concerned about safety or pollution.

Then the age of mass production arrived, intermingled with a couple of world wars. America had many more mouths to feed. We needed to grow lots of food in a hurry.

Scientists discovered that chemicals sprayed on crops could kill pests and plant diseases instantly. They also developed artificial flavorings to perk up peoples palates and preservatives to make foods last longer and maintain eye-catching appearance. Produce grown in South Florida began to be loaded into large trucks and train cars to be delivered 3,000 miles away to supermarkets all over the country.

As we hastened to produce food more quickly, a few visionaries began questioning the price that our bodies and our planet were paying for this technology. In the 1930s, Sir Albert Howard, a British agricultural scientist, was the first to consciously reject modern agri-chemical methods. He argued that artificial fertilizers and insecticides had no place in farming. He figured out a way to turn town wastes - animal manure, compost, grass turf and straw - into usable nutrient materials that were tilled into the soil to nourish plants

In a safe way. He called this recycling system the Wheel of Life. In the United States, J.I. Rodale embraced Sir Alberts views. It was Rodale who in 1940 popularized the term organic. Rodale left New York City and purchased a 65-acre farm in rural eastern Pennsylvania. He grew all his crops without chemical fertilizers or pesticides. Rodale strongly believed that healthy soil produces healthy foods, which in turn, help keep people healthy. He began sharing his philosophy in 1942, when he founded Organic Gardening magazine, a publication continued by his grandchildren. He remains one of my first heroes in the organic farming movement. (Rodale Press, which he also founded, is publisher of my new book, from which this article is excerpted.)

Even back in the 1940s, Rodale warned that using pesticides and artificial fertilizers would pollute our farmlands, lakes, rivers and air. An excerpt from his book, Pay Dirt reads: People felt they could afford - with a continent to develop - to wear out a farm and move to another. That day has passed. Badly eroded, worn-out soil will not recover overnight, but fertility can be restored. Land still fertile can be kept so, with composts, and be constantly improved.
There are many modern-day heroes carrying forth these beliefs. They range from the founders of organic food companies to the small local farmers doing their bit one acre at a time. Behind the scenes are researchers studying the health advantages of organic foods and many non-profit organizations supporting the environment and sustainable politics.

I salute all those working for this great goal.

Excerpted and adapted with permission from Your Organic Kitchen (Rodale Press,
$30) by Jesse Ziff Cool.

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