Oxford organic farmer Daniel Wicker believes pesticides, herbicides and genetically modified organisms found in food consumed daily could have potentially long-lasting negative effects on more than just physical health.
Wicker and his parents own and manage Sunlight Springs Farm in Water Valley. Pursuing the certification process to become USDA organic approved was extremely important to Wicker. He said he began the certification process after his mother became ill and began battling health issues. He said he also experienced health issues of his own after eating dinner out at various places.
“I ate dinner with a friend of mine, and, after dinner, I went home and laid on the bathroom floor for eight hours,” Wicker said. “It was not a normal feeling that you typically get when you get food poisoning or the flu. I had extreme head pain, and I almost think something in my food had negative effects on my brain and mental health.”
Sitting in a folding chair, wringing his hands together anxiously, Wicker recalled the first time he experienced pain he believes was caused by GMOs put in his dinner.
According to Wicker, he sees GMOs put in many foods he eats.
“This did not just happen to me at sit-down restaurants,” Wicker said. “This happened at fast food places as well. I developed OCD overnight. I woke up one morning and checked all of the doors in my house for 15 minutes at a time. I can almost guarantee it was from something I ate.”
Wicker takes organic farming very seriously. He is a vendor at the Midtown Farmer’s Market, where he sells organic fruit, dairy products and vegetables. He is the only farmer in the area that is USDA certified.
Yokna(patawpha) Bottoms Farm is also a vendor at Midtown Farmer’s Market. It is a Certified Naturally Grown farm, an alternative certification to USDA-organic.
Betsy Chapman of Yokna Bottoms Farm explained that she likes having organic options in Oxford.
“Having organic farmers markets like Midtown and Oxford City Market is important for the overall health of the community,” Chapman said. “Organic farming is a much better option, one that is not available often around here.”
Certified Naturally Grown farms like Yokna Bottoms Farm produce all organic food by taking advantage of Mississippi’s ecosystem, climate and soil zones. Protecting animals on the farm and making the workplace safe for employees is one of the main missions at Yokna Bottoms.
“Everything that we sell to the community and give to our CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) members is grown truly local,” Chapman said. “Yokna is located just about a mile outside of Oxford, and all of our produce is grown here in Lafayette county.”
According to Jennifer Weaver, administrative assistant at the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce, there are 37,300 organic farms throughout the state.
“There are 10,900,000 acres of farm land being operated in the entire state, all of which include livestock and milk production,” Weaver said. “The total value of agriculture products sold is 6,441,025, which puts us at 24 in the U.S. ranking of products sold throughout the nation.”
Page Meredith, a shopper at Midtown Farmer’s Market, said she shops organically often and appreciates the better choices offered from organic farming.
“I come to the farmer’s market as often as I can,” Meredith said. “Most of the time you don’t see many truly organic options around towns like Oxford. It is nice that we have that option here.”
