Organic ≠ Progressive

Amidst this week’s hue and cry over the Hobby Lobby decision rendered by the U.S. Supreme Court was this piece by Lisa Hymas on grist.org regarding a similar lawsuit, Eden Foods, Inc. v Kathleen Sebelius. As Hymas’s post notes, “Eden Foods is a Michigan-based business that bills itself as ‘the oldest natural and organic food company in North America.'”

But like the owners of Hobby Lobby, Eden Organics’ owner, Michael Potter, objected to provisions of the Affordable Care Act that addressed birth control coverage by medical insurance plans. Hence Eden’s lawsuit.

And just to be clear, sustainable ≠ progressive, either:

On its website, Eden Foods talks up its commitment to organic and local farming, social responsibility, and even the LEED green-building standards. “One of our founding principles is sustainability,” says the company’s marketing director, Sue Becker. “It guides us today.” But it’s a sad, desiccated version of sustainability that would deny women the ability to decide how many children to have, or whether to have children at all.