Christian family embraces organic farming in U.S.

By Ed Stoddard and Jessica Rinaldi

COMMERCE, Texas (Reuters) - The Hale family has embraced organic farming because it is healthy, good for the environment and less cruel to animals. But do not mistake them for nature-worshiping New Agers or back-to-basics hippies.

They are part of a small movement of conservative Christians who believe the Bible demands an organic or natural approach to agriculture.

The Hales support the Republican Party and back conservative former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee to be the next U.S. president, and they take their faith seriously.

The eight children, aged nine to 24, were schooled at home, in part to shield them from corrosive secular influences. The four girls and mother Connie dress modestly in long skirts.

And yet, like the Amish and Mennonites before them, they have chosen a lifestyle that other conservative Christians in the United States might dismiss as counter-culture.

"Humanistic thinking is we want to have control over everything. We want to just come in and poison these bugs," patriarch Mike Hale said of the more usual approach to food and farming.

"But because we're organic we can't poison bugs and we're dependent on the Lord," he said, as chickens clucked nearby and a rooster crowed. "There's an aspect that we trust the Lord to take care of things."

Organic agriculture emphasizes crop rotation, composting and the use of animal manures, avoiding chemical fertilizers and pesticides that organic farmers say contaminate food, wildlife and the environment.

The Hales live only an hour or so east of Dallas, but the fast pace and active night life of the city seem a world away.

Prayers are given before each meal and the virtue of hard work is an ingrained part of this home, where each child has a set of tasks around the farm. Mike is the undisputed head of the household in a role they see as appointed by God.

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But their emphasis on environmental stewardship, kindness to livestock raised for market, and their suspicion of big agriculture and genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are not positions usually associated with conservative Republicans.

"God specifically says 'do not mix' and he gives examples of not mixing a certain cloth or not mixing or planting different seeds in a field," said Connie as she explained why the family avoided GMO foods.

It's also a question of stewardship.

"We're responsible for this little piece of real estate that the Lord has given us to take care of," Mike Hale said. "It's really the Lord's farm and he's let us take care of it for a few years."