This article, Food imported from China and labelled "organic" is anything but, sparked an interesting exchange on Facebook, some of which I'll share. It lets you know why not all organics are equal.
A friend commented on the article, "Is anything organic anymore?"
I replied, "That's why we grow as much of our own food as possible and research the companies and producers of those products we can't grow, but sell in our store, Harvest Haven. Know your farmer."
SC: Are you organic?
Me: Yes, we are and our standards are stricter than certified organic.
SC: How are they stricter?
Me: It would be good if you could come out to the farm and talk to the manager. But, a few things for those who can't make it out:
? We've gone through all the products we carry in our on-farm store to be sure there are no GMO ingredients, such as those found in personal care products.
? As much as possible, we do not carry organic products such as Earthbound, Santa Cruz, or others, which are owned by big business that has no interest in organics.
? We mix all our own chicken feed using organic grains, with no synthetic ingredients, which are allowed in certified organic chicken feed.
? Our poultry spends a lot of the day outside in the fresh air and sunshine, unlike some organic operations that have a little door for access to a small run, which the chickens don't use. Our laying hens even have "playground equipment" to entertain them. Hens like to keep busy.
? Because we have a tight rotational grazing program, our sheep and cattle have a great variety of grasses and legumes for optimal nutrition and health.
? We use only the manure produced by our livestock in our large compost piles, which are carefully maintained so nutrients aren't lost to the elements. This compost is generously spread on the vegetable and fruit gardens, as well as the fields. As a matter of fact, the brix reading on our strawberries this summer was well above normal reading.
? A vital part of our production is Grander Living Water, which treats ALL the water on the farm. Everything gets energized with Granderized water.
SC: I am skeptical of people who slam organic. Certainly big operations (especially in California where water contamination is more likely) are not the best examples but to say they have no interest is certainly another thing. There are other certifications now for humane treatment of animals..........much of what you say is a part of organic certification like not allowing GE crops, synthetic fertilizers/pesticides, growth hormones or antibiotics. Brix is only a reading for sugar content and is also used by conventional farmers. Although there is likely something to this there is no science behind Brix........Your link on Grander Water doesn't say anything at all about the process for this water only how wonderful it is. There are a number of things in cosmetics which are harmful besides GE products.........this is not an industry that is regulated at all. I am thinking you may have a very good and legitimate business but you may be surprised at how well educated others are on this issue and you may alienate them by your comments. So how are you "stricter"?
Me: SC, let me address your first statement: "I am skeptical of people who slam organic. Certainly big operations (especially in California where water contamination is more likely) are not the best examples but to say they have no interest is certainly another thing."
I make no apology for slamming organic. Whatever you mean by that, I know what I mean. I am an organic farmer and support organics wherever I can. But, not all organics are equal.
However, I will NOT support those brands owned by big companies whose only interest is their bottom line and who've jumped into organics because they see it growing exponentially after the blood, sweat and tears shed by the early organic pioneers/farmers.
Are you not familiar with this information from Organic Consumers Association, August 23, 2012?
In recent weeks, several public interest groups, including the Organic Consumers Association, Cornucopia Institute, Mercola.com, and Natural News, have pointed out the gross hypocrisy and greed of large food and beverage corporations which profit from the sale of billions of dollars of their proprietary organic and 'natural' food brands while at the same time funneling large sums of money to the Monsanto-led campaign to defeat the November 6th GMO labeling ballot initiative (Proposition 37) in California. These organic and 'natural' traitor companies and brands include: Kellogg's (Kashi, Bear Naked, Morningstar Farms); General Mills (Muir Glen, Cascadian Farm, Larabar); Dean Foods (Horizon, Silk, White Wave,[Earthbound]); Smucker's (R.W. Knudsen, Santa Cruz Organic); Coca-Cola (Honest Tea, Odwalla); Safeway ("O" Organics); Kraft (Boca Burgers and Back to Nature); Con-Agra (Orville Redenbacher's Organic, Hunt's Organic, Lightlife); and PepsiCo (Naked Juice, Tostito's Organic, Tropicana Organic).
I encourage those who want to support the organic industry to do their homework and be knowledgeable about just who they're supporting. We've done ours and are willing to share.
SC, this is Martin Vanpopta. I manage Harvest Haven for Marilyn. I know that I've discoursed with you in the past and the results were less than pleasant. However, I would like to answer your question for everybody else's sake.
To be clear, we meet all organic standards as put forth by the USDA at Harvest Haven but don't believe that the certification requirements demand enough from producers. Here is a short list of "regulations" we observe at Harvest Haven that are over and above the minimum organic standards:
? Our laying hens have a much larger yard than required, and we don't just open the door and say "standard met." We ensure the birds are willing and eager to explore the outdoors for their daily dose of vitamin D and fresh air. Hens are more hesitant to run around the yard without roosters to "watch their back," so we maintain a healthy rooster population. Because roosters eat their fair share, they are not common in commercial organic laying flocks.
We bring fresh greens to the hens twice daily during the green seasons and rich hay in the off seasons. The vitamin supplements medicated into the water in certified organic flocks are no replacement for harvested greens. We provide ample roosting space and deep clean bedding. We even provide ashes for dust bathing which is a wonderful way to keep hens parasite-free and laying into their old age.
? Our broilers and turkeys have fastidiously maintained bedding. Organic standards don't cull birds if they are "too dirty" when they reach slaughter weight. You would be shocked to see how filthy some certified organic birds are before they are processed and cryovaced in shiny packaging with a nice farmstead logo.
? Our meat birds have extensive yards that they utilize daily with fresh greens growing abundantly and effective predator protection. All the birds are herded back into the barns at nightfall to stay safe, warm, and dry. You won't find any of these things required in organic regulations or practiced in most of the organic industry. There are many small producers that do practice these things or a variation thereof, but often they aren't certified.
? Our beef and lamb are constantly rotated to fresh pasture during the growing season and kept in clean corrals in the winter. We are very conscious of our animal living conditions. Southern Alberta winters are notorious for creating mucky corrals. We faithfully keep on top of the mess with frequent scraping and generous layering of wood mulch to keep the hooves dry.
We hand fork manure from the bedding areas and refresh the straw twice daily. Organic standards only require that bedding straw hasn't been sprayed with chemicals in the last 60 days. While we understand, and have experienced that organic straw can be hard to come by, we don't take shortcuts but we do take the time to find and pay the price for organic straw. The animals often snack on their bedding and of course it all ends up in the compost pile.
These are the items I can think of off hand, SC, and there are plenty of others. I have visited organic laying hen operations where Roundup was used in the parking lot to keep the weeds down. Organic certification doesn't care about stuff like that. It's a set of laws, but it doesn't change the heart of the people required to keep them. We don't have minimum standards; we have maximum ones. Our heart is in this all the way.
You say, "Brix is only a reading for sugar content and is also used by conventional farmers. Although there is likely something to this there is no science behind Brix."
SC, Brix is a unit measure of the sugar content of an aqueous solution, named after Adolf Brix, a SCIENTIST who worked to establish a system to SCIENTIFICALLY measure the sugar content of must for wine making. It's now used the world over in many professions. Many organic AND conventional farmers use it as an indicator of plant vigor, because sugar makes foodstuffs and forage nourishing and palatable for people and animals.
Taking a measurement of a definable variable for the sake of data collection and crop improvement and animal sounds pretty scientific if you ask me. Your stating that a scientific unit of measurement is not scientific is like saying, "There is no science behind Volts or Gauss." It's just plain dumb.
You say, "There are a number of things in cosmetics which are harmful besides GE products.........this is not an industry that is regulated at all."
Of course, there is toxic garbage in cosmetics, that's why we carry non-toxic alternatives. Marilyn's point was that even in the world of "eco-friendly non-toxic" cosmetics, many of innocent sounding ingredients have been sourced from GMO crops and enzymes. We make sure not to carry these products either.
Yes, we're aware that it is not regulated, which is why we have taken it upon ourselves to do the regulating. This is done by careful research and contacting the companies and asking hard questions and demanding transparency. We don't just carry a product because it has a good price point and it seems marketable. We want to do the right thing before God and man.
