Over the past two decades, we've had many people ask us if we're "certified organic." We've also had many tell us that we should get "certified." We've even had people look at us skeptically when we tell them our food isn't technically "certified organic" but our standards are much higher than is required to be certified.
I can tell you categorically that we have absolutely ZERO interest in paying an organization with lower standards than ours, to put their stamp of approval on our product. Particularly when that same stamp is put on products that are grossly inferior to ours. If our customers don't trust us, they should be shopping elsewhere.
It's come to my attention recently that there's an interest group in Alberta lobbying the government, trying to prevent us from being able to use the word "organic" to describe what we produce. We were forbidden from using that word years ago, but now they want to make it illegal for us to say our products are "beyond organic" or "organically grown."
The intention stated for this proposed legislation is to prevent growers who use chemicals from making fraudulent claims. But I don't buy that. I've never heard of a grower who dabbles in chemical use claim that he is "beyond organic." I've heard a local grower that uses chemicals say that he's "basically organic," but only the people who want to believe it are fooled. Folks who are after clean food don't need government intervention to protect them from weak and deceptive claims like that.
I get so angry with this kind of nonsense. The whole problem with our food system is the gross excess of government intervention. I would go so far as to say that the reason our food system is in such disrepair is because folks are continually demanding that the government take responsibility for the safety and integrity of our food. It's impossible that requiring more government intervention will create safer food, when we've only ever witnessed the exact opposite.
Do you have any idea how many of my basic rights as a farmer have been stripped away by so-called "well meaning" food safety activists? I can't sell raw milk. I can't butcher and sell my own meat. I can't sell home-made sausage. For crying out loud, it's illegal for my kids to make cookies with their mother in the kitchen and sell them to our customers. And here's another one - it's legal to sell ungraded eggs from your barn, but the moment you have a grocery store on your farm, your eggs are deemed unsafe unless you set up a government inspected egg washing and grading facility with a bathroom for the inspector with the appropriate hand soap. I'm not making this stuff up. Apparently, the eggs are more dangerous when they come in contact with a check-out counter.
Now, it's bad enough that our liberty and profit margins have been whittled away to nothing. Should we stand silent now, when "well meaning" folks try to take away our freedom of speech?
If we can't call our product "organic," "organically grown," or "beyond organic," what can we call it? Is it going to be illegal to call it "chemical-free," soon? Just how far are we going to take this? Is this about keeping us honest or keeping us silent?
Don't get me wrong, I appreciate organic certification. It serves a very practical purpose in the global community, providing distant customers some level of assurance that a farmer has followed a minimum protocol. But why should I have to purchase a license, fill out endless paperwork, and submit to government or private inspection just to have the basic liberty to tell the truth about what we do and how we do it?
Now let me tell you what makes me the most upset. It's not THAT they're trying to take away my basic rights, but WHO is lobbying to take them away. However, let me take a side road for a moment.
I recently visited a certified organic egg producer only to discover they have no problem using Round-Up in the parking lot right outside the barn. Were they producing organic eggs because they believed chemicals were dangerous? If so, why use Round-Up in the parking lot? That kind of thing makes me angry.
I also know plenty of organic growers who don't think twice about filling their household pantries with conventional garbage. Their customers are expected to "do the right thing" and support them with their hard-earned dollars, while these "certified organic" farmers turn around and spend their earnings at Costco on Monsanto's poison.
We, at Harvest Haven, have been farming 100% organically for over 22 years. We don't use, and haven't ever used, chemicals anywhere on our land for any reason. We are 100% committed to organic agriculture. Come into our store and check for yourselves. You could even check our cupboards, seriously.
Folks, don't mistake this for some self-righteous tirade. I, like many of you, spent the large portion of my life in the dark, without a clue about food or the incredible impact food has on our lives and our environment. But now I know better, so I'm obligated to do better.
Now getting back to WHO is lobbying our government to take away our freedom.
It's none other than Organic Alberta.
They'll tell you this is about food integrity. They say they want to discourage or prevent liars from claiming to be organic when they're not, but I'm not buying it.
Aren't you a crook when you grow certified organic crops in one corner of your farm and conventional in another? Aren't you a liar when you persuade people to buy your organic produce under the auspice of morality, but you turn around and fund chemical agriculture by purchasing conventional groceries for your family? If these "certified organic farmers" feed poison to their own children, how bad do you think they'll feel feeding it to you? Think about it.
Organic Alberta has no problem creating a reality where toxic garlic from China can be sold as "certified organic" but I'll be forbidden from even saying that mine is organic at the local Farmers' Market. When a member of their board was asked about this, he suggested that we could certify ourselves as "naturally grown" or "non-GMO."
No, I won't conceal my anger. Such an agenda as theirs is hideous injustice and hypocrisy.
Organic Alberta has shown its hand. Its members are lobbying the government to protect their personal economic interests. They want the government to deliver to them on a silver platter the exclusive rights to the word "organic" with no conscience about how their self-serving stratagem affects long-time organic farmers like us. And what's worse, they're lobbying in the name of morality. It makes my blood boil.
Whatever happened to a handshake? Whatever happened to transparency?
If you want clean food, look the person who grew your food in the eye and ask him the hard questions. But please don't tie his hands behind his back and forbid him the right to answer you – it will not solve the problem.
If you want certification, here's what we'll offer you while it's still legal to do so:
With God as our witness, our food exceeds organic regulations wherever and whenever possible. If you want examples of this, feel free to ask when you visit our farm. We enforce maximum, not minimum, standards. If there's anything we can possibly do to improve product quality or animal welfare, we do it. Not because we have to, but because we want to; not for financial gain but because it's the right thing to do. That is the Harvest Haven Guarantee.
We are Harvest Haven Certified.
