By Farmer Richard
Towards the beginning of this CSA season, we were faced with
the buyout of Whole Foods Market by Amazon.
Given we grow a significant amount of produce for Whole Foods Market,
this buyout weighed heavy on our minds and left us wondering how this business
decision may trickle down and directly impact our farm. It also left us wondering what may happen to
our food system in general as we as a society adapt to the changes in the
market place. We truly believe our
future and the future of society is in the hands of the consumers. Over the course of the season we have tried
to report on a variety of topics to
impress upon our readers about how our food purchasing choices affect our
health, our community, our downstream communities and more. Our choices will sculpt our future food
system and are based on and related to more than just the basic price of an
item. So what are the issues?
One of the most important issues that plays into the bigger
picture view we are seeking is our health.
Choosing to eat more organic vegetables grown locally and in their
season is one of the best ways to maximize the nutrition you get from your food
as produce received directly from the farm typically is more fresh and thereby
has retained more nutrients. Vegetables
grown in nutrient dense soils are especially high in antioxidants and other
nutrients. Just as you would seek out an
experienced surgeon with lots of experience to perform a surgery, so it is with
finding an experienced farmer to grow your vegetables! For those who choose to include meat in their
diets, choosing to eat only meat produced locally from pastured animals and grass-fed
beef may be the healthiest choice. Eating
local and in season is also beneficial for community health. When food is grown locally, there is an
opportunity for any “extras” to go to a local food pantry, thereby opening up
access to fresh, nutritious produce in communities that may otherwise have
limited access or be unable to afford purchasing fresh food. This year we donated over 30,000 pounds of
fresh vegetables to our local food pantry that picks up weekly at our farm
during the growing season.
More and more people are choosing organic for health reasons
including to minimize pesticide residues and to raise healthy children! We applaud your choice. But organic is available everywhere now. Not just the co-ops and farmers markets, but
almost every grocery chain including Wal-Mart.
Even convenience stores, ie in our area Kiwk Trip, now carry some
organic products. But is all organic the
same? Unfortunately, the answer is No!
Rooster keeping an eye on his hens! |
Muscovy Duck with ducklings. |
So we went to our neighbors who raise organic eggs for a
major co-op. They have 2 chicken barns
that hold 10,000 chickens in each and look very much like an industrial egg
factory, but with some important distinctions.
They have no cages for laying hens and they give their birds 2.5 sq ft
of space inside and provide a nice outdoor yard with shade and dirt to scratch. Their egg yolks have a little color, but
nothing like a totally free range bird.
They need to get $4.00/dozen eggs to survive. They are lamenting that their co-op has lost
market share because the new organic rules for pasture and outside access has
again been delayed by large scale factory farm lobbyists who are also producing
organic eggs. While our neighbor is
already in compliance with the new organic rules, the factory farm lobbyists want
to stick with their 1.5 sq ft of space and little or no meaningful outdoor access. Those eggs sell for $3.00/dozen at many, many
supermarkets.
So there is my example.
Beware of the sales promos that show young girls in a dress carrying
fresh flowers with happy chickens or cows and a red barn in the
background! It is marketing PR, pure and
simple and a certain amount of “hogwash.”
On the bright side, at least they are eating organic feed and not being
fed antibiotics and/or hormones. Organic
is now “big business” and it is a difficult task for you the consumer to sort
out the truth from the hogwash or chicken wash or green wash!
The same is true for vegetables, most of the big players now
also do organic including Grimmway, the largest producer of vegetables in the
world. And frankly, they do have the
resources to do a pretty good job! We
can’t forget about the home delivery meals and CSA style “look-a-likes” that
claim to be helping support local farmers, but substitute cheaper conventional
to help their bottom line with less than transparent disclosure. Read the recent NY Times article about the local farmers left with crops in the
field when the delivery service with their sophisticated software to offer
“your choice” for “your box” suddenly goes into bankruptcy. We experienced the same with Door to Door
Organics, a home delivery company in Chicago that we grew for previously.
So what about the original, traditional CSA model where
consumers, eaters, pledge/commit to support a farm and farmer for better or
worse!? That is the model that is
suffering and experiencing decline across the nation. Why is this?
It requires a “two way street” and a little give and take between
farmer and eater. The farmer pledges to
do their best job, given their experience or inexperience to provide a season
of produce or meat, or eggs, etc for the supporting eater. The CSA member agrees to learn to “eat out of
the box” and eat seasonally. The catch
is that a real CSA commitment requires a very experienced farmer team who can
grow a very wide variety of crops throughout the season in order to provide a
balanced full box for a long season, 30 weeks in our case. We refer to it as “graduate level” growing,
not for beginners, and we are confident that we do the best job of any! But the two way street?
Harvest Party at Harmony Valley Farm |
Farmer Richard and Chef Andrea |
2 comments:
Amen!
Deep thanks for another season of extraordinary produce. We’re already looking forward to next year. We love you guys!
Cathy & David
We love Harmony Valley! Top notch produce and customer service!!
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