after posting a $189 million dollar profit in the third quarter of this year! This is a CBC story that was brought to my attention by For the love of the soil . I would like to thank them for bringing this story to light and I thought Iwould try to spread the word a bit. Here is the CBC story .
Even though I am exposed to this type of attitude on a regular basis from friends, family and neighbors I still find it shocking that so many people just don't get it.
If you want cheap food you have two choices 1) grow it yourself or 2) buy pesticide laden, GMO, tasteless crap from a "super" grocery.
If you want good quality food that tastes so much better and doesn't create illness in your body you also have two choices 1) grow it yourself or 2) seek out quality organic food at a grocer who purchases locally, or a farmers market, or directly from a farm.
Have I understated the problem? Europeans get it. They understand that purchasing good food is more important than owning the largest truck or suv that you can buy. That food for your family is more important than a family set of snowmobiles and atv's. People near us pay as much as they possibly can for the best ski-boat they can find, but on the same day they will buy the cheapest food they can find. $50,000 for a boat is alright...$5 for a bag of organic flour is too much. If you fall in that category then I am sorry but your priorities are completely backwards in my humble opinion.
John, glad to have a new reader! How did you find us? I appreciate any and all comments I get, so it was nice to hear from you. I see you have Galloways. I LOOOOVE the Oreo cattle! I grew up on a beef farm in NB, so maybe someday we'll have beef, but that will be a while. I'm happy with my sheep for now. Thanks for the exposure on your blog as well. Always glad to see more coming out of the organic community in terms of marketing and awareness (and venting!).
ReplyDeleteThanks again!
Sally
Well ours aren't the "Belties" but they are Galloway nonetheless. I have to be careful about my venting. It gets old for the readers, but it is hard to not say anything too!
ReplyDeleteIn the US there are various organizations that will "certify" you as organic. So you'll see packages from folks that have to explain what sort of organic they are. "USDA ORGANIC", being one, "Certified by Oregon Tilth" being an example of another.
ReplyDeleteThe problem is that some of the certifications don't involve a farm visit, ever. So you can get an "organic" label without having to actually be organic by picking your certifying organization. The USDA organic has been carefully scrubbed so that most large farms will qualify now. When my pastured chickens are the same as confinement-raised birds, as far as the government is concerned, it's time for me to start using a different term.
No offense to oregon Tilth; of the certification organizations that I know of they're one of the most rigorous, just offering them as a contrast to the government standards.
http://www.tilth.org/
Eatwild.com, a website that does a good job of referring customers to me, has me "agree" to a page that I adhere to various practices they espouse. I do actually do those things, but they have no way of knowing that. Same comment applies to slowfood.com. Window dressing with no verification.
Well that does sounds confusing but it is my belief that the term "Organic" is a trademark term that is only applied to farm products that are Certified Organic. At least in Canada the term organic is a protected word that is applied carefully to farms that are certified by accredited firms. I know that some farms are advertising as "Beyond Organic" in the U.S. because of the watering down that you refer to.
ReplyDeleteThat is my problem with big corporations. They are able to successfully loby a government to reduce parameters. ie Monsanto's loby to increase the limits of pesticide residue in your food in the U.S.
Europeans consider N. American food as poison in a lot of instances.
I checked out Tilth and they seem on the up and up. There needs to be a third party verification in my mind or it is useless rhetoric.
Hello John,
ReplyDeleteExcellent post. I would like to offer you and your readers two links with a "celebrity chef" that shares concerns regarding the big supermarket chains versus the local and organic producers.
I first heard him speak at Jasper Park Lodge during "Christmas in November" and I can tell you he is VERY passionate about the local producers and what we put in our bodies.
Hopefully you can find a way to collaborate with him in the mission to re-educate the Western world in their food choices.
Cheers,
Darren
Here are the links, search him out there is plenty of material...
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/food-and-wine/chef-michael-smiths-recipe-whole-grain-pancakes/article1350181/
http://communities.canada.com/ottawacitizen/blogs/omnivore/archive/2009/07/17/q-amp-a-with-tv-celebrity-chef-michael-smith.aspx
Hear hear!
ReplyDeleteI've been reading backwards through your blog, as it has been a couple years since I last visited. Very interesting to see your home come into reality, congratulations.
I have also read about "USDA ORGANIC" being owned by the USA government, and that the label is now meaningless. Too bad.
I get the same comment all the time from my friend when I tell them I eat mainly organic food. They complain about the cost, yet on the other hand they'll drop a pile of money for a new gadget, computer, car, and other 'essential' items.
Regards
Thanks for dropping by Scocasso. The other thing that bugs me is that we will be called elitist for our attitudes towards all of this food stuff. As far as I am concerned it is better to be thought of as an "elitist" than the numerous other words that come to mind that describe North American spending habits!
ReplyDelete