A storm is brewing between the organic industry and my stance on free speech, language and transparency. The certified organic industry is in the process of preventing non certified producers form calling themselves 'organic' or 'biodynamic'. In effect they will, through bureaucratic legalization, steal the words organic and biodynamic for their exclusive use. These are the same people and organisations who object strongly to the patenting of genetic material, seeds and the like, because it means the company who owns the patent can exclude use by others. If the organic industry can not see the contradiction and hypocracy of their actions, there is no hope for them. The organic industry is becoming no less of a 'player' in the economic industrialisation and misappropriation of farming than Monsanto - they have sold out.
When having this discussion with several certified organic growers and certifiers (friends), it quickly becomes obvious that it is mainly about preserving and enlarging economic turf. So money (greed, power and control) is motivating the organic industries actions in this matter, and 'organics' have become part of the problem in buying into the 'big agribiz' systems and mechanisms. This is very same 'system' the organic pioneers (and we) oppose. "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em", but I wonder if the organic industry even realises it is playing by agribuisness rules, and in so doing have closed ranks with Monsanto and their ilk? Just what is the difference? Monsanto controls a seed for the economic benefit of shareholders and the exclusion of others, the organic industry controls a word for the economic benefit of it's stakeholders and the exclusion of others.
Anyway enough ranting, but before I share some thoughts about organic certification, let me make it clear that we at Mountain Creek Farm have progressed beyond basic 'organic' farming in philosophy, principle and practice. That said, our farm is not 'certified organic'. We believe the organic movement and industry is only part of the equation of sustainable farming. Certified organic farming is better than synthetic chemical farming, that said, the 'certified organic' system has some serious flaws, a few of which are below.
Certification?
Certification has become an industry with associated bureaucracy. It is meant to give consumers, who are alienated from food source and farmers, confidence in the food they buy. If you are not associated with food production and the type of food in question, just how do you know what happens to your food at any point in the chain of production? You don't - certified or otherwise.Essentially certification revolves around the transference of trust. Supporters of certification schemes don't trust farmers to do the right thing. They feel the public don't, or worse shouldn't, trust farmers either. The theory is, that the public should instead transfer their trust to the certification industry to keep the farmers honest. Can a single or twice yearly audit do this? Maybe; maybe not. Think about it; how can a certifying body that is on the farm significantly less than 1% of the time ensure compliance with a standard and guarantee honesty? It can't. Certified or not, the consumer still relies on the farmers integrity at the end of the day.
Sometimes the big 'O' organic certification industry and I are actually of the same mind - shock horror. They are now admitting (July 2009) what I have been banging on about for years, that when they certify a business or farm as "organic" it is only "point in time certification". This means they know they can only be sure that the produce, farm, processor, etcetera is organic, at the time their certifier was present on farm. So for the other 364 and half days of the year, the produce might be "organic" or might not. This is common sense really, and the chances are that anyone going through the certification process are more likely to be "doing the right thing", however it is not a guarantee that they are "organic" 24/7/365.
We are not naive and know a couple of farmers' claiming to be 'organic' who are not. They do so purely for the price premium that 'organic' food commands. We also know certified organic producers that "bend the rules" at times, unfortunately this includes a few with a holier than thou attitude. Compulsory certification schemes can't stop the opportunistic and unscrupulous, it merely brings them into the fold.
It should also be remembered that farmers are but one link in the food chain, and all links require closer inspection. Substitution is alive and well in the food industry - 'free range' eggs should be treated with suspicion, particularly from corporations that run both free range, and caged or barn birds. We ourselves have been the victim of carcass substitution, that is the abattoir sent us 6 carcasses that weren't ours. This was an AQIS inspected, organic and export certified abattoir by the way, which we don't use anymore funnily enough. Anyway I tracked down our meat within 24 hours of delivery, but the certified organic butcher who received our meat had already sold it to his customers. He and his customers trusted the system, and the system let them down.
Of course our exception does not disprove the rule, but ask any country butcher if they get their "bodies" back from the abattoir, and they will tell you a few things about substitution rackets. Things you'd rather not know, and no doubt the tales will be peppered with expletives too.
So how do you really know what's happening to your food, if the system ultimately relies on trust? It's not easy, but eating locally grown foods and getting to know your farmers is the best form of 'insurance' you can employ. If you can't visit your local farm, at the very least you can sometimes employ 'local knowledge' to confirm or deny integrity.
Minimum standards and 'food miles'
The certification bureaucracy was set up to "ensure compliance" with various physical and ethical boundaries. Needless to say many of these boundaries are subjective and incorrectly placed, they are after all "minimum standards". Any minimum standard of compliance is the low bar, arbitrarily set. Furthermore there is constant pressure from large organisations to lower these minimum standards. These powerful organisations are happy to cash in on the 20% per annum growth rates of organic food, but it's all about profit and shareholder equity and has nothing to do with food quality or integrity.
Minimum standards are often a race to the bottom; why do better if you only have to pass? The larger retailers with vertical integration policies will buy their product from the cheapest source that can supply to the minimum standard. The price squeeze is then placed on farmers to produce more with less, and corners are cut.
Food miles is an area the organic industry fails to deal with. Organic oranges form California and Asparagus from Peru appear on the supermarket shelves in Australia. These have travelled tens of thousands of miles, spewing vast quantities of CO2 into the atmosphere. The product may be 'organic' but at what price to the environment?
Fumigation of 'organic' produce! Imported 'fresh' organic products are 'treated' with toxic chemicals (methyl bromide) to prevent pests and diseases entering the country. This toxic treatment makes a mockery of an imported product's 'organic' status. This toxic 'pest and disease treatment' also happens to fresh produce (including 'organic') travelling distances within Australia.
Centralisation and uniformity
If a product conforms to a minimum standard set by a centralised certification body, what is the result? The desired outcome is a standardised, uniform and homogenised food experience - "Consistent eating quality of product". What ever happened to variety being the spice of life?Factory farmed organic and ethics?
Yes! Giant monoculture factory farms using large amounts of 'trucked in' inputs are 'certified organic'. Individual areas of monoculture within farms are 'certified organic' whilst the rest of the surrounding farm is chemically treated. 'Organic' perhaps, but sustainable and environmentally responsible? Definitely not.As an example, the organic standards permit the feeding of grain to ruminants, and this is wrong on two counts. Firstly, it is inefficient, wasteful and inequitable to feed grains, which are already high quality foods, to ruminants that are designed to eat roughage. Secondly there is now much scientific evidence that shows that feeding grains to ruminants, that are not designed to eat them, leads to ill health of the animal (obesity). This in turn is not good for us - we are what we eat. The omega 3, 6 fatty acid ratios become seriously unbalanced in grain fed ruminants and are unhealthy - organic or otherwise.
Even the name 'organic' is flawed.
I suspect it was laziness that resulted in the adoption of the word organic to signify foods grown without "artificial" inputs. The word organic has a well-defined scientific meaning, and this meaning was established long before 'organics' misappropriated it. It is simply not possible, not to mention silly, to have an inorganic apple, egg or farm. Hence the adoption by the organic movement of 'conventional' to identify a farm that is not 'organic'. So what happens when organic farming becomes main stream, dominant and hence 'conventional'? Convention is innovation that was successful.Granted, English is a living language and evolves, but when an entire global industry makes a basic and foolish mistake in language, it leaves some of us wondering - 'what other basic and foolish mistakes are being made?’
How is food integrity maintained at Mountain Creek Farm?
By us, our family, friends and neighbours, clients and with your help too! At Mountain Creek Farm we believe in transparency, it is the great leveller showing all exactly how it is. You can come to our farm as often as you like and see what, how, why, when, where and by whom. You can take photos and ask questions as we have no locked doors, no secrets and no areas that are out of bounds or off limits. Having said that there are safety issues, we may ask you not do something, for example - pat the bull! Our bulls are very placid fellows but ,unless you know what your doing, when 800+kg of bull moves, it's best not to be in the way. Visit and stay too long at the farm and you run the real risk being put to work!We know that trust is built over time and is based on mutual respect and integrity. We are frequently visited by friends, family and clients, and rely on word of mouth for our livelihood. We eat our own product and happily feed it to our children, extended family, friends and neighbors. You are most welcome to visit* the farm and form your own conclusions.
Farm open days are also planned for several times a year, so keep an eye on News and Info - Farm Open Days.
*Three simple and common sense conditions of any visit to Mountain Creek Farm:
1. Please ring first to make sure we are home. We have teenagers who do copious amounts of activities in town - music, sport and so on. This means you may have to fit in with our family 'schedule'.2. Children are welcome and must be supervised at all times by a responsible adult. We are a working farm with machinery, dams, large animals, electric fences and other potential hazards.
3. Please don't bring your pets. As much as we love animals, your pet will not be allowed out of the car if it 'comes for the ride'.
© 2007-2010 by Michael Croft and Mountain Creek Farm, All rights reserved.