Push Me, Pull You

Through our newsletter, our farm tours and our everyday conversations, we are dedicated to informing our customers about the value of consuming organic foods. We describe the biological systems at the foundation of farming systems, including the various methods of managing nutrients, with the hope of connecting your personal values and health with the little piece of the earth for which we have been entrusted. The methods you use to choose your food are a vital part of a sound food system. Little decisions about what food to eat may seem trivial, but there is nothing further from the truth.

All the stars are lining up about the health benefits of consuming certified-organic foods. Be it pesticide-free fruits and vegetables or grass-fed meat and milk, the medical community is getting on board with the message. Here are a few examples of why intelligent people cannot be in denial any longer:

• Meat and milk from grass-fed animals are more heart healthy. The omega-3 fatty acids are more prevalent in these foods, and they are among the only terrestrial sources of such, according to Washington State University and Newcastle University researchers.
• Beef from an animal with a grass-based diet has higher vitamins A and E, as well as cancer-fighting antioxidants, according to California State University and the University of California Cooperative Extension.
• The Environmental Working Group’s Dirty Dozen lists the 12 most pesticide-laden produce items. This year’s list put strawberries at the topwith 98 percent tested by federal officials having pesticide residues; 40 percent with residues of 10 or more pesticides; and some had residues of 17 different pesticides.
• Crop chemicals are regularly used at levels above recommended limits, according to the Center for Investigative Reporting.

Coming Around to Organic

Not one Saturday farmers market goes by without at least one customer coming to our farmers market booth looking for organic foods on the advice of his doctor. Be it a patient whose oncologist suggested reducing exposure to toxins or someone with digestive issues looking for organic bones for brothing, the look of hope on customers’ faces as they ask us questions is forever impressed on our memory and aids in motivating us to work so hard to bring organic food to your table. Please do not wait for a diagnosis of the need; avoid the diagnosis altogether. Food is medicine!

Organic foods may cost more, but this is easily offset with menu engineering and self-control. Cook the whole chicken, get lots of servings, make broth with the bones, etc.; versus insisting on boneless, skinless chicken breast. Wholesome, nutrient-dense foods are quite satisfying and reduce the desire to eat too much at any one sitting. When you cut sugar and readily digestible starches out of your diet, your food budget will open up.

The decision to eat compromised foods because organic foods are hard to find no longer holds water. What could be easier than picking up a box, or bag, chock-full of wholesome, organic veggies once a week, with pastured meats and eggs right alongside? The CSA farm-share business model works for the farm, yes, but it also works for the consumer.

If you want more of a certain item in your CSA share or something not in your share, we are at the farmers markets every weekend, some markets even year round, and we’re always just a phone call away. Good Foods Co-op and Whole Foods Market partner with local, organic growers like us to ensure you have access, as well. They go the extra mile to source organic foods from other organic farmers across the country to stock the shelves during our off-season, because it is that important. Think of the millions of pounds of toxic, synthetic fertilizers and the thousands of gallons of toxic, synthetic pesticides that are no longer being thrust into the environment because each of you made the decision to eat organic food.

The idea that organic foods in the grocery are somehow less organic than local-organic is wrong. The integrity of the regulated organic-food system is beyond reproach. The documentation and inspection methodology is the same for them as it is us. Trust it! The organic lettuce farms in California and the organic peach farms in Colorado we know have developed very sophisticated methods of growing these foods for the wholesale market, and we seek them out any time we don’t have those items from right here at home.

I doubt any of you would walk into CarMax and ask for the cheapest car on the lot without consideration of the dependability of the engine and drivetrain, braking systems, emissions, fuel economy and safety features—much less comfort, sound systems and air conditioning. Please do not be misled by “almost organic” signage at the farmers market or similar greenwashing in retail outlets. There is purposeful misleading and confusing language everywhere. The more people make food choices with the same level of scrutiny as they do vehicle choices, the more these foods will be available.

The Organic Association of Kentucky (OAK) is dedicated to making more organic foods available in Kentucky by helping farmers transition their farms to be compliant with organic regulations. The OAK Board of Directors (of which I’m president) has obtained funding to train and hire consultants to go farm-to-farm to make this happen. OAK’s mission also guides us to educate consumers about the value of organic eating. These two objectives came together at Whole Foods Market in Louisville earlier this week, and we will also be at Whole Foods Market in Lexington on September 7, as OAK is the beneficiary of their “5% Day,” which means 5 percent of their net receipts for those days will go to OAK. What a wonderful way to close the loop on a local and organic food system right here in the Commonwealth.

See For Yourself

It’s been our intention this year to provide more education for our customers and the public about responsible food choices. That you’re reading our newsletters means a lot, and we hope that you’re passing the word on, too.

Please come to one of our farm tours, where you can see, smell and feel firsthand how our organic methods of farming are bound together in a system and verified by a credentialed third party to produce the best food in the world. There are two tours left in the Daytime Tour Series, including From Soil to Salad: Plant Production, coming right up on September 8. Take a walking tour with me to see Elmwood Stock Farm’s greenhouse, high tunnels and crop fields and learn about how we give plants the best start possible and keep them healthy right on through until they produce food for you.

The two tours remaining in the Culinary Tour Series feature a chef-prepared dinner using all Elmwood Stock Farm organic foods. Read the article below about the September 20 Fall Flavors in the Bluegrass tour with chef Ranada West-Riley, owner of Lexington Diner and Creative Table Kitchen and Catering. And mark your calendar for the Talking Turkey Tour on October 18. Chef details will be announced for that tour soon.

Your support of Elmwood Stock Farm has allowed us to create a viable food-production system. By buying local, organic foods, your purchase not only helps us, but also the local economy, improves public health and curbs the use of toxic chemicals in the Bluegrass Region. You are a valuable part of developing a sound food system right here at home. By purchasing organic foods at retail outlets, you are developing systematic supply chains that support organic farmers of other crops in other regions. As you pull our products into your kitchens, we will push more out there for you to have. Look for us at the farmers market and at the grocery store. —Mac Stone