When we are out doing demos at stores, and even as we talk to fellow farmers they always ask, “So what is up with the whole ‘organic’ thing anyway? Why do you make your products organic when it would be cheaper to make them conventional?”
Here’s the long answer:
All my life the Potters have been in agriculture. Long before I was around, Grandpa Potter raised hay, corn, and soybeans, as well as garden vegetables. Grandma Potter was raised on a dairy farm and they too raised corn and hay, plus hogs, chickens, and a large garden that fed the whole family. My own immediate family has raised sheep, cattle, pigs, goats, chickens, hay and other grains, and, of course, veggies galore.
In my younger days, I worked at farms and ranches all over the country shearing sheep, raising livestock, grains, vegetables, fruit and nuts. In fact I’ve experienced just about every aspect of agriculture, and over the years I’ve noticed a pattern. Everyone I worked with voiced similar comments about how things have changed. “Our food doesn’t taste like it used to. It used to be richer, more filling.” Or “The animals lived longer and were more productive in the good ol’ days.”
I sheared sheep at conventional farms that used heavy chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides, and I remember these farmers saying they were “having a poor crop of lambs this year,” or “all of the sheep have tumors,” or “the lambs have deformities.” Now, I am not certain this was caused by the chemicals, but what I knew for sure was this: prairie sheep herders did not have the same issues… their sheep were healthy and productive.
I also worked with Amish organic farmers. They had small herds of dairy cattle on green pasture, and some or these cows were producing milk well into their twenties. Neighboring conventional farmers, with large lots of confined cattle, rarely had cows that lived beyond five years. The cows clearly were not as strong.
To be fair, the Amish dairy cows were not bred to produce massive quantities of milk, so genetics played a part in their long life. However, I believe that the artificial hormones, preemptive antibiotics, and crowded feedlots affected the longevity of the conventionally raised cows.
In addition to the poor welfare of the animals, I began to realize that the large conventional farms were making a huge impact on the quality of our air, water, and soil. These businesses did not seem truly sustainable, as they created a vicious cycle of requiring more and more cows, produce, or grain in order to keep the business profitable. This corporate model required that they use any means necessary to increase yield. Ironically, I know farmers with conventional crops who will not even eat their own products due to poor flavor or concern about chemical residue.
As I worked along side conventional growers, I noticed way too many farmers and their families had some kind of chronic illness. Asthma, allergies, heart problems, diabetes, and stomach problems – the list goes on.
Then Heidi’s Mom (Cindy) got breast cancer. That’s when we really started paying attention to the food we were cooking for our kids, and for ourselves.
We looked closely at our life’s work: we supply foods in quantity for other people. We realized we had to change not only the way we eat, but also the products our customers enjoy. We wanted to be part of a solution to overly processed foods with harmful preservatives, fillers, cancer-causing food dyes, and artificial or over-processed sweeteners. We became determined to grow, eat, and make foods that were raised on good, mineral-rich soil, without pesticides, herbicides and chemical fertilizers.
I am not an authority on what causes chronic illness, or what chemicals do to our bodies. I may not like the same kinds of foods you like, but by making sure the products we provide are only organic from sources we trust, we can all be “better safe than sorry.”
So, in honor of Cindy, our family, the planet, and you, we are certified organic. That means:
- We must uphold the highest standards, and be in compliance with national, state, and third party organic regulations.
- We can only buy ingredients that comply with the national USDA standards.
- The organic milk in our products must come from cows raised on pasture that has been clean and chemical-free for a minimum of three years.
- The cows’ feed and any seed it grows from must be Certified Organic, and cannot be genetically engineered. (Needless to say, cow cloning is a no-no!)
- The organic fruits in our yogurts are raised from organic seed on organic land, and can never be sprayed with pesticides, chemical fertilizers, or herbicides.
- Even our cocoa and vanilla are grown without chemicals – in order for a product to be organic, every last ingredient must be too!
- All of our ingredients must be tracked and we are inspected regularly for proof of organic status.
We lost Heidi’s mom Cindy in September 2008. Her 24 grand children miss her greatly, and we all thank her daily for inspiring our passion for sustainable agriculture and organic foods.
In a nutshell, we want you to feel good about what you feed your family. We encourage each one of you to consider your foods, and eat with a purpose. The next generations count on it.
potterfamilyorganics
