The Farmer's Pledge

I often see signs at farmer's markets that say something like, We took the Farmer's Pledge. If you're curious about what it is and how it compares to certified organic, check out the Farmer's Pledge (PDF file) .

In a very small nutshell, some farmers take the pledge in addition to being certified organic, looking to drive home the social justice and land stewardship aspects of their farming practices. Other farmers have opted out of the certification process because of the record keeping and cost, the fact that industrial CAFOs can be certified, so the meaning is diluted, and the consumer is deluded and go strictly with the pledge. The bottom line for farmers in either category is that "organic" doesn't go far enough.

Another interesting read: How the Farmer's Pledge began.

Organic Food Trail

The more I research the sources of my food and how it gets to my table, the more astonished I am at the discoveries. More reasons to favor local growers over corporate organics.

Cornucopia.org features Dr. Phil Howard's chart of major corporate ownership and involvement in the organic food sector. The graphic is called Organic Industry Structure: Acquisitions by the Top 25 Food Processors in North America.

In an article discussing Monsanto vs. the rest of the world, there's a list of Organic and Natural Product Companies Associated with Monsanto:

Brand Name(s): Arrowhead Mills, Bearitos, Breadshop, Celestial Seasonings, Earth's Best Baby Food, Garden of Eatin, Health Valley, Imagine Foods, Terra
Chips, Westbrae, Millina's, Mountain Sun, Shari Ann's, Walnut Acres
Owned By: Hain Food Group
Principle Stockholders: Bank of America, Entergy Nuclear, ExxonMobil, H.J. Heinz, Lockheed Martin, Merck, Monsanto, Pfizer, Philip Morris, Walmart, Waste Mangement Inc.
Significantly Owned By: Citigroup

Brand Name(s): Cascadian Farms, Muir Glen
Owned By: Small Planet Foods
Principle Stockholders: General Mills
Significantly Owned By: Alcoa, Chevron, Disney, Dupont, ExxonMobil, General Electric, McDonalds, Monsanto, Nike, Pepsico, Pfizer, Philip Morris, Starbucks, Target, Texas Instruments

This information is not on the label. Whatever did we do before Google?