My obsession started with a trip to Vermont earlier this month. Stonyfield Farms asked me to come visit a couple of the local dairy farms they work with, and I was like, “Vermont in October? Yes, please.”
Sadly, some of the bummer stories you’ve heard about conventional dairy farms aren’t made up.
While there, one of the first things I learned about was conventional dairy farms. They are probably what you are picturing, and what you’ve heard about in articles that detail problems with large-scale dairy. The cows can be stuck in a barn all the time, where they live short, sad lives and are often sick. On the farmland surrounding the barn, corn and other grains are grown; grown and harvested to feed the cows. Because of the ongoing feed crop farming, the land and soil get consistently depleted. In order to keep yield high, lots of fertilizers and chemical pesticides must be applied to the soil and plants. Some of these chemicals are known carcinogens and truly harmful to humans, animals, water and soil.
Eventually, topsoil on these farms erodes away. When it rains, the ground can’t hold the water. The rain runoff from the farms, which is filled with manure and pesticides, creates algae blooms in the local bodies of water (like Lake Champlain pictured here). The algae blooms make dead zones where nothing in the water can live. There’s currently a dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico that’s 6000-7000 square miles.
And maybe worst of all? Conventional farming is not good for the farmers either, in two specific ways: 1) They’re regularly exposed to harmful pesticides and chemicals, so the incidence of cancer rises considerably for dairy farmers. And 2) The way the dairy buying and selling is set up in our country is truly bizarre. The price of milk changes radically and unpredictably, based on nothing the farmers do or don’t do. Often, the farmers send their milk off to a buyer, and they don’t know how much they’ll get for it until a check arrives. There’s no negotiation or setting a price for an especially good yield. It’s totally out of their control.
It’s an unsustainable system. It’s not healthy. We all know it. We may try to close our eyes and ignore it, but we all know it’s happening. And different aspects bother different people. For some, there’s a weight of guilt about the sad life of the cows. Others worry about the water damage and soil erosion. Still others have deep concerns about hormones and antibiotics that end up in the milk.
That’s the bad news.
Now let me turn that frown upside down while I tell you about organic dairy farms.
The good news is, organic dairy farming is entirely different. I visited 2 farms — Green Wind Farm and Windy Hill Farm — that both converted from conventional to organic. (Which is not an easy task — I’ll talk more about that later.) I took the most photos at Green Wind Farm so I’ll use it as the example here.
Green Wind Farm is run by Julie. She’s in her 70’s, she’s a lifelong Vermonter, and she’s been farming for decades. She has 25 dairy cows. Her acreage used to grow corn to feed her cows, but not these days. Now, it grows a huge variety of grasses and clovers and herbs native to Vermont. These are perennial plants that don’t have to be re-seeded every year.
As you can see in the pictures here, these plants aren’t in straight rows, ready to be irrigated, they’re just naturally growing everywhere across the fields and meadows and even the rocky terrain — like they would be if no humans were around to bother them.
Julie’s cows spend time outside the barn daily. Lots of it. In order to qualify as an organic farm, they have to spend a certain amount of hours a day outside no matter the weather. While they’re outside, they graze on the wild grasses and plants. Julie told us the cows have certain plants that are favorites, and that they might seek out a particular herb if they’re in the mood. She mentioned one of the herbs acts as an aspirin, so if the cow isn’t feeling well, the cow will spend time munching that herb in particular and ignore the other plants.
When the cows have finished grazing an area, they don’t return to it for 21 days. Why 21? Well, in Vermont, it takes 21 days for the grazed areas to grow back, to “recover.” So her farmland is split into 21 paddocks (or grazing areas). Each one is different — some are hillier than others. And the cows move from area to area each day.
The soil is always fully covered, thick with plant life, and when it rains, the ground acts like a huge sponge. It soaks it all up. I saw this first hand because we were there on a very rainy day. And there were no little streams gathering in the fields. The water just soaked right in. No runoff.
While the cows graze, they also poop. This means each of the grazing areas is being fertilized regularly. No chemicals are needed. No pesticides are needed. Before cows grazed these lands, they would have been grazed by cousins of cows (like elk and deer) who would have fertilized an area and moved on to another grazing area in much the same way.
Julie knows each of her cows well — their names, their personalities, their habits. She has discovered that farming this way means her cows live longer — twice as long. And they are much happier and healthier. In fact, she said visits from the vet, which used to be a weekly thing, are pretty much non-existent now.
And organic farming doesn’t just benefit the dairy cows. It means healthier lives for the farmers too. It means healthier water systems for everyone in the area. It means healthier dairy products for the rest of us.
Green Wind Farm is as picturesque as can be. It’s a beautiful site to behold, and exactly what you would hope a dairy farm would be like. In fact, it totally reminded me of the dairy farms in Normandy. When we lived in France, our neighbors had a gorgeous dairy farm that was run in a similar way.
I’m telling you, if you’ve had worry over dairy, it would totally disappear if you saw Julie’s farm. It’s basically a super healthy mini-ecosystem. The cows nourish the earth, the earth nourishes the cows. With no chemical run-off, no algae blooms, no dead zones, no waste. It’s amazing.
Another huge benefit for the farmers? The prices! Organic milk isn’t sold the same way conventional milk is sold. It’s a completely different market, with a much more dependable, consistent price. And it’s a higher price, too. So the dairy farmer makes more money, and makes more money more reliably. Which is a game changer. It means they can plan and budget in a way they couldn’t as conventional farmers.
But organic farming is actually even better than what I’ve described here. Why? Well, because of Carbon Sequestration.
Move over recycling, here comes Carbon Sequestration.
I hope you’re still reading, because this section is super important. I predict if you haven’t already, you’re going to hear about carbon sequestration ALL THE TIME moving forward. It’s a big deal.
What it means is actively taking carbon from the air and putting into the ground where it belongs (and where it was originally). And it turns out the the best way to do this is through agriculture.
For a long time, when concerns about excess carbon in the air have come up, the focus is on how to prevent further damage from happening. We’ve concentrated on things like recycling, making more efficient transportation, and finding alternative energy sources. And these are all great things.
But organic farming can make a much bigger difference. It doesn’t just prevent more carbon from entering the atmosphere, it actually reverses the amount of carbon in our air, and does so in a very effective, efficient way.
In the Sustainable Agriculture movement, the big goal has been to aim for carbon neutral or zero impact. But the Regenerative Agriculture movement, focused on carbon sequestration, goes beyond that — it takes carbon from the atmosphere and puts it back into the ground. It’s not just less bad, it’s more good!
Happily, there’s a ton of great science to back this stuff up. If you’re curious, here’s a short video about carbon capturing, and here’s a video made by the USDA about soil health.
Organic farming is the real deal.
The hormones in dairy we worry about? Yes, organic dairy farming eliminates that worry. But it’s so much bigger than that. It’s taking carbon from the air and putting it back in the ground where it can help grass grow and give us healthy plants for animals to eat.
Organic farming means restoring and caring for our soil and land in a literal way. It’s bringing a much more natural order back to farms, and it’s creating revenue opportunities for small family farms that were previously going out of business.
So why don’t all farmers switch from conventional to organic? For several reasons. A big part of it is that old habits die hard. If you’ve been farming the same way your whole life, and are an expert at it, are you going to be willing to start again as a beginner with lots to learn? You truly have to learn an entirely new way of farming. It’s intimidating. It’s scary.
You have to stop planting corn and bring the land back to a more natural state. It’s likely you’ll need to replant native grasses and herbs. Give the land time to heal. Restoration of the soil is necessary before a healthy cycle can be implemented.
You can’t qualify as an organic farm overnight. The organic processes have to be in place for 1 year on a dairy farm (or 3 years on a produce farm), before you can apply to be certified organic. That means there’s a period of time when your product can’t be sold to organic markets, and may not get a good price at other markets. It can feel like a big risk.
In addition, to be officially organic, there’s a bunch of paperwork and official documentation required. In some ways it’s a pain in the neck. The switch doesn’t happen casually. Farmers get converted to the idea of going organic on a one-by-one basis, and it’s talking with other farmers that convinces them.
But something encouraging is that companies like Stonyfield, who are focused on organic products, help farmers make the switch. And not in an abstract way. Representatives from Stonyfield, who have lifelong farming experience, become coaches and mentors; they physically show up on the farm to consult and help them make the transition from conventional to organic farming. In fact, Stonyfield even has a training program to help folks who want to become farmers and have no idea how to start.
So if a farm is interested in going organic, there are resources to help make that happen. (Even more encouraging: Stonyfield isn’t the only one. I went to a panel the other night where representatives from North Face, Numi Organic Teas and Annie’s all talked about what they were doing to assist or encourage the move to organic farming.)
While we were in Vermont, we had dinner with the Stonyfield co-founder Gary Hirshberg. He is completely committed to all of this — to organic farming, to promoting carbon sequestration, to teaching farmers how to transition from conventional to organic, and to spreading the word about the benefits. It’s his whole life. He’s been doing this a long time, and he’s knows everything about it. He gets it. (Did you hear him in the How I Built This podcast? It’s so good!)
While we were with him, we talked about prices. He mentioned getting involved in organic farming in the early days when he was just starting out, and that organic was never supposed to be just for the rich; it was supposed to help everyone. We talked about how as organic food becomes more available (you can find it these days at Costco, Trader Joe’s, Walmart, pretty much everywhere), prices are getting better. And that experts can see when the prices of organic and conventional get close, as they have with carrots and grapes, that people choose organic. Which I found very hopeful.
Organic dairy currently makes up 4 percent of the dairy sold, and it’s growing. But clearly, there’s still plenty of room for more change.
So what can you do?
I’d say it comes down to this: choose organic when you can. I can’t pretend that we eat all organic, all the time. Not even close. But when we have the option, when it works for our budget, we can feel good about choosing organic. It’s better for you. It’s better for your kids. It’s better for the cows. It’s better for the farmers (both financially and health wise). And it’s better for the Earth — it not only doesn’t do harm to the earth, it actually helps and does good for the earth.
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So that’s why I’m obsessed with organic farming. I’m sure some of you already knew everything I’ve detailed here, but it was totally new to me. I remember a few years ago, my friend Megan telling me her family (most of whom are are doctors) were convinced that nutritionally, organic and conventional food are equals. So she felt organic was a waste.
I remember thinking: I can see that. And giving weight to her words because of the medical degrees behind the opinion. But I feel different now. At the farm level, it’s clear they are drastically different, and nutritionally there are nowstudies that show they are different too. To me, the whole situation is so much better when it’s an organic eco-system, versus an unsustainable system that was built to prioritize scale and efficiency over everything else.
What’s your take on organic food — fruits, vegetables, meat, dairy? Do you seek it out? Do you feel priced out of the options? And on dairy specifically — have you ever avoided it out of concern about growth hormone, or worry about the treatment of dairy cows? Did you already know about carbon sequestration? I’d love to hear your thoughts.
My trip to Vermont, and this report about the trip, were sponsored by Stonyfield Farms.
Meg
October 30, 2017 at 1:50 pmWe drink only organic dairy, and eat local produce that is grown organically, whether it has the organic certification or not. BUT as someone who lives in the middle of dairy country (I can literally see 6 different dairy farms from my property), could walk to dozens, and have friends who are dairy farmers, the majority of which are conventional and not organic- I feel like the description of conventional dairy farms is way over exaggerated and overblown! Basically, what you described is completely inaccurate. The cows at all the farms around here are well treated, they are let out to graze all day, and brought in for the evening milking- all the farms, conventional or organic- have their cows on basically the same schedule, which means identical grazing times. The conventional farms all rotate their fields- that’s just common sense, it has nothing to do with organic farming, and everything to do with the practice of farming. Why on earth would you pay for expensive pesticides rather than rotate your fields. Plus no amount of fertilizer makes up for soil depletion. The crop rotations are clear to those of us who live nearby, because we watch the fields around us change from year to year. But from talking to friends who are farmers, I know that there is a precise science to how crops are rotated and which fields grow what products in what order to keep everything healthy. The vast majority of conventional farms are the same picture-Esque farms you picture when people mention organic farming- unlike the meat and chicken industry, which their massive centralized farms, dairy farming, regardless of their organic status is almost always a small family operation. Of the dozen or so dairy farmers I know personally, all of them site government regulations and the expenses they would be required to take on as their reason for not farming organic. The expenses that come from organic dairy farming just don’t pay off for them- the organic dairys around here do not pay enough more to justify the added expenses of organic expenses. In short, they make more money farming conventional. That said, I do believe organic farming is healthier, and we eat and drink only meat, dairy, and produce that is raised organically, although it’s nkt always certified (the advantage to living in the country is knowing the farmers who grow and raise your food, even in cases where they haven’t gone through the expense to become certified, we pick up most of our food directly from the farmers who grow/raise it and can see how it’s made).
Anon
October 30, 2017 at 2:29 pmHello Meg,
I believe in all you’ve said for your local experience. But I can assure you that the rotation, avoiding pesticides and animals being well treated are not the average experience of all conventional farming and is certainly not the experience of farming in big scale – which are the farms who stock most supermarkets and groceries around the nation. Conventional farming makes more money also because of the government subsidies. If government gave the same amount of subsidies for organic farming, it would be more affordable for both farmers and consumers. It has been a long fight in some countries in Europe to tackle that: more incentives to move from conventional to organic and more subsidies to organic farming. But it’s still a long way.
Meg
October 30, 2017 at 3:19 pmMeat and poultry farms- absolutely I agree with you. But dairy farms are an entirely different thing. 97+% if dairy farms are family owned. And while I was basing my comment on my particular area, I have connections to dairy farms (friends, family, or have previously lived) across 4 states spanning thousands of miles and I have found it to be exactly the same. Dairy and the need to milk cows twice daily on a schedule does not lend its self to the same type of corporate production farming that meat and poultry farming allows. Despite technology and milking machines, dairy farming is extremely labor intensive, and does not lend itself to effective large scale farming operations. Comparing organic dairy farming to conventional meat and poultry farming is disingenuous at best.
Design Mom
October 30, 2017 at 3:47 pmMeg, I have no doubt what you describe happening around you is real, but nationwide, the trend is that family dairy farms are folding at a rapid pace. Here’s an article from this year titled “As Big Milk Moves In, Family-Owned U.S. Dairy Farms Rapidly Fold.” I’ll highlight three paragraphs:
Peter Vitaliano, chief economist for the National Milk Producers Federation, says the number of small family-owned dairies around the United States has been steadily dropping for years. “Since 1986, every year that number has dropped by between 5 and around 9 percent,” he says.
However, milk production is not necessarily decreasing. While the dairy industry used to be run by individual families, Vitaliano thinks that today it is far more lucrative to run large-scale dairy farms, with 500 cows or more.
In 2012, the most recent year the USDA collected data, almost three-quarters of dairy farms had fewer than 100 cows, but those farms only produced about 14 percent of the nation’s milk.
So while it’s true most dairy farms are currently family-owned, they are producing a small percentage of the milk we drink. The bulk of the milk in our country is produced on large scale farms. If organic dairy farming can keep more small family farms up and running (which is what they’re focused on doing in Vermont), then that’s one more big benefit in addition to all the others.
It sounds like in your area, family-owned dairy farms are still going strong.
Meg
October 30, 2017 at 6:19 pmAnd “big organic” is pushing small farms out of business too…the article says nothing about whether these large scale farms are conventional and organic, and in fact there are numerous corporate organic dairy farms supplying milk as well. Like I said- I am pro-organic milk. I buy 100% of my family’s milk from a small, local, organic dairy. But there is a huge difference between selling people on the actual pros of organic dairy products, and propagating the myth of the idealized organic farm while demonizing conventional dairy at the expense of the thousands of family dairy farms in this country.
Design Mom
October 30, 2017 at 7:11 pmHey, I’m glad to hear you’re pro-organic. So am I. I didn’t always care, but I’ve definitely become converted. And from my point of view, there’s a big difference between organic farms that sequester carbon, and conventional farms that don’t. I think this is where we disagree. It sounds like from your experience you see organic dairy farms and conventional dairy farms as virtually identical. Which I have no problem with. It’s fine with me if we disagree on this point.
I don’t believe I’ve “propagated the myth of idealized organic farming” and I don’t believe I’ve written this post at “the expense of the thousands of family dairy farms in this country.” You are welcome to believe otherwise.
As far as big organic pushing out family farms, I have definitely read about some bigger organic dairy farms, but with organic being only 4% of the current dairy in our country, I’m not sure that’s really a major issue at the moment. Though I’m happy to read anything that explains otherwise.
If I’m confused on any point, it’s that you personally only buy organic, and must have reasons for doing so, but you’re not interested in seeing more conventional farms transition to organic? Because that’s what 80% of this post is about: how farms transition, what the very real challenges are, and what the benefits are too. Which, as a committed consumer of organic dairy, seems like something you would be in favor of promoting.
I could be reading your tone wrong, but your comments seem to be getting more and more antagonistic, and I’m not understanding why. Ultimately we seem to agree on many of the key points, and I’ve already apologized and adjusted the post in response to your feedback. If I’m still offending you, that’s certainly not my intention.
magnoliachica
October 30, 2017 at 2:49 pmThank you for pointing out that there are many conventional farmers who do have farming practices very much like what is being described here. I come from a family of dairy and beef farmers in southern Virginia, and my friend’s dad is a dairy farmer still. Those cows are not staying in barns. Except for milking, they’re outside in pasture all day. Of course, not all farmers practice pasture rotation. (My uncle just started doing it on our family farm.) Pesticides are a problem. And this is not to say that there aren’t really bad operations, but I agree that we shouldn’t just paint all conventional farmers with the same brush. It could be worthwhile investigating where your local milk comes from. That could help to make better decisions of whether organic really makes a difference, or if the farms supplying your milk are more humane and environmentally responsible.
I’m also curious about this discussion of hormones. So much of the milk I have bought mentions that it comes from cows NOT treated with rGBH. Where is this milk with hormones that everyone is worried about? Am I just getting lucky? I also don’t see why dairy cows would be treated with a growth hormone that would be more commonly used in beef cows to fatten them up faster. Does anyone know more about this?
Design Mom
October 30, 2017 at 3:59 pmYes, the labels you see about dairy not being treated with rGBH are in direct response to consumer worries about hormones in dairy products. Those labels didn’t used to be there. They are a relatively recent thing.
My understanding was that the hormones boosted milk production.
Design Mom
October 30, 2017 at 3:55 pmMeg, I apologize if I painted with too broad of a brushstroke on conventional farms. I intentionally tried to use language that left room for exceptions, but I’ll go look at my description again and alter if needed.
One item where we might be talking past each other is where you mention rotating crops. On the organic farms I visited, there is no crop rotation, because there are no traditional crops. They aren’t planting the soil multiple times a year, and there is no harvest that leaves the fields bare for any amount of time. The fields are covered in native perennials and don’t need to be “farmed” (if that makes sense). There is no soil depletion on those farms.
Obviously it works differently in different parts of the country (with different weather patterns). At the North Face event I mentioned, a California organic sheep (wool) farmer said her sheep graze on government lands in a 90 mile loop. It takes them a full year to get back to where they started. The grazing areas are more desert like and obviously wouldn’t recover in 21 days like they do in Vermont.
Bonnie L
November 1, 2017 at 4:32 pmOne of the last remaining dairy farms near me, 30 miles from Boston, hosts field trips for local school children. As I accompanied my child’s class, I remember being stunned when the farmer stated that his cows do not leave the barn. Such a sad life for those cows.
I do buy organic dairy, meats, produce. Mostly from Vermont where we have a summer house. Buying local is MAJOR there. No doubt contributing to their very strong economy.
Wish the weather had been better for you when you visited VT. It is a beautiful place. Very informative post. Thank you.
Linda
October 30, 2017 at 1:56 pmI ‘d say about 80% of my weekly groceries are organic. My local grocery store sell lots of affordable organics through their own brand. I’m a vegetarian so I don’t buy meat. We do use more almond and coconut milk over dairy milk, though when I do use milk I only buy organic due to hormones. I also try to buy organic cheese. I will say that I spend a lot on groceries, though we don’t eat out much. I would rather spend money on quality food that’s healthy for my family. I hope the price will come down as more people switch to organics so that they are affordable for everyone. I absolutely hate Monsanto and Roundup though that’s another story!
Design Mom
October 30, 2017 at 7:14 pmI think 80% organic is amazing. I don’t think our family is anywhere near that. But it’s inspiring to read your comment.
Julia
October 30, 2017 at 2:42 pmWhat a nice topic! I must say that I was a sceptic and looked to most “organic” people as if they were some sort of elite hipsters. I used to roll my eyes to it. Until I watched some documentaries and visited some conventional farms and some organic farms… Wow! The difference ! Of soil quality, of flavour of the food…. Organic vegetables tend to look less beautiful than the vegetables that we see in the supermarket. As my toddler once told me: all apples look like snow white’s poisoned apple: big, beautiful (and … tasteless…). But the quality is something else.
It’s still expensive because “few” people buy it (or can afford to buy it), but a friend told me that in Germany it’s almost the same price, for lots of people buy it… So let’s hope that this happens here too.
I am trying to buy as much organic as I can financially. It has changed the way we spend and what are our priorities doing the groceries, we may buy less food, but better quality and we are not starving. Also, instead on spending more in some delicious non nutritional kinds of food, we’d rather usethat money for organic products. It has been a good reeducation .
Design Mom
October 30, 2017 at 7:20 pmI love hearing that about Germany. I hope we see the same trend here!
Ricki
October 30, 2017 at 6:31 pmI think part of the dairy issue comes from our insatiable appetite for another creatures milk! :) With our ever-increasing demands we tell dairy farmers to produce more, cheaply, quickly as they can. After reading about the effects of eating animal-based foods and watching various food documentaries (my favorite is “What the Health?” currently on Netflix) our family has gone completely plant-based. It’s not as hard as you think, especially when you realize bread isn’t bad! :) Organic—YES! As much as possible, especially when the outer layer of the food will be consumed. But milk, meat, poultry, eggs, fish—don’t need it.
Design Mom
October 30, 2017 at 7:23 pmI haven’t watched “What the Health” yet. Thanks for the recommendation.
I ate vegetarian for several years, but have never tried vegan eating in a serious long-term way. My brother and sister-in-law have been eating vegan for the last month and said they really like it. My brother said he dropped a bunch of weight too. (An expected benefit?)
In my own reading and studies (and in lived experience of how foods affect my own body), I’m still convinced I’m at my healthiest as an omnivore. But I realize every body is different.
What would you say has been the biggest positive impact of eliminating animal products from your diet? And did you have any particular challenges as you made the switch to vegan? Any foods you miss?
Ricki
November 1, 2017 at 4:04 pmBiggest positive impact: I’ve lost many of the food cravings I used to have. Because I have to be more intentional and plan ahead what we’ll eat, it takes a lot of the spontaneous junk food situations out of play, including fast food.
Expected benefit: Weight loss for my husband and I. Not a huge amount, but it came off without trying.
Unexpected benefit: My kids are less picky about food! This was a shock to me, I dreaded the possibility every meal would become a stand-off, but they’re actually eating a larger variety of foods than before—out of necessity or desperation, I don’t know, but I’ll take it! :)
One thing I do occasionally miss is cheese, nothing quite like it, especially melted. (drool)
Amy
October 30, 2017 at 7:32 pmWow, thanks for the information! The timing of this post is funny to me. I just went down a rabbit hole reading about the pesticides used on crops. While I was aware to some extent, what I recently read prompted me to choose a lot more organic products this week. Now I will be buying organic dairy, thanks to you. It just makes sense, and it is so worth it. I will give up a cup of take out coffee a week so that my kids can drink organic milk. I do wish the prices were a little better, but I’m doing what I can.
Design Mom
October 30, 2017 at 7:41 pmThe pesticides freak me out for sure. The pests become resistant, and stronger and stronger pesticides are necessary to get the same effect. And when they test the air in and around farming communities, pesticide particles are present in dangerous amounts.
Tully
October 30, 2017 at 7:35 pmSo glad you are using your platform to bring attention to this. I’ve long grappled with food source sustainability but have hit a big road block in the form of overpopulation. Even worldwide water sources are being drained too quickly to refill because of population burdens. Do you have any thoughts around this along with eating organically/ethically?
Cowspiracy recommends people consuming a totally vegan diet in order to stay within planetary bounds, but this presents health problems to me (I am off grain, fruit and dairy).
Have you investigated this aspect?
Design Mom
October 30, 2017 at 7:50 pmI haven’t done any serious reading on food sources and population growth, but have definitely read articles that come my way on social media. What I’ve read has left me with mixed messages. One of the big problems that seems to get brought up is that 40% of perfectly good food in America is thrown away. Which seems to imply we are producing plenty of food but don’t have efficient ways and means to get it to those who need it.
Other things I’ve read seem to start from the baseline of: We need to find a second planet to inhabit. Period. Some stats predict population that’s too big for this planet no matter what we do or what we eat.
Will there be a sci-fi solution? Another planet? Some sort of tech-food fix? Transhumanism and the Singularity? I have no idea.
Organic farmer
October 30, 2017 at 8:17 pmGrass-fed beef, and pastures meat in general is actually a pretty sustainable food source. Most research into the sustainability of a vegetarian/vegan diet uses conventionally raised feed lot beef as a counterpoint. When the research compares vegetarianism to sustainably raise pastured beef, the beef actually comes out on top, because well-managed pasture sequesters carbon as Gabby mentioned. Another benefit is that a lot of marginal farmland can only be used to pasture cattle, so it’s not like it’s necessarily taking away from other crops and is in fact making better use of the space we have available.
Lynn
October 30, 2017 at 8:05 pmSorry, but wasn’t McDonald’s one of your sponsors for awhile? Talk about factory farming, inhuman treatment of animals, and climate destruction!
Design Mom
October 30, 2017 at 8:11 pmYes, I wrote this post about McDonalds 3 years ago last month.
I also wrote an earlier post for Stonyfield Farms a couple of months ago. I take it that one didn’t bother you?
And if you are still troubled by the old McDonald’s post, doesn’t it seem like an improvement to you that I would be talking about organic farming instead? It seems like you’re putting me in a damned if I do, damned if I don’t position. If I write an honest post about McDonald’s you’re pissed off, if I write an honest post about organic farming you’re also pissed off. Sounds like there’s nothing I could do to please you.
P.S. — Wouldn’t it be great if big food buyers like restaurant chains supported carbon-sequestering agriculture?
J
October 30, 2017 at 9:18 pmThe documentary Food Inc came out in 2009. That’s a long time ago. Anyone interested in where their food comes from, may find it helpful ito watch that documentary to assist in making decisions about the food they feed their family with and the impact of our daily choices.
Lynn
November 1, 2017 at 7:32 pmIt’s true, I don’t read everyday so I probably missed your earlier posts about Stonyfield. And I’m not pissed about your Stonyfield posts, I swear! I think that I’m still bothered by the McDonald’s one? Not because sometimes you (or anyone) takes their family to McDonald’s in a pinch, sometimes you just have to do what you can do right then. But to me that seems very different than advertising for them. Sometimes I eat too much, or have a few too many glass of wine, or drive too fast, or am not as patient with my family as I should be. And sometimes we eat fast food! That is my honest reality, but I would never recommend that anyone else do any of those things or accept money to promote them to large audience of people, for obvious reasons. I think it’s great that you are partnering with Stonyfield and promoting things like humane and organic agriculture. It’s just weird to be so all over the board with advertisers; it feels inconsistent.
I’m sorry that I upset you with my post, Gabby. I shouldn’t have been so reactive and flippant.
Organic farmer
October 30, 2017 at 8:06 pmWe raise grass fed beef and grow organic cereal grains. We run a decent sized operation; on the larger side for an organic cash crop grower. The farm you’ve visited is a lovely small family farm, but as some of the previous commenters have mentioned, conventional farms can run that way, and I’ve seen some pretty big organic dairy operations, too, with more like 200 head in much more modern settings than what is pictured here.
It’s misleading to paint all conventional ag as bad, and all organic ag as good. These labels indicate certain standards, but within those standards, there are still so many problematic practices on each side. The nature of organic farming means the operations have to be smaller, which in general means that the farm is probably managed more sustainably. But as consumer demand for organic grows, the industry becomes bigger, more commercially managed, and the effect is certainly tending towards the same issues as are present in conventional farming.
The real answer to every question about food sustainability is to do your research and then buy from a local farmer. That way you can ask about their farming practices, and spend your money where it counts.
In the absence of access to farm-direct purchasing, labels like organic are helpful, but very crude representations of the ideal way to farm sustainably. Going vegetarian is similarly a crude excuse for sustainable eating. Sustainable, local, grass-fed meat is better in terms of calorie use, land use, carbon sequestration… Especially when you consider they’re converting rainforest into soybean farms in Brazil to make that tofu.
Barbara Kingsolver’s book “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle” is a really good read on this topic. I highly recommend it if you’re puzzling through food sustainability questions.
Design Mom
October 30, 2017 at 8:42 pm“In the absence of access to farm-direct purchasing”
I think that’s pretty key. Most grocery shopping in our country qualifies as non-access to farm-direct purchasing — by a long shot.
I agree that certified organic labels aren’t a guarantee of ideal farming, but as a consumer, I appreciate them and find them helpful. I understand organic farming won’t always be perfect, but supporting a company that is publicly aiming for responsibly-farmed, carbon-sequestering, pesticide-free food is worthwhile to me (even if it falls short sometimes).
And I loved Animal, Vegetable, Mineral. So good!
Laura
October 31, 2017 at 7:16 amMy father spent his early childhood years in northern Maine in potato farm country. He was the 3rd youngest of 11 children, and moved to Massachusetts while in elementary school, so he never worked on the potato farms much himself since he was too young. All of his older siblings did though, and all but one of them has had some type of cancer, and not all have survived. About a year or so ago my aunt mentioned that she had been contacted by people who were doing a study since it seemed that so many people in northern Maine that had worked on the farms had cancer, and they suspected it was from potential pesticide exposure, especially while young, that they used heavily then. I unfortunately don’t know the follow up to this study, but the risk to those working the farms that use certain pesticides is real, and unfortunately, back then, many didn’t realize it at the time.
Design Mom
November 1, 2017 at 9:41 amSo heartbreaking.
In a similar vein, in the town I grew up in there was a group of residents referred to as “downwinders” who got cancer because of atomic bomb testing in the desert. The radiation from the testing drifted downwind, right to our town. People didn’t understand the effects at the time. So awful.
elainepill
October 31, 2017 at 7:53 amwait, you were at Windy Hill in Norwich? That’s where I live! If I’s know, I would have come to say ‘hi’ in person . :-)
Design Mom
November 1, 2017 at 9:40 amI would have loved to meet you!
Karen
October 31, 2017 at 8:36 amYou mentioned people being sad because of the cows quality of life or sad because of all the pesticides/fertilizers used, but what about the farmer being sad because his pay check is so small (and uncontrollable)? We own a farm and ag equipment dealerships (that sells farm equipment to farmers in the dairy industry) and know all too well the volatile nature of paychecks. You may need a lawyer or a dentist occasionally, but you need a farmer three times a day!
Design Mom
November 1, 2017 at 9:56 am“but what about the farmer being sad because his pay check is so small (and uncontrollable)”
Totally. I can tell you that I wasn’t aware of how uncontrollable milk revenue is until my visit to Vermont. If people aren’t sad about it, I’m guessing it’s because they don’t know about it.
Kelly Ruiten
October 31, 2017 at 9:18 amI was in Burlington a week before you were there, visiting with family, and during one of my morning walks listened to this podcast (that’s why I had to share it with you when I saw that you were there, even at the exact same location buying a maple creamy!). I loved his tenacity as he worked so hard to make this company what it is. I am lucky enough to live in Southern California where organic is very easy to find, and affordable most times (thank you Trader Joes!). We only buy organic meat, dairy and produce. I don’t even think about it anymore. Yes, I am very lucky to be able to do so, but we definitely have a food budget and make sacrifices to eat this way. Thank you for this incredible post!
Design Mom
November 1, 2017 at 9:57 amThank you for sharing the podcast with me. We ended up listening to is on the bus as we drove from Burlington to the farms. So good!
Jenn
October 31, 2017 at 10:44 amI live in South Dakota, where agriculture is still our state’s #1 economic industry. (Even bigger than the faces at Mt. Rushmore, and those are kind of a big deal.) Thanks for sharing your thoughts about food and farming. It’s something a lot of people never even think about!
I’m troubled by the characterization of “conventional = bad, organic = good,” and also “smaller scale = good, larger scale = bad.” I respect the reasons you choose organic dairy. I do wish we could do away with the demonization of other consumers’ food choices. No matter what we eat, we have a farmer to thank for it. And in my Midwestern experience, farmers care about producing healthy food for our families.
I know several families with what would be considered pretty large scale dairy operations. They’re still family farms, with grandpa and dad farming with sons and daughters. The way they’ve explained it, they can’t support the family on a 200 head operation, so they expanded the operation to accommodate the kids. They’re also really proud of their lagoons (where the manure goes). Plus the farm row crops, so most of the feed their cows eat was grown right there.
Sustainability is a big deal to all of the farmers I know. With precision agriculture, conventional farmers are using far fewer inputs and applying where they need them. I think the idea of hosing down acres and acres of crops is misguided. Why would farmers want to destroy their land? If they’ve farmed for generations and want to continue farming with kids and grandkids, preservation of land, water and air are in everyone’s best interest. Another thing: organic crop farmers have a list of approved pesticides; it’s a misnomer that organic means chemical free.
Sometimes I choose organic, most of the time I choose conventional. At the end of the day I think I’m very lucky to eat and thankful that farmers produce food for us. If I had to grow my own I’d be in trouble! I bet you feel the same!
Design Mom
November 1, 2017 at 9:47 amThanks for your comment. I hear you on growing your own food. It’s a full time job. When I was growing up, the Mormon church really encouraged members to grow food gardens and I remember how much time we spent seeding, watering, weeding, harvesting, canning, preserving, etc.. All that work, and we didn’t come close to growing enough food to completely feed our family of 10. I am truly grateful to our nation’s farmers (and farmers around the world). As I mentioned, our family doesn’t pretend to completely organic, not at all. So I can say that I’m truly grateful to both conventional and organic farmers.
Regarding the list of approved pesticides for organic farming, you’re right, but it seems like they are in a different category.
From what I understand, organic farmers start by using a combination of farming practices that deter pests, and if they need to control pests further, they can use a small number of substances that don’t have harmful effects on people or the environment and that don’t persist in our soil, water or air. Natural pesticides like paper mulch, horticultural oils and hydrated lime (which are carefully screened and approved by the USDA for use on organic farms). Or, they might use beneficial insects, like ladybugs, that are predators or parasites of the pest species.
Here’s more info on the subject for anyone who is interested.
Also, it was pointed out to me that USDA Organic Certification is an ongoing process. That means that certified organic farms are re-certified every year and subject to occasional surprise inspections to ensure they’re following organic practices. These inspections include their farms, their supplies, even their receipts to ensure that toxic persistent pesticides aren’t being used on their crops.
I have no doubt organic farming isn’t perfect, and I understand it can be incredibly difficult to transition from conventional to organic, so being encouraging about organic farming where and when I can feels like a step in the right direction.
Natascha
October 31, 2017 at 1:09 pmI’m living in Austria, Europe and my husband and I consume 90% organic. It’s getting better with years, the supply is getting better, so the prices. We don’t eat out at all, we buy only so much as we can consume. I think it must be around 70% consumption from organic dairy in Austria at the moment. Organic is not only about hormones and additives but it’s the way of thinking, caring and living wholesome.
Design Mom
November 1, 2017 at 9:50 amI’m not surprised to hear Europe is leading the way on food quality. From my experience, Europeans take their food very seriously! Sometimes in the U.S. (not always), it feels like we favor quantity over quality.
Nicole L
November 1, 2017 at 2:21 pmGosh this is all fascinating and I’m so glad for your posts and informed readers! I find the carbon sequestration info particularly interesting, as so much of what I have read before talks about how much methane cows produce, and that it is really a problem climate-wise. I’m absolutely not an expert on the subject, but I feel like what we are told really depends on what industry the speaker is aligned with (obviously cow farmers want people to eat cow products, but it’s in every part of the food industry).
I often feel frustrated when trying to figure out how to feed my family (local vs. pesticide-free vs. a million other things it feels like!), but I also realise how darn lucky I am that whether I buy organic vs. conventional is a big concern in my life! We recently went mostly vegan (warning if you watch What the Health it’s extremely fear-mongering! But Netflix does have some other more level-headed docs). We try to eat local produce as much as possible, and are very fortunate to live in an area of Canada that is surrounded by smaller family-run farms and craft producers. For me it’s as much an environmental decision as a health and animal welfare decision.
But back when we did consume cow dairy we eventually moved to organic as it became more available. Assuming that “you are what you eat eats” is true, I tried to go pesticide-free whenever possible for any animal products.
AB
November 1, 2017 at 5:10 pmI think if most people took the time to look around they would find it much easier to buy directly from a farm than they think. I live in downtown Boston and have been buying my meat and eggs exclusively from the farmer for almost 15 years.
June
November 2, 2017 at 3:07 pmLoved this post. Encouraged to read about the work being done to spread knowledge and expertise of organic farming and the ethical treatment of farm animals. As depressing as the state of the world may seem these days, I can always count on your blog to inspire me to be accountable and to give me hope that positive change is happening everywhere.