3 questions for your protein farmer

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It's absurd, but making conscious eating choices is getting trickier with more & more green-washed marketing noise!

 

Property & produce advertising claims are deliberately vague.  And they take advantage of lack of consumer knowledge about what really goes on behind closed farm gates. 

 

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So what questions do we ask to determine whether an animal protein is genuinely ORGANIC, CLEAN & REGENERATIVE?

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For us, being organic is the foundation of a healthy farm & food system.  This is the reason we have the word 'organic' in our business name.  It should be the very basis of everything.  The fundamental principle 'first do no harm' in medical ethics should speak volumes in the natural world too.  The word 'should' is crunchy but appropriate.

 

Because a new buzzword has taken over.  One with no clear definition.  One subject to interpretation bias.  That buzzword is 'regenerative'.  

 

A philosophy meant to focus on rejuvenating soil life, restoring biodiversity, and repairing ecosystems.  But can it if it's not firstly organic?  Call us purists, but we believe a farmer cannot authentically call themselves regenerative if they still use biocides (killers of life), synthetic inputs or medications.  Natural, organic solutions are the only true building blocks of a healthy, strong system.  Anything else is akin to their green-washed claims; superficial & unsustainable.

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Too many 'regenerative' farmers still use 'convenient' non-organic practices, irrespective of the bigger picture & the life forms they're destroying.  For example, they might find it easier to use routine parasite drenches than to develop a good grazing system, or they may find it more profitable to use conventional feed as it's far cheaper, or they might find it quicker to use a herbicide on 'annoying weeds'.

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How can we know who is authentic?  Here are a few simple questions we can ask our farmers:

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Question 1: Is the animal’s food truly chemical free?

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Organic feed is essential. You are what you eat, eat, eats!

 

Animals bio-accumulate poisons & pass them onto whatever eats their products. So it’s a human health issue. AND a significant environmental health issue...  Discovering what type of farming system a farmer chooses to support allows us to know their real ethics.

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For example, in the case of chickens - is the farmer supporting thousands of hectares of grain to be grown organically; enabling regeneration of soil, biodiversity, air & water health?  Or are they purchasing their stockfeed from a chemical farming system that may use synthetic fertilisers, GMO seed, pesticides, herbicides & fungicides?  Grain has high toxic residues from these biocides used to kill unwanted life throughout its sowing, growing & storage.  Soy & corn are also cheap ingredients with numerous health risks.

 

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Question 2: Did you raise this animal on your farm from day one without routine medications? 

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The provenance of livestock isn’t always what we’d like to imagine, or are led to believe by marketing 'stories'. 

 

For example, non-organic pastured or free range laying hens, are raised in intensive sheds & only bought to the egg farm when they are 5+ months old, ready to lay eggs.  In the cattle industry, many cattle are bred & raised on other farms before being sent to this region to be finished.

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We need to know if they were vaccinated?  Or given medications like routine drenches?  This can include less obvious medications like conventional non-organic chick crumble, which contains antibiotics.  

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Question 3: Can I visit your farm to meet the animals? 

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There are many animal welfare questions that can only be answered by actually seeing livestock living conditions, rather than by looking at carefully curated images created for marketing purposes.

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Ideally animals live their entire lives in environments that accommodate natural expression of their individual behaviours. For instance, chickens should be allowed to be chickens & given open range pasture in the sunshine, with access to fresh grass to forage for bugs & to dust bathe in.  Cattle 

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MROF always have & always will operate to Australian Organic Standards as our bare minimum.  Even though our organic feed ingredient costs are more than triple that of industrial regular feed.  Even though we need to have all our animals born on farm - including rearing all our chicks for half a year before they lay eggs (quite the task)!  Even though it would be all round easier, more convenient & lucrative another way.

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We choose to be organic because we believe in the bigger picture; a healthier whole. Healthier soils, healthier plants, healthier water, healthier air, healthier animals, healthier humans.

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If you believe the same, please contact us to make an appointment to visit, see what we do & support your local ethical farmers by purchasing your animal proteins directly from us!  

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Postscript

Sometimes we're asked 'why aren't you certified'?  Well, we've certified several properties in the past, so we know the organic standards & the organic industry well.  And back in the day, when we were in transition to certification for this property, we asked our customer base (which was all within a 50km radius of our farm) whether they would like us to gain certification.  The resounding response was that it was not necessary. 

 

Our customers told us they trusted us to do the right thing; third party verification was uncalled for.  And we still sell 99% of our produce within a 50km range.  Direct to customers who can visit the farm, ask us questions, and meet our animals.  

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