What does organic beef really mean?
I read an article today regarding a violation of law by a large organic company which was trying to pass off its product as organic. You can link to what I read at
http://wincustomersusa.com/stockman/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogsection&id=0&Itemid=9
Here at Brady’s Beef we have never represented ourselves to be certified organic even though most of our practices would certainly qualify. There are a number of reasons we have not and will not certify our farm in the current political climate. The first reason that I mention most often is that we are short on phosphorus content in our soils and we have not found an economicly sound way to rebuild this component without some commercial phos fertilizer.
A second reason is that we are skeptical of government programs and national organic standards backed by the full faith and credit of the US Department of Agriculture. If you reference the above article you will learn two things that should be glaring inconsistencies. First, the agency doing the certifying is paid by the farm being certified. Where’s the logic in this? If my certifier threatens to decertify me, who is going to pay him his fee? The second glaring inconsistency is that if the USDA is the party with the teeth and has the final say on enforcing the National organic standards, why don’t they do it to the maximum allowed by the law? Who is buying off whom?
Once again we see the logic in getting to really know your farmer. Talk to him, go see his farm, tour his processing facilities, and take a little responsibility for knowing where your food comes from.