Buzz Words in Agriculture with Farmer Jess
Buzz Words in Agriculture with Farmer Jess
BY JESS JAGER
As a farmer and a producer of food, I need to be able to explain what we grow and how we grow it. The ironic thing is that often the questions we get about our food aren't related to how we grow our plants and animals, instead we are asked to define our products within the terms that have been popularized by the larger food system that is set out by the USDA. The words that have become familiar, are the words that we see on the packages of the meat we buy from the grocery store, or the bag that holds our nuts, or the sticker that we find on our apples or the color of the bag that holds our produce from the market.
Words like organic, free range, hormones and grass fed hold weight and power in the minds of the consumer as we look for the best and most honorable ways to feed ourselves and our own. And yet the understanding often stops at the label.
I don’t intend to be the breaker of bad news in what I share here, instead I hope that knowledge is what it has set out to be, power, in this situation. These labels don’t lie and they aren’t intended to fool anyone, but they are used as marketing devices to earn your dollar as they have become indicators of good or bad, valuable or waste. I hope that in reading you would find the ability to decipher what it is that you are being sold.
Organic
An organic label means that the producer is certified by the USDA as organic compliant.
100% Organic- means that 100% Of the ingredients in the product are organic
Organic - means that at least 95% of the ingredients are organic, up to 5% of the ingredients can be non-organic
Made with organic…- the product must include at least 70% organic ingredients
Grass Fed
Animals receive a majority of their nutrients from grass throughout their life and have continuous access to pasture during growing season; does not limit the use of antibiotics, hormones or pesticides; meat products may be labeled as grass-fed organic. Certified organic cows are required to be on pasture during the grazing season and eat certified organic pasture or feed.
No Hormones - Pork or Poultry
Hormones are not allowed in raising pork or poultry. THis label cannot be used on pork or poultry unless it is followed by the words, Federal Regulations Prohibit the Use of Hormones.
No Hormones - Beef
The term "no hormones administered" may be approved for use on the label of beef products if sufficient documentation is provided to the Agency by the producer showing no hormones have been used in raising the animals.
Raised without Antibiotics
This label may be used if sufficient documentation is produced and provided to the agency, stating that antibiotics were never used in the life of the animal.
Antibiotic Free
THis label is misleading. USDA regulations do not allow any antibiotics to ever be present in meat that has been inspected with the purpose of being sold to consumers. Meat is routinely tested at processing plants for the presence of antibiotics and if found, the meat is discarded and the producer is fined. It is illegal to sell meat that has antibiotic residue in it. FArmers and producers that use antibiotics must follow a strict federal protocol that determines how long an animal's meat or milk must wait before being consumed after antibiotics are administered.
In light of all of this, the antibiotic free label is quite misleading, as it is just not possible to end up with meat that has antibiotics present.
If you are buying meat directly from a farmer, you should ask what their protocol is for antibiotics, as independent producers are not bound to USDA processing and therefore will not necessarily be subject to the same testing.
Free Range
Birds are free to roam around a room or building with unlimited access to food and water. These birds also have access to the outdoors during production, this area may be fenced or netted to contain the birds in a certain space. Free Range does not specify what type of feed the birds are given. Can still meet organic standards if they are fed organic feed.
Cage Free
Birds are free to roam around a room or building with unlimited access to food and water. These birds do not have access to the outdoors. Can still meet organic standards if the birds are fed organic feed.
Natural
This term has no regard for farming practices, rather it applies to anything that was or was not added after the product was picked or butchered. The USDA says that a natural food cannot contain food dyes or artificial ingredients, and can only be minimally processed.
Words without standards or definitions given by the USDA
Cruelty free
Environmentally friendly
Pasture Raised
Vegetarian fed
You may ask, “Now what?”
If organic beef isn’t really organic or if antibiotic free doesn’t mean no antibiotics ever or if cage free doesn’t actually mean birds raised under the sun, how does one make decisions about what they are to buy?
Get to know a farmer and you'll get to know your food. Farmers understand what's behind the label and they can speak to what that means in light of the food that they grow. For example- Learn about the real effects of antibiotic use in animals and how farmers decide if they will use them. Ask yourself what you believe is to be humane or natural and ask a farmer what they think about that. Become really curious about how animals are kept and how veggies are grown. Learn about feeding practices and find out why a farmer may choose to feed what they feed.
Give your food life, actively remember that the cow that makes up your hamburger wasn’t walking around with an organic sticker on its butt. Instead think through what would have made that cow's life enjoyable and value that. Being organic didn’t matter to the cow, but I bet sunshine and access to great feed and clean water did.
Let your purchases define what is important to you, you are in control of things that you buy and your dollar tells producers what they should grow. You have more power than you think. If you are buying food simply because of what the label says, stop, take a deep breath and learn why you value that label and then find out if the label means what you think that it does.
It takes more work to eat this way, at first glance. But the empowerment you will feel in making decisions that really matter to you through being informed will make taking the time to understand worth it, I promise.
Hearts,
Farmer Jess