Arganica Farm Club

Arganica on 'Organic'

We seek out and try to provide as many organic options as we can, but a truth is that many growers and producers are simply not large enough to pursue an FDA organic 'certification'. They do grow without any chemicals or man made fertilizers in very clean rural areas.

I myself harvest wild foods. There could not be a food source more clean and yet I would be challenged to obtain an organic designation. I saw a jug of maple syrup the other day labeled "organic" and had to laugh. Ours comes from wild trees whose only human contact is when we draw off the sap, boil it into a sugar, and bottle it.

What I am trying to say is that we are pursuing the very cleanly-grown local food products from very small wholesome growers whom we see every week. Often they are Amish and Mennonite families who have been farming naturally, cleanly and sustainably for generations—way before anyone stuck a label on it.

We follow the logic of Joel Salatin of Polyface Farms (one of our suppliers). He is one of the most famous farmers in America and a spokesman of the "post organic" approach. His views and Michael Pollan's are outlined in the book "The Omnivore's Dilemma". They describe how the term has been corrupted and has become a misleading adjective for wholesomely-grown or raised. They believe the true focus should be on transparency of farming practices and keeping the source local where farms can be visited. Most large corporate companies have developed methods to run freight trains through the legal loopholes in organic labeling. Our approach is much simpler: “Know thy grower”. These are the local people whom we want to support.

By directing a share of your grocery bill to wholesome local growers your are encouraging these practices.

Thanks for your interest and we welcome your comments and input.

Dominique and the whole Arganica team.