Happenings on the Ranch

As a follow up to my last post, I received an email that helped me find a source for Fair Trade and Organic coffee – and it’s even at a bargain price!  Amazon.com has an offer on a BuyWell 100% Fair Trade Organic Single Origin Sampler: Peru, Guatemala, Sumatra, 12-Ounce Bags (Pack of 3 – Whole Bean) for $24.99.  Unfortunately by the time I got to the site, they were out of stock but you can click and enter your email to be alerted when it’s available again.  I was alerted to this deal by a great website, YourGreenHelper.com (who also happens to be a customer of ours and Friend of the Farm!).  Thanks, Janet, for your email.  If you want to sign up for Your Green Helper Eco Deals emails, just visit her website.

I got another email from our CSA customer Beth who gave me a recommendation for Equal Exchange, who also has Fair Trade Organic coffees (Beth recommends the Guatamalen), and Green Mountain’s Fair Trade and Organic blends (from Beth’s home state of Vermont).  Thanks for the recommendations … guess I’ll be buying a lot of my coffee online from now on!

Our newest hatch; the start of our quail breeding program

In other news, we hatched our first four baby quail yesterday!  They are the cutest things ever, especially since they are so tiny, and they have a ton of energy.  These first few will begin our breeding program and we plan to offer quail as an addition to our pasture-raised chicken.  If there’s interest we may also start selling quail eggs, as well.  I’m interested to know how many of you would be willing to try these tender birds or their eggs, so let me know if you’re an inspired cook who may want to buy a few of these beauties when we start butchering!

~Karin

First, let me apologize for not being on here lately.  The severe thunderstorms, flooding and lightning strikes left us without internet for many days.  As it is, even though we’ve got internet and I can receive email, I still can’t send.  Hopefully that will be fixed soon enough (assuming more severe weather doesn’t move in).

Now, on to today’s topic.  I’ve tried for a long time to find coffee that is both organic and Fair Trade, which seems to be an impossible fete (if you’ve found some, please let me know!).  So, when faced with the choice I usually choose Fair Trade coffee.  Why?  Well, for one, I sympathize with the plight of those coffee farmers who far too long were paid way too little for their product and their effort.  I mean, we as small farmers don’t get paid much and we would be rich by comparison.  Second, it also guarantees long-term relationships with those farmers so they can continue their living with some relative assurances.  Third, most of these growers are growing organically anyway.  The majority of them can’t afford the inputs involved in using chemical fertilizers and pesticides, let alone to clear forests.  Which means they are also environmental stewards.  Those are reasons I can get behind.

So what about Starbucks?  You won’t see any Fair Trade labeling on any of their coffees or in their stores.  Instead, you’ll see the Starbucks Shared Planet logo.  So what’s the difference?  Starbucks defines their Shared Planet ideal as their “…commitment to do things that are good to each other and the planet. From the way we buy our coffee, to minimizing our environmental footprint, to being involved in local communities. It’s doing things the way we always have.”  They also state that their ethical purchasing involves “being committed to buying and serving the highest-quality, responsibly grown, ethically traded coffee to help create a better future for farmers.”

The Shared Planet logo, signs, etc. didn’t start showing up until late 2008.  Some were critical of this move, contending that Starbucks was just jumping on the consumer-conscious “green” band wagon.  It may seem that way, but if you look at the mission statement they created back in 1990 you can see the phrase, “contribute positively to our communities and our environment.”  Does that mean they’ve always followed Fair Trade ideals?  Not necessarily.  In fact, even today they don’t 100% of the time.  They are working toward it, though.  

Starbucks publically announced a set of goals it hopes to achieve between 2012-2015, to include:

• Ethical sourcing – 100% of Starbucks coffee will be responsibly grown and ethically traded.
• Environmental stewardship – 100% of Starbucks cups will be reusable or recyclable.

While their program isn’t quite Fair Trade they’re working on it.  I could play devil’s advocate and point out that by not participating in Fair Trade and creating their own program they are self-regulating, which could lead to half-truths, etc.  But I’ll save my skepticism until it’s founded.

So though I rarely buy Starbucks coffee, now that I’ve examined what their Shared Planet ideal means I won’t feel quite as guilty about it when I do.

~Karin

We’ve suspected health problems from pesticide use for years and now we’re getting some proof.  Several previous studies by the Harvard School of Public Health have previously linked neurodevelopmental and behavioral disorders to exposure to pesticides.  But those studies generally focused on children of farmworkers and others exposed to abnormally high levels of the chemicals.  Now the school has published an article in the Journal of Pediatrics linking pesticides used on certain fruits and vegetables to the development of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in children in the general public.

This new study is the first to focus on “a population sample more representative of the United States, and not one selected for being at high exposure,” said epidemiologist Marc G. Weisskopf of Harvard University’s School of Public Health, the senior author of the paper.  The study followed more than 1,100 children and found those with the highest levels of residue from the pesticide malathion in their urine were the ones most likely to suffer ADD or ADHD.  The researchers concluded that a tenfold increase in metabolite levels in urine — still a very low level — was associated with a 55% higher risk of having ADHD.

The conclusion?  That these commonly used pesticides are toxic to a child’s developing brain.

There are forty different pesticides similar to malathion registered for use in the U.S.  In this study, the fruits with the highest concentration of pesticides included strawberries, raspberries and frozen blueberries.

So, what’s a parent to do?  Same thing I’ve always talked about.  Buy organic when possible.  Buy local, even if it’s not organic, since less pesticides are needed when fruit doesn’t have to be shipped long distances.  And try to buy fruits that have to be peeled or washed before eating them, like bananas and oranges.  I suspect this will be the first of many studies to prove the use of pesticides causes more health problems than the chemical companies and FDA has been willing to admit to.

Until next time.

~Karin