Organic Connections January-February 2010 by Natural Vitality

Organic

Connections JAN– FEB 2010

The magazine of Peter Gillham’s Natural Vitality

The French Revolution in Organic Food John Todd View from Ecology’s Master Farm Forward Humane Factory Farming

Gluten Free • Non-GMO

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Are we heading into the future or the past?

hen it comes to the direction our lives in this society are going to take, future or past may be the question. The past, with roots extending back to the Industrial Revolution, is represented by a paradigm (a model, approach or underlying assumption) in which man and technology subjugate nature. Natural resources are used up and mountains of waste disposed of without regard to consequences, while assembly-line principles of “efficiency” are applied to food production, human health, and life in its many forms. The future involves a paradigm shift. The change in approach is one of sustainability in order to maintain the health of our planet and the health of the life on it. In other words, we have to break with the past in which we collectively created our current problems if we are to survive well into the future. This is true forward thinking, born of practical necessity. The battle lines are drawn. On one side we have the “organically connected” future oriented, who are striving to change conditions and work in harmony with nature rather than against it. On the other side are the past-oriented organically disconnected. They seek to ignore or minimize evident problems and persist with the same unworkable theories that landed most of our food and the majority of the population on chemical “life support.” Their effort is not only to maintain the dominance of industrial methods and activities but also to counter or slow real efforts at sustainability. Of course, this is a generality and things are rarely all black or white. But you can simply determine if the individuals or companies in question derive a major part of their income from the past or the future paradigm. In a very real sense, PR efforts at greenwashing notwithstanding, “You’re either with us or against us.” What about the present? Consumers are increasingly turning to organic and natural products and natural healthcare practitioners, but the question is whether the “wellness market” will develop into more than a niche and become the consumer majority of tomorrow. We think so, but in order to get there it’s going to take an insistence on our parts not to slip or be pushed back into the past—plus a lot of education and communication so that more of our fellows organically connect the dots.

Ken Whitman publisher

Organic Connections is published by Peter Gillham’s Natural Vitality

In this issue

or•gan•ic |ôr ganʹik| denoting a relation between elements of something such that they fit together harmoniously as necessary parts of a whole: the organic unity of the integral work of art • characterized by continuous or natural development: companies expand as much by acquisition as by organic growth.

4 French Revolution Director Jean-Paul Jaud talks about his moving documentary Food Beware: The French Organic Revolution. The film shows how much can be accomplished when one town takes a stand for healthy eating.

8 John Todd Visionary ecological designer John Todd looks at the state of the planet and discusses some novel approaches to agriculture, renewable energy, wastewater treatment and soil restoration.

12 Farm Forward Factory farms now produce more than 99 percent of the domesticated farm animals raised to produce food in the US. Farm Forward is an unusual group created to reform unsustainable and cruel practices developed by industrializing our food supply.

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2530 N. Ontario Street, Burbank, CA 91504-2512 Editorial Office 818.333.2171 • www.petergillham.com For a free e-subscription, visit www.organicconnectmag.com Product sales and information 800.446.7462 Statements made in this magazine have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Products mentioned are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. © 2010 Peter Gillham’s Natural Vitality. All rights reserved.

Health • Food • Agriculture Environment • Green Design www.organicconnectmag.com

The Gard district of the French countryside is singularly beautiful. Nestled at the foot of the Cévennes mountain range, it is a vision of rolling hills, trees, crops and wildflowers. Against this backdrop, in the small village of Barjac, we see a true story come to life in the French documentary Food Beware: The French Organic Revolution. It is a rebellion through organic food, courtesy of a town that set out to make a difference. This “revolution” is not fought lightly—it is fought of necessity. There is a particular situation in the region, and in France in general: there have been unusually high instances of cancer and other serious illnesses in children and adults who have been exposed to chemical pesticides in the air, the ground water and the food itself. The film begins with a stark contrast: children playing hopscotch in a street of the rustic village, while vital health statistics are superimposed over them. A random sampling: In Europe, 70 percent of cancers are linked to the environment—30 percent to pollution and 40 percent to food. Every year 100,000 European children die of diseases caused by the environment. In France, the number of cancers in males has increased by 93 percent in 25 years. Sperm counts have dropped by 50 percent in 50 years. “The landscape around Barjac is already fabulous, and I’ve tried to pay tribute to this beauty,” director Jean-Paul Jaud told Organic Connections. “It’s actually the contrast between the idyllic image of agricultural France and the reality of the poisoning of our lands that I’ve worked with in Food Beware. In a way, I wanted to show that ‘under beauty, there is poison.’ ” 4 organic connections

Food Beware The French Organic Revolution by Bruce Boyers

Additional statistics are provided in inter- him, the mayor of Barjac decides to take a spersed comments from a symposium of stand: he is going to make the school canleading medical experts at a recent UNES- teen organic. CO conference. During the conference, it is A Town Comes to Life revealed that France is the number one user of pesticides in Europe by far, and second or third in the world. Agriculture accounts Inserted into the beginning of the film for about 90 percent of the pesticides used. is footage of the children learning a song Given the alarming statistics of disease that eventually becomes their own “fight and chemical use in the countryside around song.” Entitled “Aux Arbres Citoyens,” it

was originally recorded by French singer Yannick Noah and was a number one hit in France. As rendered in raised voices by the children, it is irresistible. Some of the lyrics translate as follows: Cement in the plains flows to the mountains, Poison in our countrysides and in the fountains, Cyclones and storms, our story’s starting to sink, But our ideal remains, pretend we’re in the pink. We have to change things around, To the trees, citizens, It’s time for us to propound A better world for tomorrow. Stop asking whose fault it is, Counting on blind luck or others, Now we fight!

As the mayor’s new organic program begins, the local farms and suppliers that can provide organic food begin to deliver it to Barjac’s central kitchen, where meals are prepared for the town’s schools and “meals on wheels” for shut-in senior citizens. At the first fully organic meal served to the children, the providers don’t know what to expect. But the kids dig in, and many of them light up with “I love it!” One child comments that organic bread is better; non-organic bread is “all dry.” From the beginning, the children are very excited about the whole project, which for them includes their own garden being grown under the supervision of a teacher. It echoes the work of Alice Waters and her Edible Schoolyard program (see Organic Connections, September–October 2009). Several problems are encountered. The chefs discover that cooking some of these meals takes longer. At one point, the mayor comments at a town meeting that the chefs will spend three hours preparing fresh marrow, wondering if the children will even like it. But, as the chefs soon report, the kids “eat it all up.” Shortly the children are going home, telling stories of the organic food. Mothers begin investigating. It is a small town, and soon organic is starting to take hold. When asked about the progress of the organic program, the mayor reports, “It’s not just about eating differently; it’s something that’s had an impact throughout the village: on the farmers, on the shopkeepers, on the baker, on the behavior of families, and on councilors—an impact everywhere.” The camera follows this impact into homes, where families are brightly enjoying these

Director Jean-Paul Jaud documenting the organic revolution in Barjac, France.

meals and children are lapping them up. The children are excitedly telling stories of the food they ate at school that day and the progress of their school’s organic garden. The Poisonous Contrast

On the darker side, Jaud does not leave us with simple numbers on a screen to illustrate the casualties of chemical farming; he takes us out to the farms near Barjac and we see sights and hear individual stories for ourselves. The first disturbing vision is that of a tractor moving slowly through the beautiful countryside, spraying a fog of pesticide. The driver is wearing a full-body protective suit and an entire head-covering with a gas mask. A professor of endocrinology and pediatrics, named Charles Sultan, is out among the farms, and he comments to the camera that there are children throughout the Gard with serious malformations because their parents live in rice fields over which planes spread chemical products. He talks about the peach farmer he spoke with who uses no less than 22 different chemicals in raising his crop; that particular farmer had two children affected with genital malformations and neither endocrine nor genetic factors were to blame. Another farmer, with a helmet that looks as if it should be worn by an astronaut, talks

about the fact that the helmet has not protected him; he’s had serious neurological problems that could not be diagnosed. He was even given antidepressants to combat them, to absolutely no avail. In a nearby village called Orgnac, a woman remarks that there are a number of cancers in the village and says she has lost several relatives to them. Her aunt had died the previous year of generalized cancer. Her uncle died of lung cancer, and both her mother and mother-in-law had had breast cancer. A woman farmer recounts her conversation with an agricultural advisor, who told her she should have treatments for cancer. When she asked him what was causing such a high rate of the disease, he replied that he didn’t know. Her son has leukemia, and she says that local hospitals are filled with children with the same and similar diseases. In an especially poignant moment, a baby is born in the village, at home. No commentary is given during this scene; we simply experience, through the darkness of night, the wondrous cry of the child as it comes into the world and the excited shouts of “It’s a girl!” Afterwards, a statistic is discussed that some 300 different chemicals are routinely discovered in the umbilical cords of babies. “I was deeply affected by lots of things in the making of the film,” Jaud said. “I was greatly touched by learning that the umbilical cord of a baby may contain up to 300 organic connections

chemicals, and I was very moved by the different testimonies of mothers.” The Movement Takes Hold

Back in the village, the organic movement is gathering steam. A consciousness-raising event is held, called a “day of taste,” in which many people cook and bring dishes to share. The meats and vegetables are a huge hit, and as a viewer you can almost smell their delicious aromas. The citizens of the town, in sharing with others who haven’t caught on yet, talk about the fact that, yes, it’s more expensive and they have to buy a bit less because of it, but they don’t care; they prefer quality over quantity. As Christmas approaches, a celebratory organic meal is served at a Barjac private school. The menu is announced proudly by the school principal, and fully nutritious food is hungrily consumed as the children sing French Christmas carols. Outside, the rustic town is decorated with festive lights. The mayor of Barjac is shown at a regional meeting with other mayors, and they are questioning him about placing organic canteens in their towns. The mayor tells them that the matter was not put to a popular vote; the town council simply voted among themselves and took control. He says that it was too costly for them to continue eating “contaminated food,” so they decided not to. He poses the question, “What were the costs of not doing it? In money and human

between organic and conventional farmers. The mayor points out that Barjac, in needing to provide 200 to 400 meals per day, has created a good-sized market for local organic farms. He indicates that there is still a need for certain products. One farmer argues that he doesn’t want to “gamble” on organic, that he only wants to pursue “reasonable” farming. Another, who has ceased using chemicals, says that despite the lack of pesticides, his farm is producing just fine. A third farmer asks how he can fight mildew on grapes if he can’t use chemicals; another one comments that the answer is to not make the plants fragile but to feed the soil rather than the plants. The life of healthy soil is illustrated in a different scene, where an organic farmer is

looks very much alive. The farmer demonstrates the difference in soils. The conventional farmer’s soil is packed and stratified, and the rain doesn’t penetrate it because there are no wormholes. The water simply carries off the top layer, year after year, and chemicals along with it. Then, crossing to his own property, he points out that the soil is clumped—a complex and healthy humusrich clay. His soil also contains worms, which help to form the soil structure. The clumps allow oxygen and rain to penetrate. Winning the Fight

The mayor of Barjac realized at the beginning he was taking a chance with his own political future. He comments toward the end of the film that he knew telling conventional farmers that they were “feeding their children rubbish” and that they must practice healthy farming wouldn’t win him votes, but he felt he had to do it, albeit in a friendly way. As it turned out, though, his future was not in danger. The end of the film shows the entire village assembled, singing the same fight song that the children were singing at the beginning. The mayor’s program has been a resounding success. And how has the program done since the documentary was released? “Barjac is still moving forward with their organic meals program, more than ever,” Jaud related. “The mayor has been reelected and he’s become a dear friend of mine, and I have been given the title of ‘honorary citizen’ in Barjac.”

tragedy—how much? Don’t listen to the ac- standing on the border between his prop- Food Beware: The French Organic Revolution countant first; listen first to your conscience.” erty and that of his neighbor, a conventional is now available on DVD. It is more than a For this, he gets a round of applause. farmer. The conventional farm looks bleak film; it is a moving examination of a microOn another occasion the mayor is mediating and almost dead, while the organic farm cosm and what truly can be done. 6 organic connections

Food Beware: The FreNCh orgaNiC revoluTioN Is a very deep, ThoughTprovokIng FIlm, BoTh serIous and InspIraTIonal. Through The lens oF one small vIllage In rural France, IT does an excellenT joB oF explorIng a numBer oF exTremely ImporTanT Issues.

In a comprehensIve and unequIvocal FashIon, The FIlm looks aT how our

MaiNsTreaM food suPPly has beeN iMPacTiNG our liVes, our land and our healTh. aT The same TIme, IT shows The process oF developmenT oF a

local soluTioN ThaT is wiThiN aNy coMMuNiTy’s reach. The cITy councIl goT TogeTher and saId, “we’re goIng To change The Foods In our schools and For our meals on wheels and Be only organIc, and use ThaT process To educaTe people and work To TransForm our local Food sysTem.”

we oFTen hear FacTs BuT They don’T always ImpacT us. In ThIs FIlm, The FacTs are played ouT In real lIFe—shown To The eye. The realITy conveyed Is very powerFul.

—dan kITTredge, director, real Food campaign • www.remineralize.org organic connections

w “When we’re flying at 40,000 feet and we look down, we see a marvelous amount of innovation in agriculture, environmental restoration, green architecture, in systems design and in renewable energy development,” Dr. John Todd tells Organic Connections. “The news on the ground has never been richer, more diverse or in some respects more global. There probably isn’t a continent on which we don’t have something happening, and that just wasn’t the case 20 years ago.” In these days of climate change, deforestation, soil depletion, industrial agriculture

John Todd Ecology from 40,000 Feet

recognized biologist and a visionary leader in the field of ecological design, who was named a “Hero of the Earth” by Time magazine in 1999 and one of the twentieth century’s top 35 inventors by the Lemelson-MIT Program for Invention and Innovation. He holds four patents and is the inventor of EcoMachines, also known as Living Machines or ecological engines, for the treatment of wastes, production of foods, generation of fuels and the restoration of damaged aquatic environments. In 2008, he won the first annual Buckminster Fuller Challenge for his proposal Comprehensive Design for a Carbon Neutral World: The Challenge of Appalachia, which lays out a strategy for transforming one and a half million acres of strip-mined lands in Appalachia into a harmonious selfsustaining community. Dr. Todd was a featured speaker at this year’s Bioneers Conference—a yearly event that highlights breakthrough solutions for restoring people and the planet. Among his many other activities, he is also currently teaching Ecological Design at the University of Vermont.

that that’s the case, whether we are talking about soil degradation, whether we’re talking about environmental degradation, or whether we’re talking about climatechanging gases; it’s all not good news.” Cause for Optimism

“On the other side,” he continues, “our little movement—what used to be called the alternative movement, now called the green movement—is really beginning to build up an incredible head of steam, whether we’re talking agriculture or medicine or community or whole systems design, even transportation. The knowledge of the last few decades is beginning to be stitched together, and this jigsaw puzzle now has enough pieces in it so that when we look at it we see a coherent story. That coherent story is what I try and teach to my students here at the University of Vermont in my Ecological Design course. What I want to impart to them when they graduate is that they know all the environmental horrors but they feel that there is some particular

on The oTher sIde, our lITTle movemenT—whaT used To Be called The alTernaTIve movemenT, now called The GreeN IncredIBle head

MoVeMeNT—Is really BegInnIng To BuIld up an

of sTeaM, wheTher we’re TalkIng agrIculTure or medIcIne or

communITy or whole sysTems desIgn, even TransporTaTIon. The knowledge oF The lasT Few decades Is BegInnIng To Be sTiTched

ToGeTher, and ThIs jIgsaw puzzle now

has enough pIeces In IT so ThaT when we look aT IT we see a cohereNT polluting of the environment, along with nutrient-poor produce and many other troubling issues, these words might seem just a tad overly optimistic. As with any statement, however, one must consider the source—and Dr. John Todd is definitely no lightweight. He is an internationally 8 organic connections

Dr. Todd is certainly not blind to the problems we all see. “On almost every measure that anybody wants to make— food self-sufficiency, climate, agriculture, energy and so on—things have gotten a lot worse over the last several decades,” he says. “And I don’t think there’s any doubt

sTory.

place that they can engage themselves, kind of make an economy for themselves, and be of use. That, I think, is the good news.” And Dr. Todd’s graduate students are certainly learning and carrying on this important work. In the 12 years since he went back to being a professor, after a hiatus of

some 20 years, his students are starting to create their own companies, incubated from their studies. “These companies are sort of across the spectrum from diverse agriculture to medicines to energy, and now, most recently, the latest company that my graduate students and I founded is called the

Appalachia

The project plan that won Dr. Todd the Buckminster Fuller Challenge Award of $100,000 involves restoring land in the Appalachian Mountains of West Virginia—land that has been completely ruined by the brutal practice of a type

from plant and animal remains and animal excrement; it improves the water-retaining properties of soil, adds nutrients, and makes it more workable. “The photographs already show an amazing development of the warm-season grass communities in just one year,” remarks Dr. Todd. “I believe we’ll have the data from just

The dead soil resulting from mountaintop-removal strip-mining—shown at left and center. Picture at right shows the first step of environmental restoration using warm-season grasses.

Ecological Investment Company in Vermont,” Dr. Todd reports. “We’re financing agriculture and renewable energy in a new sort of ecological paradigm. For example, we’ve created something called Vermont Share, the news of which we’re about to bring to the world. We’re basically paying farmers quite close to retail prices and selling shares to consumers, providing the farmers produce their crops in methods outlined by us and prepare boxes of food for each share owner on a weekly basis. We’re able to do this because we’ve learned to keep the cost down and the scale of our operation large enough. The farmers in Vermont here are lining up—whether they’re raising eggs or poultry or beef or pork or maple syrup or veggies—knowing that when they sign the contract with us they’ll get that money.” Dr. Todd is also conducting an analysis to see if he and some of his grad students can finance the conversion of local conventional apple orchards to organic. “These apple orchards used to be very productive,” he says. “The local commercial cider makers use concentrate from China, and that’s what got our ire up and got us interested. It’s a three- or four-year process and it’s tricky for everybody and involves a lot of technical support and training; but we hope to know by next spring if that’s feasible and we’ll then select a few farmers to begin with.” 10 o r g a n i c c o n n e c t i o n s

of strip-mining called mountaintop removal. He is engaging upon this project with several of his brightest graduate students from the University of Vermont. Mountaintop-removal mining uses three million pounds of explosives per day to blast 600 to 800 feet off the top of the densely wooded Appalachian Mountains in order to reach a coal seam below the surface. All the rock, soil, trees and vegetation above the coal seam are removed and dumped in adjacent hollows or ravines. This highly destructive practice leaves a flat surface of dead soil where there once was a thriving forest, as well as an enormous amount of environmental damage and health risk to the local community. The project’s first order of business is, of course, the restoration of the soil— essentially a three-step process. The first step is the planting of native warm-season grasses: switch grass, big bluestem, Indian grass and eastern gamagrass. The second step is the introduction into the soil of a compound called biochar, which is made from the combustion of woody material at low temperatures in low-oxygen conditions. In a unique cycle of life, the biochar is actually being produced from the mown grasses in the area. A third step involves the introduction of healthy populations of arbuscular mycorrhizae, fungi that rapidly produce humus materials in soil. Humus is the dark brown organic component of soil that is derived

that plot by the spring of 2010 to announce to the world. Something really wonderful is happening, and it’s kind of exciting to be able to go to hell on earth and make soils.” Remineralization

As can be seen in the Appalachia project, a major component of Dr. Todd’s work concerns returning vital nutrients to our soils. A primary way of doing this is a process called remineralization. Over time, especially in heavily farmed areas, crops that have deficient mineral content are unable to resist pests and “require” increasing amounts of chemicals to survive. Dr. Todd is currently engaged in another ongoing project to specifically and scientifically prove that remineralization makes a considerable difference in plant growth and can do so without the use of environmentally damaging chemicals. Several years ago he embarked with a former colleague, William Turley, and Turley’s wife, Angie Sanchez, on a project to plant trees on a plot of land on the deforested lower slopes of the Miravalles Volcano in Guanacaste Province of Costa Rica. Their plan was to replace the once forested, overgrazed grasslands there with a working landscape of trees. The variety of plant life was carefully planned—some of which will allow the project to make an income for itself. There is slow-growing hardwood that is native

to Costa Rica but which is threatened Mining Nutrients from Wastewater to start now. My son, Jonathan, is the by overcutting; there are fruit, nut and president of a company called John Todd livestock-fodder trees; and there is a tree Another source of nutrients for soil may Ecological Design, and since we treat called Jatropha, which produces an oil- come in the future from an interesting wastewater throughout the world, we’ve rich fruit that can be easily processed into source: wastewater. Two of Dr. Todd’s gradu- decided that the new future is mining diesel fuel. ate students are studying how to use biochar nutrients. We’re looking for materials to Rock dust from a nearby volcanic quarry to mine nutrients from wastewater. The pro- mine them into that can then be reformuwas applied in the seedlings nursery and cess involves flowing wastewater through lated as fertilizers.”

A polluted canal in Fuzhou, China, was transformed with the help of John Todd Ecological Design (shown above left and right), using 12,000 plants composed of 20 native species, to achieve water quality and become a recreational destination for the city’s residents. Above center is the South Burlington, Vermont, Eco-Machine, which is actually a sewage-treatment facility designed to process 80,000 gallons of waste daily.

also in the field plantings, and a control area was set up with no rock dust for comparison. However, 18 months later the project ran short of funding (as many things did in the faltering economy) and an event occurred that was both wildly comedic and scientifically frustrating. “After a year and a half something happened that I had absolutely no control over, so it’s now no longer an experiment,” Dr. Todd relates. “The chief tree propagator and caretaker stopped doing the control—that is, growing non-remineralized trees as a comparison—because she found that the remineralized trees were so much healthier. She saw a major difference in plant vitality, in leaf mass and, in some cases, height. Not being a scientist, she said, ‘Why would I want the short one when I can have the tall one?’” While Dr. Todd’s theories about remineralization were on the one hand proven out, the lack of a control means he can’t publish a scientific paper on it—at least not yet. Once he obtains further funding, Dr. Todd will finish the experiment, which also includes scientifically documenting the amount of carbon taken from the atmosphere by healthy soil—a process known as carbon sequestration. Dr. Todd’s organization Ocean Arks International is currently seeking a benefactor that will allow them to purchase a larger plot of land in the same area and scientifically document all factors involved.

biochar, from which the biochar picks up The economics of such an enterprise nutrients for agricultural use that can later may cause the average businessperson be added to soil as fertilizer. to rethink attitudes on sewage plants. Since phosphorus is an element that may “People are going to want to start owning be obtained through such a procedure, sewage plants instead of hating them,” he Dr. Todd has also been examining the min- says. “We hope to be able to publish reing, by similar methods, of phosphates—a sults of biochar mining of nutrients out of wastewater pretty soon.” Into the Future

“So that’s the sort of big-picture view from 40,000 feet here,” Dr. Todd concludes. “And without question the most exciting thing that I’ve done is create this remarkable brain trust of former students and former colleagues to bear down on some of these problems, because you can’t do it yourself. Just like Eco-Machines have to have all their kingdoms of life in them, trying to make big changes around climate stabilizagroup of elements that have very widespread tion requires the whole pool of skills and use in manufacturing, food production all the forms of intelligence that exist in a and many other areas. Worldwide, phos- highly motivated group of people.” phates are beginning to be in short supply, with major mines in Florida, Saskatchewan For more information on the amazing (Canada) and North Africa becoming Dr. John Todd and his activities, visit the following websites: played out. “Some experts think that as early as 2025 www.remineralize.org (section on we’re going to start running short of phos- Dr. Todd and the Costa Rica project) phates,” warns Dr. Todd. “If you look at www.oceanarks.org the price increase in phosphorus over the www.toddecological.com. last decade, it seems to be increasing exponentially. So my son and I are determined organic connections

Farm Forward Against Animal Abuse in Factory Farming

Numerous philosophies—and sciences as well—incorporate the principle that all life is interconnected. Harming one sector of life brings harm to others. The evidence in this age of global ecological crisis has never been clearer. According to non-profit advocacy group Farm Forward, in the last 70 years—a tiny blip in the history of farming—cruel, unsustainable factory farms have grown to the point where they produce more than 99 percent of the domesticated farm animals raised to provide food in the United States. Globally, livestock now cover 30 percent of the earth’s surface. During this same period, industrial farming methods have devastated rural communities by reducing the number of farmers in the nation by 85 percent—even as the US population has more than doubled. Farm Forward goes on to state that, given the unprecedented scale of production and consumption, it is no surprise that the food choices we make when we eat, along with how and where these foods are produced, have a bigger impact on our own health, the animals’ well-being, global warming and other major environmental concerns than any other single activity. Industrial Inhumanity

common practices within these facilities would warrant cruelty-to-animals charges if done to a dog or a cat. I don’t know if there is really any question in our minds that what is happening is wrong, and it is certainly more indicative of an industrial system than anything we might imagine, based on some idyllic farm from days of old. “Because of this industry, turkeys are no longer capable of reproducing without human interference,” Goldsmith explained. “Chickens are bred to grow so quickly they are not able to stand or stand freely after just several months of their lives, and they certainly can’t live out the normal life span that they once could. Cows and cattle are confined to feedlots by the thousands and cramped in filthy conditions. Hogs in most states are routinely confined to crates so small that they can’t turn around. “Recently there was an investigation into a chicken hatchery by a leading animal advocacy organization that made national news. This video was shot in one of the largest hatch facilities in the United States and is representative of true industry standards. The hatchery was producing baby chicks that were intended for egg production. When the chicks hatch, the males and females are separated; females are sent to facilities that produce eggs and the males are destroyed. “Once grown, the chicks are confined in cages where each bird has less than a standard piece of printer paper’s worth of space. The vast majority of these hens will live their entire lives crammed into these tiny cages, standing on a wire-mesh floor.” Similar conditions were also graphically depicted in the recent documentary Food, Inc. (see Organic Connections, September– October 2009). Medicated Food

“The definitions of what a factory method is can be open to a bit of interpretation,” Ben Goldsmith, director of Farm Forward, told Organic Connections. “But for the average consumer—you know, for me, my family, my friends and my community—the 12 o r g a n i c c o n n e c t i o n s

Due to the environments in which these animals are raised, increasing amounts of antibiotics and antimicrobials are used to ward off disease. According to a recent

report by the Pew Commission on Industrial Farm Animal Production entitled Putting Meat on the Table: Industrial Farm Animal Production in America, “Major risk stems from the routine use of specially formulated feeds that incorporate antibiotics, other antimicrobials, and hormones to prevent disease and induce rapid growth. The use of low doses of antibiotics as food additives facilitates the rapid evolution and proliferation of antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria. The resulting potential for ‘resistance reservoirs’ and interspecies transfer of resistance determinants is a highpriority public health concern.” The Pew report also concluded: “The present system of producing food animals in the United States is not sustainable and presents an unacceptable level of risk to public health and damage to the environment, as well as unnecessary harm to the animals we raise for food.” Reversing the Trend

Fortunately, Farm Forward is making great strides in reversing these trends. Farm Forward implements innovative strategies to promote conscientious food choices, reduce farm animal suffering, and advance sustainable agriculture. Incorporated in 2007, they are at the forefront of pragmatic efforts to transform the way our nation eats and farms. Their executive staff and board have been working on behalf of farmed animals since the early 1990s, and this accumulated expertise helps solidify Farm Forward’s unique role as the first centrist organization where disparate interests opposed to the abuse of animals on factory farms can unite in coordinated and effective ways. Farm Forward’s board of directors is representative of forces that have been united and would most likely have never come together under other circumstances. It includes John Mackey, chairman of the board and CEO of Whole Foods Market; Frank Reese, owner and founder of Good Shepherd Turkey Ranch and president

Bottom left: Farm Forward founding member Martha Stewart and FF director, Ben Goldsmith. Far right: Frank Reese, owner/operator of Good Shepherd Turkey Ranch, and FF executive vice president, Aaron Gross.

of the Standard Bred Poultry Institute; Jonathan Safran Foer, novelist; Jonathan K. Crane, PhD, ordained rabbi and ethicist; and several notables in other fields. Much of Farm Forward’s work is done through consulting. “Our CEO, Steve Gross, has been providing consulting services to some of the largest animal advocacy nonprofits in America for many years,” Goldsmith related. “He has helped groups like PETA [People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals] create mass corporate campaigns, which have resulted in some of the most meaningful victories for farm animals ever. And he’s been instrumental in negotiations between these advocacy groups and corporations to find common ground where the lives of animals can be improved while corporations can continue to do what they do best, which is to produce products that people want.” Gross has helped lead successful negotiations between animal advocacy groups and some of the nation’s biggest companies—including McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s, Safeway and Whole Foods Market—which have bettered the living conditions for hundreds of millions of animals. Gross is currently working with animal advocacy groups such as Global Animal Partnership, The Humane Society of the United States, and PETA to address the urgent need for increased auditing to ensure that companies properly implement animal welfare improvements following a negotiation. Experience has shown that auditing, which is often neglected, is a crucial part of real progress in chipping away at the most troubling methods of factory farming. Farm Forward has also been working to get laws changed in favor of animals. “Just in Michigan we’ve seen some incredibly promising legislation pass recently, which will increase the life span of hogs and 14 o r g a n i c c o n n e c t i o n s 14 o r g a n i c c o n n e c t i o n s

chickens confined in cages so small that they can’t turn around for their entire lives,” Goldsmith said. “It echoes the landmark legislation in California that took place in November 2008, which did much the same—mandating changes to farm policy and animal handling, no longer permitting pregnant sows, as well as chickens that produce eggs, to be confined to cages so small that they can’t turn around.” Another major step by Farm Forward was achieved in November 2009, when board member and best-selling author Jonathan Safran Foer released his book Eating Animals—a unique exploration and deeply personal exposition of the issues that arise from factory farming and the alternatives that are available to conscientious consumers. The New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle and Esquire call Foer “brilliant,” and his previous works have been translated into 30 languages. It is through such vehicles that Farm Forward helps to bring about the change that will really count—a shift in general thinking. “One of the major ways that we are making a difference is promoting the production of culturally significant works to change the conversation about food in this country and to change how we individually and together think about our obligations to the animals we are eating,” said Goldsmith. “I believe that Jonathan’s book does just that. And the response to this book that we observed from people on all sides of this issue, even before it was published, is just so heartening to see. This conversation is really beginning to shift.” Good Shepherd Turkey Ranch

chickens, 500 ducks and 200 geese. He sells them through a local market and online through Heritage Foods USA (www.heritagefoodsusa.com) and his own site (www.reeseturkeys.com). A new label for Reese’s poultry has been approved by the USDA, a complicated process. It includes the descriptive words Heritage and Standard Bred, and specifies that the chickens are not younger than 16 weeks old. A heritage chicken is a standard breed of chicken (as defined by the American Poultry Association)—such as the Buckeye, the Java or the Jersey Giant—which can reproduce naturally, grows slowly and can thrive outdoors. These birds were once raised by small-scale family farmers around the country and bred for hardiness, survivability and flavor. They are now in danger of extinction because of mass-market industrialization. What Can Be Done

“Everyone can help by making conscientious choices every time they sit down to eat, and certainly by learning more at farmforward .com or by reading Jonathan Safran Foer’s new book,” Goldsmith concluded. “Retailers specifically can reach out to organizations like Farm Forward to begin a discussion on the kinds of practices they should be favoring for various types of animal agriculture, and then take a look at their own policies of what they can do to encourage their producers to strive to incorporate the newest and most humane and sustainable practices available to them. “There are a great number of small changes that make a large difference, and often it takes the retailers reaching out to their own suppliers to demand these changes before anything is done. So it’s very important that retailers begin to understand the amount of power and responsibility they have in determining the way the product they sell is produced, and maintain relationships to the extent possible with individual farmers to ensure that the farmers are upholding these standards that their customers would expect. They can also support progressive farmers like Frank Reese by supplying his product and by educating customers on the difference between a Good Shepherd Turkey Ranch heritage turkey and the other turkeys available in the supermarket.”

Some very important work is also being done by Farm Forward board member Frank Reese, who runs the Good Shepherd Turkey Ranch in Lindsborg, Kansas. “Frank Reese maintains what are now the last viable flocks of true standard-bred heritage turkeys and chickens in the United States,” Goldsmith continued. “They are one of the last diverse and viable flocks in the world. Frank is committed to protecting and preserving poultry species that are capable of, among other things, natural reproduction. They lead long, productive lives outdoors and are not given any antibiotics. For a large percentage of their lives they’re free to come and go, and they have immune systems that have been lost in industry poultry for decades.” This year Reese plans to breed 15,000 To get further information on what’s being standard-bred turkeys, 40,000 standard-bred done, visit www.farmforward.com.

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