Don’t Fall for the Organic Food Fairy
One of the best things about my move to the Hill Country of Texas last year is that I now know where the majority of my food comes from!
One of the biggest problems in our society today is the lack of connection with how food is grown or raised, and an understanding of what is real food versus something that can only be described as food-like substances.
I particularly look for regenerative farms that grow/raise food as God intended to maximize nutrients, ensure the food is free of toxins, and protect the soil over time. Here’s a guest post from one of my favorite farmers, Zachary Platt of Behind the Oaks Farm, who sent out this newsletter to his subscribers.
Why our meat doesn’t come with a “Guarantee Fairy”
By Zachary Platt
Every time someone asks me if our products are “organic,” my mind is instantly flooded with quotes from my favorite movie, Tommy Boy.
Let’s be honest: why put a fancy label on a box? Because they want you to feel “warm and toasty” about the decision you’re making. But how do you know the “Guarantee Fairy” isn’t a crazy glue-sniffer? “Builds model airplanes… next thing you know, money is missing off the dresser and your daughter’s knocked up. I’ve seen it a hundred times.”
I couldn’t resist—forgive me for the liberty I took there. 😉
The bottom line is I’m not interested in paying the government for a sticker that claims we are building community, mending the land, and nourishing people. I’d rather just do the work and know my neighbors.
Yet, this “Guarantee Fairy” scam is real and dangerously effective. You see an “Organic” label at the grocery store—whether it’s H-E-B Organics or the “curated” Central Market Organics—and you feel safe. But you’re being sold a ghost. The “Organic” label has been captured by the same industrial giants that own the conventional factory farms. They don’t change their methods; they simply change their accounting.
Take a look at the “trusted” brands you’re likely pulling off the shelf at your local store:
Applegate: Owned by Hormel Foods.
Annie’s & LARAbar: Owned by General Mills.
Smart Chicken: Owned by Tyson.
H-E-B & Central Market Organics: Simply private labels for massive, industrial-scale commodity aggregators with zero ranch-level transparency.
Wild Fork Foods: Owned by industrial foods giant JBS [Emma: I added this one as was horrified recently to find this out!]
These corporations don’t prioritize soil health. They prioritize “organic compliance”, a legal loophole that allows them to charge you a massive premium for an industrial product that is often indistinguishable from the conventional stuff in the next aisle over. These labels are just administrative paper-pushing to justify a higher price tag.
I don’t pay the Guarantee Fairy, and I don’t hire a team of lawyers to navigate USDA loopholes.
We focus on:
Adaptive Rotational Grazing: Mimicking nature to build topsoil.
Water Conservation: Keeping every drop of rain in the ground.
Biodiversity: Ensuring the land is healthier today than it was yesterday.
If you want to know if your food is actually better, stop looking for a government stamp. Start asking questions:
“Can you name the specific rancher who raised this animal?”
“Do you measure soil organic matter and water infiltration rates?”
“Can I see how the land is managed and the animals are cared for?”
I’m building a food system based on trust and results, not corporate marketing. If you’re tired of the “Guarantee Fairy” and want the real thing, join me. If you’re ever looking for other producers who are doing this the right way, ask me—I’m happy to point you to other farmers and ranchers in our community who are doing the real work.
Please feel free to forward this to anyone who is tired of paying a premium for an expensive sticker on a box.
Eat real food. Support real stewards in your local community.
If you’re in the area I’d encourage you to visit Behind the Oaks Farm on one of their regular Farm Tour days where you can pick up a bag of home made compost to help your own soil and see how growing/raising real food heals the land and us humans.
You can also meet Zach and many other wonderful farmers at the New Braunfels Farmers Market every Saturday morning.
Wherever you live there is likely to be a farmers market in driving distance. Check out LocalHarvest.org to search by location.
If you have to buy some items from a grocery store then an organic label is better than none. Just don’t get into a false sense of security unless you have done your research to know where and how that food was grown.
