WE FARM THE WAY "ORGANIC" USED TO MEAN

Four Season Farm in Harborside, Maine has been farmed organically since its inception in 1968. However, we are not “USDA Certified Organic” – I repeat – NOT.

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And for good reason. The USDA refuses to uphold the honest, old-time, carefully stewarded farming practices that organic has always represented. The USDA National Organic Program has been totally corrupted by the money, power, and influence of industrial food corporations. USDA certification is a hollow sham. For example:

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Hydroponic vegetables, grown without soil using artificial lighting and nutrient solutions from the chemistry lab, are sold everywhere as “USDA Certified Organic” with no mention of hydroponic anywhere on the label. (If the “organic” berries come from Driscols, they are hydroponic. If the “organic” tomatoes and cucumbers come from Wholsum Harvest or imported from Holland, Canada or Mexico, they are hydroponic.)

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Undesirable additives are allowed in your “organic” prepared foods. (A lawsuit to stop that was overruled with USDA collusion.) Enormous ‘Confined Animal Feeding Operations’ (CAFOs) with no access for the animals to outdoor pastures (as the regulations demand) are producing the majority of the “organic” milk and eggs in this country. (Most milk from Horizon and all from Aurora Dairy is produced in CAFOs. Eggs from Cal-Maine, Herbruck, or Petaluma/Organic Valley are from CAFOs.) The USDA turns a blind eye to this illegal production. The USDA recently scrapped new animal welfare standards for organic certification at the behest of these CAFOs.

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The deep integrity of the passionate, old-time, organic farmers who began this movement is now nothing but greenwash for the USDA “fauxganic” program.

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We believe our production practices reflect how organic farming has traditionally been done to produce clean, wholesome food and maintain a pristine environment.

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We proudly advertise our produce as: GUARANTEED “REALORGANIC”.

We invite other farmers to join us.

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“REALORGANIC” STANDARDS:

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First, for uncompromised nutritional value all crops must be grown in a biologically active fertile soil in full contact with the earth and nourished by the natural biological activities of that soil. Research into the marvelously complex soil micro-biome reveals the vital ecological processes that support natural, non-chemical food production.

Second, soil fertility should be maintained principally with farm-derived compost and mineral particles from ground rock. Why take the chance of bringing in polluted material from industrial sources when fertility can be created and maintained internally?

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Third, deep-rooting green manures, cover crops, and grazed pastures must be included within broadly based crop rotations to enhance soil fertility and biological diversity. The greater the variety of plants and animals on the farm, the more stable the system.

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Fourth, a “plant positive” rather than a “pest negative” philosophy is vital. The focus must be on correcting the cause of pest problems (weak plants) by creating optimum soil conditions to strengthen the plant, rather than merely treating the symptom (pest damage) by trying to kill the pests that are attracted to weak plants. More and more scientific evidence is available everyday on the mechanisms by which a biologically active fertile soil induces resistance to pests and diseases in the crops.

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Fifth, livestock must be raised outdoors on grass-based pasture systems to the fullest extent possible. Farm animals are an integral factor in the symbiosis of soil fertility on the organic farm.

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