The Surprising Reasons Why Left Foot Farm’s Goat Milk Is NOT Organic
“Organic” can be a loaded term that means different things for different products.
We may assume that spending more money on organic means we are making a healthier choice, and often it is. The “Organic” label gives consumers a way to quickly judge whether produce is generally healthy and safe.
However, it does not tell the whole story.
You can learn a lot from talking to the people producing the food you eat and what you learn will surprise you.
We met Riley of Left Foot Farm at the Sunday Ballard Farmers Market. He showed us that the “organic” label does not always tell the whole story. In this case, we learned the story about organic vs. non-organic goat milk.
I asked Riley, “Is your goat milk organic?”
“It is not…and let me tell you why.”
There are downsides to organic certification
With any certification, producers and farmers must meet certain regulations to be labelled “organic.” Standards are important for safety, marketability, and building public trust.
However, there are also downsides.
On organic farms, sick animals may not be treated and left to die because the organic standards forbid the use of medications like antibiotics even when necessary. The certification creates a moral dilemma — treat the animals as medically necessary or let the animal die and maintain certification standards.
This was news to us.
Riley reassured us that although they may use antibiotics when medically necessary, they will not milk these animals for a period of time to allow for the antibiotics to leave their systems. This minimizes the risk of producing and selling milk that contains antibiotics.
There is also the reality of increased financial cost. Organic feed costs about three times more than non-organic feed. The higher cost of organic feed would mean the cost of the product would be much higher for consumers.
What matters more than the “organic” label.
Riley shared his view of what it means to raise healthy animals. He has three priorities when thinking about this:
1) Local —Left Foot Farm milks the goats with minimal transportation. This is less stressful on the animals, which results in a higher quality product.
2) Open air — The animals should be allowed to spend time in the open air and not confined to tight quarters.
3) Organic — Animals should be raised as organically as possible taking into account the ethical concerns for animal well being and cost feasibility.
Our quick conversation with a local vendor taught us that the “organic” label is not the only way to assess safety or quality.
If you don’t know the people producing your food, it might be time to start getting to know them to understand what is really going on behind the scenes.
Learn more about Left Foot Farm and visit their booth at the Sunday Ballard Farmers Market.
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