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January 30, 2008

Generation Two

Last week my brothers and I attended the 28th annual Ecological Farming Conference. The interesting situation that we find ourselves in with our farm is that we are relatively young compared to others within the industry. The conference was started during the heat of the organic movement and the conference is one year older than I am. It is strange to realize that my brothers and I are, quite literally, results of the organic foods movement.

The fact that my brothers and I have been given a farm and a position in the organic industry is thought provoking. On one hand it is sad that my mother and father are no longer part of the industry. Most of the people involved in the beginning of the movement were friends with my parents and today the Ecological Farming Conference would have been a place where my parents could meet up with their friends. My brothers and I are undoubtedly the first of the second generation of the original movement and the original generation knows us as the four boys of Kathy and Martin.

On the other hand, my brothers and I have been given an amazing opportunity within our industry. We are the first of the second wave of the movement. When the people of the original movement were in their 20’s and 30’s they were toiling with the development and acceptance of “organic” food. My childhood memories serve as a reminder of how difficult this fight was. With the mission finally accomplished it is understandable that many of these individuals and farms have settled into the industry and have invested enough of their life towards changing a huge system.

Now comes the time when the next wave of change in the industry is needed. The term “organic” has evolved with corporate pressures to be nothing more than a field amendment based standard (it only defines what is and what is not put on a field). The issues of a farm’s scale of operation, the distribution practices, farm labor issues, ground water cleanliness, sustainability, flora, insect and plant biodiversity of a farm and the connection and education between a farm and the people who eat the food from that farm are all traits that remain undefined.

Our farm is not lobbying to make these the standards that the entire industry should adopt. However, we are fueling a new type of revolution through the direct relationships we are forming with customers like you and through our superior farming and management practices that we maintain. We know that these choices are better for our environment and society - not simply because we want to maintain a bureaucratic certification.

I believe that like my parents generation, my generation will make a huge change in this industry. But we will not be responsible for that change, just as my parent’s was not responsible for the original change. Consumers like you deserve the credit and without the demand from the general public for a better food system and better food, all of the efforts of my parent’s generation and now my generation, would be for nothing. –

Enjoy your produce -Thaddeus

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