Is Your Food REALLY Organic??

I recently purchased a bag of organic brown sugar at a local market. Then, for some reason, I happened to look real close at the product's label. Sure, it was certified organic by all the "right" organizations. However, below that, was printed "Product of Paraguay." This lead me to look a bit further into the product's distributor--Woodstock Farms. At first glance Woodstock Farms appeared to be a kind, responsible company supporting local farmers and only supplying consumers with the highest quality organic goods. On further investigation, I found that this was false advertising at its finest.

Unfortunately, health food chains like Whole Foods and many others appear to just sell "names" with warm fuzzy images to make us believe our purchases are so humane and good for the planet, but the real scoop is that these products get around most real certification and labeling laws because there are so many loopholes. Therefore, the advertising and packaging labels can be very misleading and we, as consumers, have a right to know what we are really spending our money on...

As the Slow Food movement grows, many people are becoming aware of the increasing alienation we Americans have from our food sources. Even ostensibly organic food is more and more a product of the industrial complex so much so that what we think of as organic is reduced to a mere shadow of its former ideal.

Woodstock Farms Baby French Beans. Organic even. Cool, huh?
What's even cooler is this:

A little food philosophy for you: it reads "Picked at the height of ripeness, bringing them straight to market and shortening the distance from the farm to you". I love this idea of shortening the distance between where the food is grown and my house. It makes me feel like there are still farmers out there who might be working the land their parents did. Like this Woodstock Farms. That we could also buy a bag of this from the market is very appealing come February, eh? But wait! Look at the back of the bag:

See all that warm and fuzzy organic certification? Everyone who hands out these little honour badges seems to have jumped at the chance to slap their seal of approval on these baby green beans. Makes you feel kind of superior, doesn't it?
But then you see this . . .

Product of China? Huh? Whatever happened to all that talk about "shortening the distance"? You mean, it's just marketing? You mean it's a lie? Right there on the package? I guess that concept of "distance" is some kind of metaphor. One that stands for something other than mega-gallons of petroleum and half and earth's worth of highway and ocean miles.

I attempted to contact Woodstock Farms on several occasions. As one might think, I was never given a direct answer. Basically, when asked where their products come from and what local farmers they were really supporting, here is the reply that I received.

"Dear Lisa,

Unfortunately we are unable to provide the exact location of the farms or their names as it is our policy to keep our suppliers confidential. However I am more than happy to provide any details about our certification process for you.

In regards to your questions about our products that are grown outside the U.S., we employ only the highest quality growers overseas. At Woodstock Farms we source product form local farms whenever possible. Our dedication to organic and natural farming, as well as our implementation of environmentally responsible business practices are examples of our dedication to Earth Friendly and sustainable business practices. Woodstock Farms is aware of its impact on our environment and we are working everyday to lessen that impact.

We do source product overseas due to varying factors including product availability, supply and demand, growing seasons and quality. With the growing demand for organic and natural products coupled with the fact that it takes three years for a farm to become certified organic, there is just not enough supply to meet the demand in many cases and in other cases the product is simply unavailable in the U.S."


So unless you are buying from the local farmer's market or supporting a CSA, do you really know where your food comes from, and who is watching out for you?? It certainly isn't the distributors, package labels or even the government.
So, it is really up to you! Read the fine print, read the labels--and even then it may not be the truth you are seeking.