Getting food from the Amish is better, right?

When I tell people that I work for an Amish farmer, they sometimes respond, “They make the best food!” Then, they usually go on to tell a story of how they ate an amazing whoopie pie from an Amish market, how they visited Lancaster County and ate at a yummy restaurant, or how they only order food from Amish farmers.

There seems to be a mentality that, since the Amish are more connected to nature, they would automatically make food that’s more natural and better for you. However, that’s simply not the case. Let me explain.

The Amish are bound together in tight knit communities. They are unified by their religion, their refusal of vanity, and their lack of technology use. 

Beyond that, they are regular people susceptible to the same personality flaws like every other American is. Yes, you can have a lazy or arrogant or forgetful or selfish Amish person. And, just like you “English” folks reading this email on a screen, they have their own passions and choose their own careers. 

Buying food from the Amish does not make it automatically better.

Someone told the farmer a rumor that, because the Amish do not use the Internet, they can be quite susceptible to salespeople. They don’t use a quick and easy Google search to fact check and access the latest research.

A salesman could come to a farm and promise better yield by using x, y, and z. And, the struggling Amish farmer will simply believe it and say yes. Little do they know, they are signing on to using GMOs, pesticides, and so on.

Now, this could actually be said about any American farmer, whether they have access to Google or not. A lazy farmer is a lazy farmer. If a farmer a fastidious, Amish or not, they will not fall prey to this type of sales pitch. They will utilize all of informational resources available to them, online or not.

So again, it’s not about being Amish. Being Amish does not make you uneducated and without resources.

However, farmers falling prey to salespeople is a serious issue. The ill effects of these coaxed decisions may not be known for generations.

For example, our farmer Aaron’s father is a conventional dairy farmer. He raises his cows on conventional grain feed and gives conventionally recommended hormones and antibiotics and his cows are conventionally inactive. 

He was sold on making a good living this way. And, in turn, this is the way Aaron was taught to farm by his family.

However, from a young age, our farmer saw problems with the conventional method of farming. Aaron knew he wanted to do things differently. Luckily, he had a more naturally-minded neighbor who was happy to share his knowledge. And this is what sparked Aaron’s will to start Miller’s Biodiversity Farm.

Our farmer is an excellent farmer. But, it really has little to do with being Amish. It’s because he is outstanding in his field.

He is a regenerative grass farmer who raises animals humanely. He feeds them a natural diet and lets them live an active lifestyle. He aims to produce the most nutrient dense foods possible while improving the environment. He’s not afraid to call for expert advice or do some research. He is a resourceful go getter. He strives to be the best farmer he can.

So this is just another reason that, if you want high quality food and transparency, you need an excellent farmer. You need to know your farmer. Ask questions, get detailed answers, and make sure your farmer is doing what they say. Our health, our climate, and the next generation depends on it.