The minute details of really natural farm food

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May 17, 2019

Miller’s Biodiversity Farm goes deep.

The farmer doesn’t simply trust a product label or offer short answers to his customers. He finds fellow farmers and companies he trusts and provides accurate and transparent information about his products.

Every detail counts.

Sure, the farmer feeds his animals a natural diet and makes sure they live an active lifestyle. No, he doesn’t give vaccines or routine antibiotics. No, he doesn’t use chemical pesticides, herbicides, or fertilizers. No, he does not feed or sell GMO crops.

But those farming practices are the broad strokes. He goes deeper.

For example, you may have read last week’s news about the routine use of chlorine for washing chicken, even certified organic chicken. We disclosed the alternative sanitizer that our processor will use - Chixcide. Chixcide is lactic and citric acids made by fermenting corn and cassava.

A few customers reached out to see if the corn is GMO-free. Great q uestion! We followed up with the Chixcide producer and found out that the corn is in fact GMO free. They even gave us the certificate to prove it.

We also learned that all of Birko’s products are approved for use on certified organic food. This is a company who is headed in the right direction.

This is all great, but... if you’re reading this email, then you probably know that GMO-free does not mean that synthetic herbicides and pesticides (like glyphosate) are not used.

You probably also know that the “certified organic” label is not all it’s cracked up to be.

So the research continues. We are working with Birko to find out the source of the corn and find out definitively if glyphosate (or other chemicals) would be present in the chicken washing solution.

Every minute detail counts. Anything that would touch your food - the soap for cleaning equipment, the iodine for cleaning teats, the solutions used at the processor - affect food quality.

It’s not only about how the food is raised but also about how it’s processed.

Our farmer wants to keep his food as natural and nutrient-dense as possible. So he does his research. And, as a consumer, I hope you do, too.

Opinion

Farming Practices

Ugh greenwashed labels. What does it take to get ___ on a label anyway?

Not a fan of the confusing, greenwashed labels in store? Yea, me too! And it's especially real for me, because I'm responsible for getting our labels approved with the "powers that be". Here's a little story with a big inside scoop... I made new labels for our bone broth a little while ago. It didn't go as smoothly as planned. Why? I put the little icons about our farming practices on them. They look like this: Yup, despite being 100% accurate and true, they were denied!! We're not allowed to put those statements on our food labels. So, I asked the USDA guy, "What would it take to get those claims on the labels, anyway?" The answer was kinda shocking. First off, there's some guidance on wording. Silly technicalities in my opinion. For example, you can't use the term "No Spray" but you can say "Produced without the use of synthetic pesticides." Or another example is that you can't say "No Routine Antibiotics or Vaccines" but you can say "Raised without routine use of antibiotics or vaccines." Second, the processor needs to update their documents to provide traceability. In other words, they need to document how they make sure the bones for our bone broth don't get mixed up with bones from other farms. I mean, this is pretty simple, especially with small batch foods like ours. But the documentation needs to be meticulous. Drafting it in government-approved language can be time consuming and/or costly. And lastly, once you get the wording and process right, you need proof. This was the real shocker for me: Want to know what proof would suffice for all the claims above? A 2-3 sentence affidavit (AKA a super short letter) signed by all farmers that supply us. That's it!? This lead me to a bunch of questions: What if a company submits a letter from one farmer but actually has other farmers that supply them, too? What if a company changes farmers? Will they submit new letters?What if a company's farmers change their practices in the future? Will they immediately update their labels?Are the "powers that be" checking on this? Is anyone checking on this?Is this why most farms and food facilities don't allow outside people coming in? It seems to me that, if a business isn't doing what the label says, the only way to find out is via a whistleblower. And the only way to make them stop is to take them to court. You know, like what's happening with Vital Farms and their pasture raised egg claim right now. It seems to me that, all that good natural stuff on labels - grass fed, pasture raised, antibiotic free, etc - doesn't mean it's true. Certifications are a little better, but the same kinda thing can be said about those, too. This is why, at Miller's, we choose to NOT sell in stores. No wholesale for us. In fact, we don't even have an on farm store. We only sell directly to our customers via our website. And, we choose to only get certified for what's required. This way, we can make our own natural standards. And, we can provide you will all the info and proof you need. Descriptions, photos, blog posts, test results, and more. So, what do you think? Should we do the affidavit thing to get claims on our bone broth labels? What proof do you need to feel confident in your food choices? I'd love to hear from you. Comment below (no account required - just start typing) or contact us 😊

Should I choose animal rennet or vegetable rennet in my natural cheese?

Let’s take a look at what rennet is and why it’s used in cheesemaking, compare the different types of animal and vegetable rennets, check out the labeling requirements for rennet, and consider the potential health consequences. Keeping all this in mind, Miller’s Bio Farm aims to produce the most nutrient-dense, natural, A2/A2 cheese we can and gives you all the info you need to make the choice that’s best for your body!

Is yolk color is no longer a great indicator of the egg's nutrition?

It used to be true that, if your egg yolks were darker in color, then the better the egg's nutrition. Conscious consumers of the past would look for that deep orange yolk and stray away from lighter yellow yolks. It's sad, but this simply isn't the case anymore. Here's why you can't trust cheap store-bought eggs with orange yolks and need to know your farmer instead.

The minute details of really natural farm food

More from the blog

Ugh greenwashed labels. What does it take to get ___ on a label anyway?

Should I choose animal rennet or vegetable rennet in my natural cheese?

Is yolk color is no longer a great indicator of the egg's nutrition?

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Miller's Bio Farm, 523 Valley Road, Quarryville, PA 17566