Farming that nurtures people, the land, and communities already exists…
And yet it is not supported by our food system.
A grassroots movement is emerging to foster a regional, organic agriculture based on healthy soils and well-managed pastures.
Together, we are the Real Organic Project. JAVIER ZAMORA (FRONT), REAL ORGANIC CERTIFIED JSM ORGANICS, CALIFORNIA
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TRANSFORMING THE FOOD SYSTEM
Dear Friends,
I have slowly come to accept that perhaps I am no longer a “new” farmer or a “young” farmer. At 45, I am entering the realm of midlife and have now been farming for 13 years. Through my own journey, I understand that there are three major obstacles to the ultimate success of what has come to be known as “the small farm revolution” of which I am a part. In chronological order in the life of a farmer, these barriers include: long-term access to land, mastering the art of production, and finally successfully marketing all that we produce. Our farm was able to overcome the first two obstacles due to overwhelming generosity within the organic community - stories for another day. But, as our farm matures, I am becoming more and more aware of the great mountain in front of us when it comes to marketing. While it is a beautiful thing when a local organic farmer connects directly with an eater, the food system primarily operates outside of the context of those special relationships. Already my small farm has outgrown the limits of direct marketing in our town of 60,000 and the major grocery stores do not want to put in the extra effort to work with a farm that is not on their distributors' list. Limited access to wholesale accounts not only limits the growth of small farms but also prevents new farmers from successfully transitioning to organic. I believe the “small farm revolution” desperately needs the following to reach its full potential: enforcement of the principles enshrined in the organic food production act (so we can distinguish our superior practices in the marketplace), greater transparency throughout the food system, an end to the vast support that USDA provides for chemical commodity agriculture (so we can compete on even ground), and finally, enforcement of antitrust to provide small to midscale farms with access to shelf space. These are no small tasks! We have learned after decades of political work, that these changes won’t come quickly. While we continue to work for political reform, we cannot afford to wait for it. The farmers and eaters of the Real Organic Project have taken matters into our own hands. We are working to create marketplace opportunities so our movement can grow, in spite of so many forces against us. Together we can transform the food system, one farm, and one eater, at a time.
Yours in the dirt,
www.realorganicproject.org linley@realorganicproject.org / 970 317 0309
INVIGORATING A MOVEMENT
Dear America,
The Real Organic Project is our attempt to answer some questions: Can we still choose to farm and eat differently? Is it possible to grow a movement that stands on a firm foundation of biological farming? Can our farming start and end with the life in our soils?
Can organic farming survive success in the marketplace?
These are honest questions. The success or failure of the Real Organic Project will provide some answers.
This week I talked with an activist organic farmer in Australia. They are creating their own national organic standard, and there is a battle over the certification of hydroponics. Because of us. Because of America. Their fight is entirely due to our corporate redefinition of organic in America. Just as every farm is part of a larger regional system, which is part of a larger national system, so is America part of a world food system. What happens in one part affects all the other parts. When the EU says no to hydroponics in organic, it affects our movement in America. When America says soil really isn’t that important to organic, it affects every country in the world.
If America says that animals in an organic system can be confined in large numbers for greater profit, that doesn’t expand the organic tent. That tears the tent down. That redefines organic.
We reject that redefinition. The old definition is still good. We just need to keep making that definition into a living reality. There is more to learn. Real Organic will always keep learning. But Real Organic works. It solves our problems. It feeds us. It nourishes us. It heals our planet.
We are not arsonists. We are firefighters. It is not our goal to destroy anything. It is our goal to build an alternative to something that is terribly broken. Please join us. Without you, we cannot succeed.
With you, we cannot be stopped.
Dave Chapman
www.realorganicproject.org dave@realorganicproject.org / 802 299 7737
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OUR WORK. OUR MISSION. The Real Organic Project is a farmer-led, national nonprofit that was established in 2018 as a response to decisions made by the National Organic Program weakening the integrity of the USDA Organic label. We exhausted all the established bureaucratic avenues for reform. And still, the label that farmers helped create and grow is undermined by a lack of enforcement, corporate lobbying to change standards for the worse, and reduced transparency. We are a group of organic farmers and eaters from around the country who came together to strengthen the organic movement and the standards that support us.
JAKE MENDELL (LEFT) AND FARM CREW, REAL ORGANIC CERTIFIED FOOTPRINT FARM, VERMONT
ARE YOU GETTING REAL ORGANIC FOOD?
Organic customers think they are buying food produced with
healthy soils and vibrant pastures, but the USDA has changed that:
DID YOU KNOW: IN 2017 INDUSTRY LOBBYISTS STATED THAT HYDROPONIC PRODUCTION CERTIFIED AS ORGANIC EXCEEDED $1 BILLION, & OVER HALF OF THE CERTIFIED ORGANIC DAIRY AND POULTRY COMES FROM LARGE-SCALE CONFINEMENT OPERATIONS. Industrial hydroponic and confinement operations are now dominating the industry.
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Meanwhile, fewer organic farmers can compete and land gets pushed out of organic production.
CAITLIN FRAME, REAL ORGANIC CERTIFIED THE MILKHOUSE FARM & CREAMERY, MAINE
Real Organic livestock lives on healthy pastures.
In this time of concern about the erosion of integrity in the USDA, Real Organic remains exactly what organic was always intended to be.
JOSEPH JESSUP, GENERAL MANAGER REAL ORGANIC CERTIFIED BETTER WAY FARMS, MICHIGAN
Real Organic produce is grown in healthy soils.
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A GROWING MOVEMENT
65
2018
156
2019
478
2020
1,000 REAL ORGANIC FARMS IN 2022 1,100* * WILL VARY PENDING FINAL CERTIFICATION APPROVAL 1,250
804
2021
2022
0
250
500
750
MAP & FARM DIRECTORY AT REALORGANICPROJECT.ORG/ROP-CERTIFIED-FARMS
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I joined the Real Organic Project because I believe that all organic agriculture, at its heart, is the stewardship of healthy, living soil. Real Organic farmers serve as the linchpins that revitalize communities, conserve land and culture, and reverse climate change. Responsible farmers act as nurturers, and I could no longer stand by and watch the hijacking of organic integrity by those who seek to exploit people and the planet.
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JESSICA ROBERTS ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF CERTIFICATION
JESSICA ROBERTS ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF CERTIFICATION
Our 2022 Certification Team: Top Left to Right - Erica Coady, Abby Lundrigan, Ariel Pressman (Director of Certification), Chris Corrigan. Bottom Left to Right - Lauren Boling & Jessica Roberts.
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BOB FENTON, CO-OWNER REAL ORGANIC CERTIFIED SHADOWOOD FARM, FLORIDA (WITH LAURIE SCOTT, FARM MANAGER, AMIDST SUMMER COVER CROP) What a treat to have a lengthy conversation with a young person who is completely engaged in the REAL food movement. " Organic inspections are typically stressful, but yesterday our Real Organic Project inspector Chris made it feel more like a wonderful exchange of information.
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In the end, organic agriculture is really just good farming. It treats natural soil life, insects, animals, people, air, water and earth with integrity. Our support of the Real Organic Project is not a radical move - it is simply a clear statement for the preservation of integrity in organic.
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ARRAN STEPHENS NATURE'S PATH ORGANIC
REAL ORGANIC EXECUTIVE BOARD MEMBER & CERTIFIED FARMER, PAUL MULLER OF FULL BELLY FARM, CALIFORNIA
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OVER 1,000 ATTENDEES JOINED US IN 2022!
REALORGANICSYMPOSIUM.ORG
10am-5pm JAN 17
PRE-CONFERENCE SESSION
"REAL ORGANIC: STORIES FROM THE FRONT LINES" 12 TED-Style Talks By:
IN-PERSON & LIVE STREAMING OPTIONS RECORDINGS FOR ALL TICKET HOLDERS ARE AVAILABLE
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REALORGANICSYMPOSIUM.ORG/ECOFARM
WE ARE THE ORGANIC MOVEMENT
Our weekly letters include in-depth stories about the people and issues facing the organic movement. Engaged readers include thousands of farmers, journalists, scientists, & movers and shakers like you who forward the letters to their community and take action. 10,000+ SUBSCRIBERS A REAL FRIENDS & FARMER GATHERING AT JACOBS FARM IN CALIFORNIA
Ecological Healing Means Putting Land Back Into Indigenous Hands with Leah Penniman Geeking Out On Soil Biology with Kris Nichols POPULAR EPISODES Antitrust + Democracy At Your Dinner Table with Michael Pollan Real Organic vs. Chemical Farming with Eliot Coleman
Just discovered this podcast and can’t stop listening to it! Thank you, thank you, thank you! ITUNES LISTENER @CAROLINEINSUZU 90+ EPISODES 200,000 VIEWS "
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OUR FRIEND
BE
Our work is made possible by our sustaining donors, our Real Friends. Together we can change the world.
THANK YOU TO THE AUTHORS WHO SPEAK AT OUR BOOK CLUB:
"
THANK YOU!! I'm late for work now because something told me to 'just watch it!' I hadn't taken the time very often to do just that, but you can bet I will be stopping by your fence post for the conversation from now on!! I really appreciate what you ALL are doing. And I appreciate the generous way you are spreading the word by educating us and helping us to learn, not just telling us what we need to know. There IS a difference. " SHANNON, A REAL FRIEND
March 2022: Eliot Coleman May 2022: Paul Hawken June 2022: Anne Bikle June 2022: David Montgomery September 2022: Bob Quinn October 2022: Dan Barber November 2022: Liz Carlisle December 2022: Mark Schatzker January 2023: Allan Savory February 2023: Fred Provenza Subscribe to our newsletter to hear about future guests
2022 FINANCIALS Our grassroots movement focuses on using resources as efficiently as possible. The majority of funds raised are used for our farm certification program & educational outreach efforts (podcasts, symposia, conferences, social media, weekly letters).
FY2022 PROJECTED INCOME
FY2022 PROJECTED EXPENSES
Administrative 4.5%
Development 7.6%
Individuals 18.9%
Educational Programs 19.2%
2022 INCOME $1,100,176
2022 EXPENSES $966,622
Foundations/Grants 54.3%
Corporations 26.7%
Certification Program 68.7%
DID YOU KNOW: OUR PROGRAM & BENEFITS ARE COMPLETELY FREE TO FARMERS? WE BELIEVE CERTIFICATION FEES SHOULD NOT RIDE ON THE BACKS OF FARMERS. IT COSTS US AN AVERAGE OF $1000 TO CERTIFY ONE NEW REAL ORGANIC FARM AND $500 EACH YEAR TO MAINTAIN AND SUPPORT THAT FARM.
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The Real Organic label is making its way to a store near you!
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2022 VIRTUAL SYMPOSIUM ATTENDEE " I am very excited to see your label in the stores! I am 100% on board with all that you are fighting for. When I have to purchase from stores, and I see organic items certified by agencies not known for their integrity, it’s a real quandary whether to purchase the item or not. I need to see your seal!
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The organic system is not about having multiple off-farm inputs. The ideal organic system is a closed circle, where everything serves a purpose. Everything has a benefit. That is what we are really trying to promote, and that is why we are excited to be part of the Real Organic Project.
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CAMERON MOLBERG - REAL ORGANIC CERTIFIED GREENER PASTURES CHICKEN, TEXAS
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WHAT CAN YOU DO?
READ OUR WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
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"
JOIN OUR REAL FRIENDS PROGRAM
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JUST ASK YOUR GROCERY STORE FOR REAL ORGANIC PRODUCTS
INFORM FARMERS ABOUT REAL ORGANIC PROJECT'S FREE CERTIFICATION
LISTEN TO OUR REAL ORGANIC PODCAST
ATTEND ANNUAL SYMPOSIUM
BECOME A SUSTAINING DONOR
VISIT REALORGANICPROJECT.ORG
REAL ORGANIC CERTIFIED RISING SUN FARM, WISCONSIN
WHO WE ARE
Paul Muller Anais Beddard Francis Thicke, PhD Dave Chapman Lynn Ellen Schimoler Executive Board
Francis Thicke, PhD Will Brinton, PhD Cameron Molberg Harriet Behar Linley Dixon, PhD Michael Sligh Kate Duesterberg Doug Crabtree Jim Durst Jennifer Taylor, PhD Michael Besconson Anne Lazor Standards Board
Advisory Board Paul Hawken Jeff Moyer Barbara Damrosch
Eliot Coleman Dan Barber Alice Waters Joan Dye Gussow, PhD Leah Penniman Vandana Shiva, PhD Onika Abraham Eric Sideman, PhD Alan Lewis
David Montgomery, PhD Anne Biklé Will Allen Ed Maltby Nicole Dehne Dave Mortenson, PhD Liz Henderson Stuart Hill, PhD Mary Ellen Chadd Fred Kirschenmann, PhD Steve Ela Kris Nichols, PhD
Marian Blom Davey Miskell
Jesse Buie Lisa Stokke Zoë Ida Bradbury Will Raap Maddie Kempner Walter Jehne Dan Kittredge Lisa Bunin
Jim Gerritsen Emily Oakley JM Fortier Pete Johnson
Jay Feldman Chris Grigsby Dave Chapman
Real Organic Project 82 Wilson Road East Thetford, VT 05043
FRONT COVER: SAVANNAH FLYNN, REAL ORGANIC CERTIFIED FLYNN FARMS, WASHINGTON
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