196. Who Owns the Organic Label? We All Do!

Join Mark Kastel, nationally prominent industry watchdog with OrganicEye, with thoughts on what we can do to protect the organic farming movement. OrganicEye is an organic farming watchdog organization located in Lafarge, Washington. The organic movement started as a call to bring our food system back to focusing on healing communities and soil through regenerative growing practices. It was built on a collaborative relationship between family-scale farmers and shoppers willing to pay for food produced based on superior environmental stewardship, humane animal husbandry, and economic justice for the people who produce our food. OrganicEye’s mission is ensuring these values and commitments are not compromised in the modern food system.  Mark lives on a 160-acre organically managed farm in the rugged hills of southwestern Wisconsin, near the tiny burg of Rockton, where, as executive director of OrganicEye, he continues to advocate for economic justice for family farmers and to preserve the foundational precepts of organic farming.  Tune in to hear all about how Mark and his organization make an impact on organic farming today! You’ll hear: How Mark got interested in agriculture 1:34 Mark’s first introduction to organics 4:18 Why we need a watchdog when working with organics 11:39 Mark’s view on the overarching principles of organic 29:25 How we can get people to switch their focus back from healthcare to healthy food 35:52 The challenges and problems with faux milks 51:31 How Mark advises families to differentiate authentic organics from "factory farm", corporate agribusinesses organic 55:25 What Mark has to say about buying from a grocery store versus a local farmer 59:45 Mark’s favorite farming tool 1.07:25 About the Guest: Mark Kastel is Executive Director of OrganicEye, a prominent organic industry watchdog. Making the paradigm shift to organic agriculture after beginning his career with International Harvester, JI Case, and the FMC Corporation, he’s been a certified organic farmer, a consultant to farmer co-ops, a lobbyist with the Farmers Union, and, since founding The Cornucopia Institute almost 20 years ago and then OrganicEye in 2019, has been recognized as the country’s preeminent corporate and governmental watchdog in organics. After OrganicEye relocated from Washington DC earlier this year, he once again maintains an office on his 160-acre farm near La Farge, Wisconsin. Resources: Website: https://organiceye.org/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/organiceye.org  The Thriving Farmer Podcast Team would like to thank our amazing sponsor! At AgriGro, we know that in today’s modern agriculture, our efforts can deplete life or add life. When you look for ways to add life, it’s sustainable and makes everything work better. The result is enhanced plant and soil health for crops, gardens, and turf, as well as improved animal health and environment for livestock and wildlife. Our products are all-natural, easy to use, and friendly to the soil, the plant, as well as the grower. AgriGro’s® formulations deliver essential plant nutrition along with an advanced prebiotic concentrate, which significantly increases the multitude of beneficial native microbial species already residing in the production environment. Through these environmentally sound technologies, we’re adding life to crop production, livestock, home, turf, and wildlife markets. You don’t have to be dependent on crop production efforts that deplete life… Just Add Life with AgriGro®.