This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Clif Bar & Company for IZEA. All opinions are 100% mine.
Have you visited an organic farm? Do you buy organic foods?
I feel like I might engage myself a little more than the average person with regards to food. I’m all about the food. You probably are too. I mean, who else reads food blogs and nutrition journals for fun? I’m comforted knowing that I take an active role in understanding what I’m eating.
Yet, it wasn’t until I watched this video from Clif Bar & Company titled Farmers Speak – Giving Voice to Organic Oats, that it really made me think about organic farming.
I buy essentially all my produce organic, but I’ve also read skeptical books with regards to how much better it really is versus conventional farming. Check out New Yorker staff writer Michael Specter’s book Denialism: How Irrational Thinking Hinders Scientific Progress, Harms the Planet, and Threatens Our Lives.
I am a very skeptical person by nature and I’d much rather play myself against my inner devil’s advocate than blindly follow the masses. Good grief, I mean I’m vegan for heaven’s sake! Swimming against the current pretty strongly on that one.
The information is out there. Sometimes it’s hard to find, but usually the hardest part is just looking. Take the monestrous and cruel conditions perpetrated against farm animals for example. Not to mention the heart-wrenching destruction of our planet due to said farming practices. I know many truly good people who tell me that they know about all this…but they choose not to open their eyes because they don’t want to face the truth.
“People wrap themselves in their beliefs. And they do it in such a way that you can’t set them free. Not even the truth will set them free. ”
When I watched this video about a Canadian oat farmer, Brian Krumm, discussing how when he was a kid on the family farm, his dad used conventional chemicals like grasshopper poison and all the songbirds left. They lost their songbirds for over 10 years. When the farm turned organic, they slowly started coming back. Now they have “lots of bugs and all the good things in life.” And his beautiful song birds are back.
“There seems to be a huge push for people to eat healthier, and I’ve noticed oats are starting to take the spotlight. That makes me quite proud. ”
His old barn that used to house cattle under previous generations is now home to an old barn owl. I’m down with that. Cattle farm turned organic oat farm is a win in my book and it made me literally smile. Hey, those Subaru commercials make me tear-up too…have you seen those? My god, talk about a bleeding heart over here.
Anyways, this is a great video that really puts a face on organic farming. It seems like such an abstract thing. Sometimes it can be difficult to really see the positives, in an everyday sense. Like Brian says, “I’m not saying it’s for everybody, but it’s sure worked well for us. Yeah, I’d never go back to the conventional way of farming, ever.”
It really made me think about buying more organic products, outside of my organic produce CSA box. Packaged products, like bread, vegan butter, etc. Or better yet, make your own bread. I’m working on a new, everyday bread recipe so stay tuned for that! I’m very excited. Using organic flour, nonetheless!
Clif Bar & Company uses all organic oats in their bars. And the best part is that the vast majority of all their products are 100% vegan. Everything is on the table, excluding:
CLIF® Builders’ MAX Bars (the regular Builder's Bars are all okay)
- CLIF SHOT® Protein Recovery Drink Mixes
- Luna Protein Bars (all others are okay, just not the protein ones)
- MOJO Sweet & Salty Honey Roasted Peanut and Chocolate Peanut flavor does contain honey, but no other animal derived ingredients.
That is awesome! For a complete allergen table, check it out here. Who knows, maybe we can persuade them to use more soy protein instead of whey in their MAX line?
Todd and I buy CLIF® & Luna® Bars for traveling and our outdoor, Alaskan adventures. It can be hard to find quality, vegan food items that are perfect for backpacking (or traveling out of Alaska, where we literally have to fly across another country the size of the U.S....to get to the U.S…it’s Canada.) It’s super easy to remember the short list of exceptions to their wondrous vegan array.
So, let’s hear it. Do you buy all organic, some, or none? I fall into the some (most) category, but I might try to increase that a bit now.
For more information regarding Clif Bar & Company, take a look at these links below:
Thank you for supporting the companies that help support Produce On Parade!
