MOM’s Organic Market’s ER Blog

What happened to the good old days when people respected the environment and put trash where it was supposed to go? Did those days ever really exist or is it that packaging, products and consumption has gotten out of control?

I recently moved from a quiet neighborhood in College Park Maryland, to a busy high traffic area of D.C. Everywhere you look there are people, cars, buildings and concrete. There are no unoccupied spaces.

More and more lately I’ve been walking through the neighborhood, past all the shops, cafes and apartment buildings and have been astounded by the amounts of trash littering the sidewalks, small garden plots and gutters. I try to rationalize it in my head, but there is no excuse. Where is it all coming from? Is it blowing out of the tops of dumpsters and garbage trucks? Is it being blown out the windows of cars? Do people just not care and throw it on the ground? I think it’s probably a combination of all these things, and probably more.

So, what do we do about it? To walk around with a garbage bag and help pick up the garbage would be a solution, but only short term. To post signs and provide more trash receptacles is a good way to reach people, but those efforts can only reach so far. I think that we all need to start calling eachother out when you see someone littering. Stopping someone on the street who you see litter and gently, yet firmly, say “I think you dropped something” or “Hey, there’s a trash can right there”, or something of the like, is important. I feel like it may open their eyes and realize that they are being held accountable for their actions and may make them think twice before doing it again. It’s all about raising awareness and speaking up.

In the past few months, I have built up the courage to politely speak to people when I see them littering.  Occasionally I’ll just get blown off, but most times I’ll see people rethink their actions and pick up their trash.  It’s heartening to see that a little communication might help make our neighborhoods a little more pleasant.

Last night I was preparing dinner and I had just purchased some fresh organic arugula. I was cleaning it in the kitchen sink and lo and behold, out of the bundle of greenery, walked a single ladybug. Those kinds of things are always special moments to me.

I took the insect and placed it in a spider plant on the counter next to our table. This morning during coffee, I watched her crawl out of the plant and begin to walk across the counter. I was able to point this out to my wife Sue so she could experience the beneficial insect too.

Such a simple treat. We should all take time to notice things like this more often.

This past November 3rd, The Clean Energy Partnership (CEP) and Austin Grill Silver Spring, provided the opportunity for business leaders to learn how to become more energy efficient in their day-to-day operations.

Filling the seats for these events can be a challenge - promises, promises. Breakfast, networking with “like-minded individuals,” and a chance to learn how to conserve energy at the business level. Is that enough to create standing room only?

Happily, I can report that we had 65 people from 35 diverse businesses in attendance. A detailed energy audit was discussed, resources were made available and the breakfast was great!

Now what? How can we entice business owners and decision makers to join hands with us in our efforts to conserve energy, save money and help the environment?

This is how I closed the meeting. I told the story about the old wise man. He is so wise that no matter what the topic and no what the question is, he is NEVER WRONG!

A young upstart, desperate to stump the old man, came up with a question that had the wise man using all of his skill. The young man came forward with his hands cupped together and stated that he had a small bird inside his hands. The question is, is it alive or is it dead?

The old wise man thought to himself. If I say that it is alive, the young man will crush the bird, kill it and I will be wrong. I have never been wrong so that answer is no good. If I tell him that the bird is dead, he will simply let it fly away and I will be wrong, and I’ve never been wrong so that answer does not work either.

After a few minutes, the old man was able to respond. He said, “I have an answer. The answer… is in your hands.”

In 1999 a friend of mine introduced me to a man named John. For 10 years previous to my meeting him, he had been traveling through the Amazon River Basin. John would purchase artifacts and interesting items like pottery and fabric, bring them back to the US to sell and finance his next trip.

On one occasion several years ago, he awoke in a grass hut, literally, deathly ill with malaria. He thought, “This is it, I’m going to die in this village.”

Luckily for him, he was in a small Shipibo village. The Shipibo tribe consists of around 35,000 people living in over three hundred villages in the Pucallpa region of Peru. The Shipibo people maintain a strong tribal identity and retain many of their ancient traditions and beliefs.

They began to nurse him back to health using traditional herbal teas and various indigenous plants to treat the malaria. In 10 days, John was on his feet and recovered enough to travel again.

John decided to learn more about the healing powers of these herbs and plants. His relationship with this village of 45 people blossomed and their combined efforts have resulted in the preservation of thousands of acres of land surrounding the village and a small sustainable business selling herbal remedies that support the tribe financially.

During one visit, John was inducted as an honorary member of the Shipibo people. At the ensuing celebration that evening, the members of the tribe wanted to know about the United States.

Imagine in your minds eye, this small group of people, in a remote area of the Amazon asking questions about Americans. “What do they hunt?” asked one person. “Well, some Americans hunt but not the way you might think,” said John. “What kind of fish do they catch?” asked another. “Um, they fish, but they don’t fish the way you do,” said John.

“Then what do they do?’ another person asked. “They work” John said. “But why,” was the next question. John thought for a second and replied, “They have bills to pay, credit cards, houses to pay for.”

At that point, the eldest member of the village stood up and asked, ”How can we help them?”

There is a moral here. These people do not look at what they do each day as work. It is just how they live. I have tried to feel the same way ever since I heard this story. I am living to create a better place for future generations. That is what ER is to me. It is not work, it’s just how I live. More people should adopt this attitude. That is how the Shipibo can help us!

Nathan Burkholder is a dairy farmer in Chambersburg, Pa., less than 100 miles from our stores. I had a chance to visit his farm recently because his cows are very important to MOM’s. When you reach into the dairy case to purchase MOM’s bottled milk products, you can rest assured that we really do know where that milk comes from; Nathan is one of our farmers.

During my visit I got a chance to see Nathan’s entire family farm operation. I saw the calves born this spring and a small herd of heifers fenced in just a short walk from the back door of his house. I was really impressed by the cleanliness of the milking parlor.

The best part of the visit was when I had a chance to walk the pasture with the actual milking herd of about 65 cows. I hopped the fence and there I was “up close and personal” with the large lactating bovines that are responsible for our MOM’s milk products.

Nathan has several Holsteins but the vast majority of his herd are Jerseys. This breed is known for being “quiet.” That means gentle, affable but also, quite curious. They certainly were not shy and actually seemed glad to see me as they slowly surrounded me out in the middle of the pasture. There is no more appealing dairy animal than the well-balanced Jersey. This was really a treat.

Nathan’s cows are typical in weight, in the 1,000 lb range. His Jerseys had a wide range in color. Their tongues are black and so is the switch of the tail. Their bodies are a fawn color with some broken patches of lighter fawn to black. Nathan names each one alphabetically in order of their birth that year, very much the same as they name hurricanes. My favorite was “Cream” born third, four years ago. She’s a beauty!

From the farm I traveled about 15 minutes down the road to the Trickling Springs Creamery where the milk is pasteurized and homogenized according to the USDA organic standards. It is bottled separately to insure that our milk is never mixed with any other.

Our MOM’s milk label boasts “Organic & Grass Fed.” The cows I met have access to pasture year round, weather permitting, and the pasture itself is certified organic, no pesticides and no synthetic chemical fertilizers. Nathan does not use growth hormones of any kind and the milk is produced without antibiotics. We believe that the health of these animals is reflected in the wholesome taste of our milk.

We respect Nathan Burkholder and his small family farm. We support his commitment to the health of his animals, and his efforts to restore and sustain the surrounding air, soil and water. You too can be a part of this connection to the farm whenever you purchase MOM’s milk.

For various reasons, these percentages have changed drastically and consumers must now rely on and trust their local grocer to provide the most healthful organic products at a reasonable price.

At MOM’s you can count on us. Our buyers have developed a protocol and perform due diligence on each product before we offer it for sale.

Whenever possible, we purchase locally to maintain our connection to the source. For instance, in the egg case at each store you will be able to find eggs from Jehovah-Jireh Farm located in Dickerson, MD.

I visited the farm at the end of August and had a chance to meet Cathy and Myron Horst and their 6 children, Joel, Nathan, Kara, Daniel, Luke, and Melody. In 2000, their family took on the 25-acre farm that had long been abandoned with the intent to recreate a farming operation that would replicate egg production from 100 years ago.

Myron is a smart farmer. His research has taught him that pastured poultry is the way to go. Myron has developed a day range system for his nearly 2,000 laying hens. It is by far, the healthiest way to raise a chicken. Here is how it works.

In separate paddocks throughout the farm, the chickens have “picnic areas” that provide food and housing for roughly 300-400 birds. These areas provide them with shelter, a constant supply of food and of course nesting boxes for them to lay their eggs each day.

After they lay their eggs and have their fill of grain, chickens love to exercise and interact with each other. They will travel hundreds of feet from the picnic areas in search of fresh grass and companionship. Chickens on pasture are gregarious, sometimes noisy and actually very amusing to watch. I have always made the observation that, “pastured birds are poultry in motion.”

Are the eggs really that different? You will find that pastured chickens produce eggs with a superior flavor and a rich dark yellow or orange yolk. When you open a carton to inspect the eggs, expect to see different colored shells. Each egg is different because each chicken is different. They really stand up well during the cooking process and if you are a fan of poached eggs, then pastured is the way to go.