Rosie Burroughs: A Call For Transparency + Fair Prices In Dairy

Real Organic Podcast

#077: California dairy farmer Rosie Burroughs remembers when there were 23 organic dairy farms in her county; today there are only 2. As a member of the Western Organic Dairy Producers Alliance, she knows the personally heartbreaking stories behind why these farms closed, and identifies for us the deep, systemic causes that need to be addressed - including the roles of brokers and processors in price-setting.
Rosie Burroughs has been farming in northern California with her husband Ward since 1974 at Burroughs Family Farm, as the fifth generation to farm Ward's family's land. In recent years the farm has diversified its crops beyond dairy, and now grows olives, sheep, and almonds. Theirs are the first almonds to be certified regenerative organic in the world.
To watch a video version of this podcast with access to the full transcript and links relevant to our conversation, please visit:
https://www.realorganicproject.org/rosie-burroughs-call-for-and-transparancy-fair-prices-in-dairy-seventy-seven/
The Real Organic Podcast is hosted by Dave Chapman and Linley Dixon, engineered by Brandon StCyr, and edited and produced by Jenny Prince.
The Real Organic Project is a farmer-led movement working towards certifying 1,000 farms across the United States this year. Our add-on food label distinguishes soil-grown fruits and vegetables from hydroponically-raised produce, and pasture-raised meat, milk, and eggs from products harvested from animals in horrific confinement (CAFOs - confined animal feeding operations).
To find a Real Organic farm near you, please visit:
https://www.realorganicproject.org/farms
We believe that the organic standards, with their focus on soil health, biodiversity, and animal welfare were written as they should be, but that the current lack of enforcement of those standards is jeopardizing the ability for small farms who adhere to the law to stay in business. The lack of enforcement is also jeopardizing the overall health of the customers who support the organic movement; customers who are not getting what they pay for at market but still paying a premium price. And the lack of enforcement is jeopardizing the very cycles (water, air, nutrients) that Earth relies upon to provide us all with a place to live, by pushing extractive, chemical agriculture to the forefront.
If you like what you hear and are feeling inspired, we would love for you to join our movement by becoming one of our 1,000 Real Friends:
https://www.realorganicproject.org/real-organic-friends/
To read our weekly newsletter (which might just be the most forwarded newsletter on the internet!) and get firsthand news about what's happening with organic food, farming and policy, please subscribe here:
https://www.realorganicproject.org/email/