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The End of Organics

9/5/2020

 
How’s that for a clickbait subject line? See, I am learning how to use the internet properly, if with some reluctance. I’m not actually giving up on Organic ingredients, but I do find that as my knowledge of the food system deepens, I’m more interested in relationships, in short, transparent supply chains, than I am in certification stickers. Certifications like USDA Organic or Fair Trade are useful if you don’t know your producers, and I’ll continue to prioritize them for ingredients I can’t buy directly, but Organic doesn’t mean sustainable or just. Plenty of farms follow the letter of the environmental regulations rather than the spirit, and, more importantly, Organic certification doesn’t regulate labor practices. Given the social-racial-economic-environmental justice disaster that is U.S. farm labor, this is an unconscionable omission.

When we choose what ingredients to buy for the bakery, the thought process goes something like this:
  1. Does it taste good?
  2. Is it from the closest supplier/producer?
  3. Does it have the shortest supply chain? If the supply chain is untraceable (i.e. the product is from the commodity market) can we eliminate this ingredient from the bakery?
  4. What do we know about the harm the production of this food does to workers and the land? Is there a less harmful alternative?
  5. How much does this ingredient cost? Can we use it without raising prices? If not, are we willing to charge the true cost of our food? Will our customers pay it?

The current results, imperfect but ever-improving, are as follows:

BUTTER: Organic, cultured cream, domestic not local. Usually from Oregon.
EGGS: pastured year-round, non GM feed, not certified Organic. Broad Leaf Farm (Whatcom), Osprey Hill Farm (Whatcom), Foothills Farm (Skagit), or Well Fed Farms (Skagit).
FLOUR + GRAINS: USDA Organic. Fairhaven Flour Mill (Skagit).
  • Red wheat – Williams Hudson Bay Farm (Walla Walla)
  • Rye – Kevin TeVelde (Whatcom)
  • Pastry wheat – Kevin TeVelde (Whatcom)
  • Elwha River Spelt – (Adams)
  • Buckwheat, corn, oat – usually from Montana Milling
FRUIT + VEG: Sometimes Organic certified, sometimes not. Whatcom + Skagit farmers, Bellingham gleanings (back alleys, orchard remnants, parks, gardens), occasionally East Side stone fruit farmers.
HERBS: The garden.
HONEY: BeeWorks Farm (Whatcom), The Valley’s Buzz (Skagit).
MILK & CREAM: Twin Brook Creamery (pastured, not Organic), Fresh Breeze Organic Dairy.
NUTS: Holmquist Hazelnuts.
SEEDS & SWEETENERS: Seeds all Organic. Tropical products (chocolate, sugar, etc.) Fair Trade certified and/or bought by the distributor directly from farmers or coops. Distributor: Hummingbird Wholesale (Oregon).
SPICES: Some certified Organic and/or Fair Trade, some not. All direct contracted from small farmers around the world by Burlap & Barrel, Singing Dog Vanilla, Red Ape Cinnamon.
SALT: Commodity sea salt.

See you soon.

Sophie
Owner | Baker

P.S. Just to put it out there: I’ve thought for years about creating a map tracing every ingredient I use from farm to bakery. I’ve been picturing this as a totally low tech pin & string map, but if you know of any students looking for an in depth study of one small corner of the food system, perhaps it could be digital?


FALL BREAD SUBSCRIPTION
Every Wednesday Sept 2 - Dec 16
15 weeks remaining
Pickups in Birchwood, Columbia, Lettered Streets, Happy Valley/Fairhaven

RED WHEAT Subscription - whole wheat table bread
MOUNTAIN RYE Subscription - seedy rye & wheat
TOAST Subscription - a new tinned loaf every week
9/2 - Oat & Honey
9/9 - Toasted Sesame
9/16 - Polenta
9/23 - Buckwheat & Molasses
9/30 - Wild & Seedy
Oct-Dec TBD


TODAY AT MARKET and NEXT WEEK FOR MARKET PREORDER
10am – 2pm, 1100 Railroad Ave

BREAD:
Red Wheat ($7.50 / 720g) *tinned or hearth loaf!
Elwha River Spelt ($8 / 750g)
Mountain Rye ($7.50 / 750g)
Vollkornbrot ($8 / 750g)
Seedy Buckwheat ($8 / 420g)

SWEETS:
Gingersnap Cookies ($5 / 2)
Chocolate Chip Hazelnut Cookies ($5 / 2)
Bittersweet Chocolate Cookies ($5 / 2)
Snack Cake: Nectarine Peach or Apple ($5)
Brown Butter Shortbread ($9 / half dz)

NEXT WEDNESDAY PREORDER & PICKUP
Self-serve pickups in Birchwood, Columbia, Lettered Streets, and Fairhaven.
Address and directions with your pickup reminder email Wednesday morning.
Order by Sunday night.

Red Wheat
Mountain Rye
Toast: TOASTED SESAME
Sweets: BITTERSWEET CHOCOLATE COOKIES & CHOCOLATE CHIP HAZELNUT COOKIES


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