As with any farm we roll purely on the trust of our fellow men and the sweat of our brows. We do have a few rules, but no laws, no commandments, no edicts and no ordinances. If you break any of our few rules, you are liable to be fed to the pike fish for dinner.
Our Farm Rules are simple:
- Do not feed anything or anybody, however cuddly and friendly s/he might look to you.
- Do not touch: All animals are wild if they are not familiar with you.
- Do not litter: leave only footprints, gather no moss, take only pictures, keep only memories.
- Do not tease any animal in a cage, do not join animals in an enclosure, never creep behind any animal unannounced
- Do not operate any farm machinery.
- If in doubt, ask a farm hand; if there is no farm hand around, turn back.
- Because we are family-friendly, we are completely drug-free: that also means you!
- Let the animals be animals, let the workers be workers, let the guests be guests: if you can't tell those apart, ask someone.
Have a lot of fun at Agulu Farms, and do come back someday.
To Organic Or Not?- That Is The Question
The concept of organic food and farming was re-introduced to our culture in 1939 by James Northbourne, the 4th Baron of Northbourne, a competent Oxford "blue" and agricultural science graduate, who envisaged a holistic and ecologically balanced approach to farming. Initially, organic foods only interested the few aficionados who scoured health food stores searching for produce, as well as the compulsively diet-conscious, and perhaps, those who were more liable to grow five-fingered plants of dubious legality in urban lofts, far away from the prying eyes of local cops. But that was then.
These days, organic foods have mainstreamed and are easily available at your local grocery store. It has become a $50 billion enterprise in these United States, accounting for about 5% of all marketed food. Its cost is also much higher than non-organic food. More insidiously, the very concept of what is organic has also shifted like quicksand, and often means different things to different folks. For most folks, a prominently displayed USDA stamp is widely accepted as the official imprimatur for organics- but is it?
First, why do we bother with organic farming? For me, it is personally satisfying and reassuring, perhaps a throwback to simpler days of non-processed foods produced from the sweat of one's brow. Organic food reminds me of my childhood fare, fading memories of how country homesteads used to be, the lush green fields of a rural Agulu, a simpler uncluttered life, a drug-free world, dusty country lanes, open campfires welcome to all, and chirping crickets singing for their lunch.
Organic farming is defined by its production methods. It really has nothing to do with final food processing, such as the addition of artificial flavors, preservatives or colors, the absence of which is known as "Natural" food. Natural food can therefore be either organic or not.
Generally, organic farming aims to reduce soil and air pollution, provide a safe habitat for livestock, adopt efficient soil and water conservation techniques, and above all, foster a self-sustaining natural biological cycle. It strictly prohibits the use of synthetic chemicals and hormones, including antibiotics; use of sewage sludge as fertilizer; use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides; and, of course, forbids all genetically-modified food products. The popular understanding is that this invariably means ethical livestock farming with free-range, naturally-lit, pasture-grazing, straw-bedded animals. Unfortunately, that sort of practice is costly to sustain, and not too surprisingly, controversial practices have crept into the definition of what "wholesome" means. Such new-fangled practices include CAFO (concentrated animal feeding operations), which is an euphemism for "factory farming", and hydroponics (containerized water conduits with minimal soil or space for vegetable cultivation) amongst several others. Big Agriculture is fighting back!
But no fear! Agulu Farms is dedicated to the full organic foods concept. We are 100% natural. And we will not oversell ourselves or promise benefits that are not consistent with either practice or science.
Some have further muddied the waters by making spurious claims about the inherent advantages of organic foods. Sadly, most of those tales are either demonstrably false or exaggerated beyond all recognition. Organic foods are not necessarily healthier or "superior" to non-organic foods, but generally, those who eat organic foods tend to be more diet-conscious, healthier, liable to adopt a balanced diet rich in fruits and vegetables, and perhaps least questionably, have a "halo" effect for trying to make this world a better place. It appears that organic foods may not necessarily confer good health, but rather those who are likelier to be healthy (as a result of personal habits) are more likely to be drawn to organic foods. Some published nutritional studies suggest that there might be a marginal but measurable increase in the content of flavonoid anti-oxidants in organic foodstuff, as well as heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids, and organic foods generally have lower levels of toxic chemicals such as cadmium, arsenic and pesticide residues. As for claims of organic foods being predictably safer, more nutritious, tastier, I'd say: it all depends on your own taste!
