Non-Profit Focuses on Climate-Friendly Eating

What's in the Food we Eat?

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From farm to table your food can make quite the journey before making it on to your plate.

It may pose the question as to what’s in the food we eat?

Organic Consumers Association, a national non-profit based out of Finland, Minnesota, is helping to educate and be the voice for consumers.

In the Northwoods of Minnesota, Organic Consumers Association (OCA) formed in 1998.

“Organic is the easiest way to make sure that you’re avoiding synthetic chemicals,” said OCA’s Social Media Director Kaare Melby. 

The voice of consumers has grown to more than 900,000 likes on facebook, as the grassroots organization campaigns for health, justice and sustainability.

“Well, we’re talking about food and everyone eats. The biggest thing that we’re facing is that a lot of our foods are contaminated with chemicals. Chemicals that can affect us in ways that we haven’t studied,” explained Melby.

Whether they’re working to require labels of genetically modified organisms in products or educating people about factory produced foods, the organization stays busy.

“It’s a pretty pollution heavy way of creating meat and we’re working towards informing consumers of other ways of making animal products pasture raised and grass feed,” said Melby.

The wide range of topics on OCA’s facebook page encourages climate-friendly eating.

In fact, OCA even operates in Mexico to connect organic producers and consumers.

“We have the Via Organica store and restaurant in San Miguel,” said OCA’s Campaign Coordinator Melinda Suelflow.

The organization also has a farm school.

“They’re starting to graze livestock and do some research on carbon sequestration,” said Suelflow.

The educational concept is soon to be implemented on 6-some acres of land in Finland.

It’s another step to cooking organic and boycotting factory farmed food.

If you’re looking to go organic but are concerned about costs the non-profit suggests shopping at farmers markets, buying in bulk and even canning goods.

They also advice that just because you bought something at a whole foods store does not guarantee it’s organic unless it has a USDA certified label on it.