Giveaway: Win One Year of Free Organic Valley Products!
Monday, June 22, 2009 at 11:24AM 
This week, Organic Valley has teamed up with us to give away one year of free Organic Valley products to a lucky OrganicNation.tv fan. One whole year you say? Yes, the winner will recieve their prize in the form of 52 free product coupons worth a retail value of $520!
How can you win? All you have to do is:
1) Leave a comment below this blog post about why you eat organic, or tell us the biggest question you have about organic food.
2) On Friday, June 26th, we will choose a commenter at random and announce the winner!
So who is Organic Valley? In 1988, a group of Wisconsin farmers, who shared a desire to save family farms and a belief in sustainable agriculture, founded Organic Valley. Today, they are the largest independent, farmer-owned organic dairy cooperative in the United States.
Organic Valley is unique because as a farmer-owned cooperative, it provides a stable, fixed, annual pay-price, a rarity in an industry where farmers’ paychecks typically reflect unpredictable, fluctuating markets. The cooperative is run by a board of farmer-owners that sets Organic Valley’s annual milk prices and oversees every aspect of the organic process. They also uphold sustainable farming practices, such as pasturing animals and treating them humanely, ensuring Organic Valley farmers meet and generally exceed USDA organic requirements.
Organic Valley farmers produce a variety of products, including organic milk, soy, cheese, butter, spreads, creams, eggs, produce, juice and Organic Prairie meats. The products are sold in food cooperatives, natural foods stores and supermarkets nationwide.
Contest Rules:
Must be 18 years of age to enter. | One comment per person per article. | Make sure the email address you use to comment is valid. | Giveaways are only available to addresses/people within the U.S. and Canada. | OrganicNation.tv will pick a random number from a pool of numbers equaling the total number of comments. | OrganicNation.tv will email the winner and ship the product to the address provided in the commenter’s responsive email. | If we don’t hear from the commenter within twenty-four (24) hours, we’ll go ahead and pick another number from the hat. | No substitutions for cash are permitted with these giveaways. | Winners are responsible for any tax consequences of winning.
-Dorothee
Reader Comments (148)
I have a small dairy goat herd. So, while we have lots of milk & cheese we do not get cream from their milk. We drink a lot of coffee with cream so we buy OV and it's wonderful.
As a small dairy owner, I know the TLC it takes to raise dairy animals...so my question to you is....
Is the organic label an assurance of humane & sustainable practices as well as organic standards?
To me, these are as important as organic.
Thanks!
Heather
Why did I go organic? Here's a short answer to a big question:
Back in the summer of 2005 I started to think about what I eat and where my food comes from. I had always considered myself a healthy person, but then I started reading food labels. Ack! I was shocked at some of the things I was putting, unknowingly, into my body - things I couldn't pronounce and way more processed sugar than I ever knew! That's when I decided I needed to raise my awareness and take control. I began buying more organic food and going to the local farmer's markets. Things not only tasted better, I noticed a real change in how I felt. I just felt better. I really did notice a difference and it's what inspired me to do my web show and blog. Now it's a personal mission to get people to know what's in their food and where it comes from.
i eat organic because i want to know what i'm eating!
How does the entry of larger entities, such as grocery chains and multi-national corporations, affect the organic market and movement?
We've been farming for 10,000 years, and only half a century with chemicals.
I eat organic because it is the right way to eat. Using chemicals to produce food might have seemed like a good idea 50 years ago, when we had lots of surplus war chemicals and a rudimentary understanding of food systems; In 2009, to still believe in a system that relies on petroleum and synthetic chemicals to produce food is not only extremely dangerous, but also incredibly irresponsible. I vote with my dollars when I buy organic food, I support local organic food producers whenever possible, and I grow a small crop of organic food in my backyard.
Organic food is the cornerstone to nourishing a healthy body. I grew up on an organic basil farm in Southern Oregon and saw first-hand what it really meant to produce organic food. Now I vote with my dollar for organic food because I know that it sustains my body and the environment. I am studying to be a dietitian and I intend to encourage my clients to eat organic food as part of their recovery plans. Go organic!
I eat organic because animals have the right to live without being manipulated by synthetic drugs. We wouldn't do it to our pet animals, so why do people think it's OK to do to our farm animals?
We try to incorporate as much organic as possible into our diet because I believe the the rapid increase in cronic disease is directly related to chemical and bioengineering in our food. I am constantly struggling to see if thing labeled "organic' really are organic or just marketed this way....
I love what you guys are doing on your tour! Keeping this blog up and running is amazing, and I am so excited to be taking the journey with you.
The question I am wondering is whether or not it is better to be organic or local (in times when you can't have both) For example, I was shopping at Trader Joes here in Seattle and had the choice of organic pears from Argentina, or non-organic locally grown Washington pears. Which is a better option? I see this question becoming more important as organic foods become more popular.
Keep up the good work!
Growing up, I spent summers on my grandparents' farm. The farm wasn't organic in today's sense of the word, but it certainly was light on chemicals and long on love and care for the crops, animals and broader environment. Supporting organic farming (which can help small farmers compete) to me is supporting a way of life.
I don't love scary industrial agriculture chemicals either, so avoiding those is also a big plus.
I eat Organic dairy products for two reasons: they taste better and I didn't like that I was drinking or eating hormones and antibiotics.
I eat organic because I know that it is the best possible choice not only for myself, not only for my generation but for the entire planet and for our future as a whole. Organic foods don't bear the negative effects of hormones, steroids, altered growth process, altered living processes, and preservatives. They are grown in the most natural environment possible, meaning they are more healthy for me, for my children, for my children's children, and for everyone that I know and love. Our future generations are depending on us to make the correct choices. We need to know that not only is the food we put in us the healthiest alternative, but that it is also the healthiest alternative for our planet. Organic foods are better for the body, better for the food products, and better for our planet. I think this makes organic eating the best choice available to any of us.
I eat organic because I think it's important to have diversity in our food choices and organic producers seem to support alternative choices.
I eat organic because my body feels best when it's being nourished by good old food sans chemicals. I choose organic because it's a conscious choice I can make every day to be a part of environmental and social change.
I buy/consume organic food products because they are better for me. Aren't they? I have never seen a side-by-side comparison of organic versus non organic foods, but the preference is intuitive.
I prefer organic and fair-trade, shade-grown, fair-wage coffee. It seems like the one thing I drink every day should be the most sustainable, too.
Why do I eat organic?
Because with pesticides, we know not what we do.
Organic is clean fuel for the athletes we love to talk about at www.gatherlogic.com More and more organic food producers sponsor human powered events. By the way, we are looking for sponsors for three big Asheville NC races now. This is the organic food mecca of the south east...great recognition opts.!
Jonathan Poston
I eat organic because I care about my health and the health of my family. Knowing what we do now why would I do anything but buy and eat organic? Organic growers can help our Mother Earth by not polluting with chemicals that are not needed. Last but not least , organic just plain tastes better!
I eat organic for many reasons. I want to be a good example to my son. I don't want dangerous chemicals in my body, or in the air I breathe. I don't trust GMO's and don't want them in my food. I don't want the people or animals that give me the food mistreated or unhappy. I don't want to misout on the vital nutrients organic food gives me... I could go on and on...
I had a health scare 15 years ago while working produce in a grocery co-op in Texas. We carried conventional veggies in winter back then, because organic produce wasn't available year round, as it is now. I eventually learned that what I had contracted was Guillain-Barre Syndrome, a run-of-the-mill auto-immune disorder, but before that was determined, my first two doctors concluded that I was having a severe, toxic reaction to pesticides from the produce I handled in my job.
That misdiagnosis got me asking a LOT of questions. "Pesticides are that prevalent and that toxic, that two different doctors thought I was poisoned? Because of where I worked? Our food is that much of a risk? Really?" I went on a research binge and learned a great deal about pesticides, farm policy, and the environmental damaged caused by industrial farming. Suddenly, the organic foods that we carried at the co-op were looking like a very smart idea to me.
Now I have two kids, and the stakes for their health seem far greater than the stakes for my own. I can choose what I eat; they can't yet. For their sake, they eat nothing but organic fruits and veggies and drink nothing but organic milk.
I started buying organic in college because as an Environmental Science major, I had read about the effects of agrichemicals on the land and water supply, and the impending threat of antibiotic resistance. So, while it tasted great, I was buying organic "for the good of the planet." Fast forward a decade or so, and I now am even more committed to buying organic, but for more selfish reasons - I recently had a baby and want only the best, purest food for him, not something pesticide-coated, antibiotic-ridden, or GMO. My reasons have evolved, but I'm still buying organic!
I buy and eat organic dairy and meats because of the way "factory farm" animals suffer. Plus organic foods lack the pesticides and hormones I don't want as part of my daily diet (or my son's).
I'd like to say, Isn't it Obvious? and leave it at that.
Health, Flavor, Ethics, Beauty, Community.
Even just the word "heirloom" is inspiring!
Why do I eat organic? Because my mom told me to! She was and is and avid organic supporter and gardener. When I moved away from home and far from the farming mecca that is South Western Wisconsin, I thought it would be too expensive to continue eating the way I was taught but have found that with a little effort and thought, it's just as cost effective as eating "regular grocery store food" and so much tastier! Thanks mom for great direction as a kid (and still today)!