Here are some key takeaways from our time with Mark:

Mark feels strongly about organic vegetable consumption being critical to your health. He believes that we have the power to make informed decisions to choose the type of farming that produces the most nutritious food for us. 

Some Backstory

Over a decade ago, Mark made the choice to become a gentleman farmer but has since created a sustainable farm in Petaluma called Tara Firma Farms.  

The Lifestyle

Through this, Mark discovered being a farmer to be incredibly rewarding. Besides raising your own food, which is lovely unto itself, the practice of farming is educational. He has learned that to understand soils is fundamental. Farming is also a cultural experience and a way of life and so educational. 

Additionally, to farm is definitely a positive exercise thing, which increases your lifespan.  

There are so many reasons why we should all be doing small scale farming or at least gardening. 

Holistic Farming

According to Mark, the word holistic - when applied to farming - is a very beautiful and powerful word.  He says it embodies how agricultural systems or gardening systems, when they're working, are about nature being in balance. So when the soil is healthy, the plants are healthy.  Bugs just don't bug healthy plants like they do in conventional pesticide-laden chemical input farming. It’s holistic because all aspects of the system work together. Mark says, “And, believe me, farming is such a lovely way to make food.”

Organic Vs. Regenerative Produce

There appears to be a lot of confusion about the difference between organic and regenerative agriculture.  As a result, Mark feels compelled to share his understanding of each approach as it might add value to the way you make your food choices.

Regarding descriptive labeling used on produce, it was J.I. Rodale, the publisher, who coined the word ‘organic’. He also coined the term ‘regenerative agriculture’. These days, the term organic has a legal meaning behind it. The produce that has this label has behind it very strict and very well defined practices for farmers by such certifiers as Oregon Tilth, OCIA, CCOF, Organic Certifiers and the USDA.

‘Regenerative’ is implicit in organic farming in terms of cover cropping, composting and conscious tillage to improve and keep the soil healthy. But, organic is NOT implicit in regenerative farming practices.

A new label called ‘Regenified’ is starting to show up on produce in the U.S. Unfortunately, this new label does not mean Organic - nor Certified Organic. And there are issues around the regenerative standards that people should know about to make informed purchase decisions, according to Mark.

He goes on to say, “At Good Earth, we only accept Organic, Regenerative Organic or Organic Regenerative Certified products. 

And here’s why…The Regenified logo standards state that if you have a hundred acres of land, you can put 20 acres of that in a regenerative program and still be able to sell all hundred acres of crop as Regenerative, including the 80 which were not treated in a regenerative nor organic manner.  

That's right, you only have to have 20% of your program lands in the program to be able to market it that way, which to Mark is “...kind of bogus.” Then, you're still allowed to use chemical fertilizers and pesticides as well.

So really the only thing separating regenerative farming from conventional agriculture is the unpoliced mandate to not till and to reduce pesticide usage. 

Regen farmers are encouraged to reduce chemical fertilizer, encouraged to use cover crops and encouraged to compost. But the regenerative standard has no enforcement in it, so it has no teeth.  

After reviewing the legislation, Mark came away thinking it’s actually nothing but greenwash. He says, “Shocking to me! It’s definitely one of the biggest greenwashes, right now.”

Organic Regenerative (seal from Rodale) or Regenerative Organic is the way to go.

Carbon Sequestration

“I want to address the fact that there are some climate myths that have been going on in agriculture, in terms of what type of farming sequesters the most carbon. The fact is that carbon sequestration happens more in organic agriculture than it does in regenerative-only or conventional farming,” emphasizes Mark.

About 5 years ago, some of the deeper, longer term sequestration research data came in and were widely published. There is now evidence that reduced tillage does indeed lead to more carbon sequestration for sure, which is why the conventional no-till farmers who use glyphosate jumped on the bandwagon and falsely proclaimed their farming method reduced the most carbon.

But, the amount of carbon that organic farming sequesters is by magnitude larger than their claims.  They were basing their claims on tests conducted by conventional no-till farming, which only tested the topsoil at six inches deep. 

Comparatively, in the organic agricultural tests, organic farmers tested a meter or more down into the soil and realized that actually a much larger amount of carbon was sequestered. They discovered that it’s actually the bacteria which are sequestering the carbon. 

Not using pesticides is actually causing the bacteria to flourish. “Best to go Organic all the way!”

Here at Sustainable Marin, we invite you to consider how the adage, ‘Follow the money,” goes both ways. 

The more of us who choose to invest in our physical well-being - as well as that of our future generations - by investing daily in certified organic produce, the more corporate and legislative entities will follow our bidding. Why? Because they follow our dollars. 

Encourage your friends and families to go organic by explaining that even though it might be a little more at the cash register, the long term payoff is your and your families’ well-being, as well as that of the lands and water supplies we depend on for our food. 

There’s no price tag you can put on either. Thank you for standing with Sustainable Marin.