A New Food Quality Label For Truly Unprocessed Raw Foods - From Antje and Roman

[Guest guest]

PUREFOOD:

A new label and certification process for the highest food quality.

 

 

THE PUREFOOD NETWORK:

A new Internet food-distribution system that will provide easy and affordab=

le

access to truly natural foods.

 

 

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• Food is one of the most primary needs in life

 

• The quality of food is a major key to health and happiness

 

• Access to the foods of the highest quality: a birthright not a privilege

 

---

 

 

Dear friends,

 

Some of you might know us personally; others, we know simply share our

concern about truly natural foods of the highest possible quality.

 

We have been working in the field of nutrition for almost two decades. We

started our research in Europe and decided to come the United States some

five years ago with the intention to share what we had learned and

discovered. We spent the past couple of years writing and publishing our

book, Genefit Nutrition, Nutrition Designed by Life. Genefit Nutrition is a=

 

dietary approach promoting the exclusive use of sensory guidance for food

selection and intake regulation within the reference frame of a strictly

unprocessed food environment. Just as for many other diets involving the

consumption of raw and natural foods, a high-quality food supply is the maj=

or

condition for the successful and joyful application of our eating method.

Motivated by the insufficient quality requirements imposed by the federal

organic certification process and the recent publication of our book, we ar=

e

dedicated to creating a new certification system and distribution network t=

hat

will allow easy access to the highest quality of truly natural foods -foods=

that

are truly unaltered by human intervention at a chemical, thermal, mechanica=

l

and genetic level.

 

The purpose of this letter is to unite health professionals, nutritionists,=

raw

food chefs and health-conscious people around the concept of a new

certification label that will suit our need for truly natural foods better =

than the

current organic label. Despite the many methodical differences on how to

practice a natural diet, food quality is the common denominator in all the =

 

different currents. By putting all our energies together, there is a huge

potential for a new quality label to succeed in becoming a new quality

standard, which would serve all of us.

 

 

 

 

1. What is the quality we are aiming for?

 

The Purefood quality label is meant to protect the consumer from growing

techniques and treatments that detrimentally alter the natural chemical

composition of food. To obtain a Purefood certification, food will have to =

meet

the following criteria:

 

- No exposure to temperatures under 0ºC/32ºF or over 40ºC/104ºF at any

time. Freezing and heating over 40ºC/104ºF both alter the natural chemical =

 

composition and molecular structure of food. Hot and cold temperature

treatments are commonly used for food conservation. Most dried nuts, dried =

 

fruits and pollen that can be found in health food stores, or even at farme=

rs'

markets, are dried over 40ºC/104ºF and additionally frozen to kill insects =

and

larvae. In some States sun-drying also exceeds our quality requirements.

Such processing techniques are enough to transform the shape and structure =

 

of food molecules.

 

- No exposure to chemical fertilizers, fungicides or pesticides. Unnatural =

 

molecules contained in chemical fertilizers, fungicides and pesticides are =

 

unavoidably absorbed by the plant and deposited in fruits and leaves. The

accumulation of unnatural molecules originating from chemical fertilizers a=

nd

pesticides in the plant's cellular tissue not only intoxicates the human bo=

dy,

but also lowers the nutrient content of food.

 

- No exposure to fungicides or pesticides allowed by the organic certificat=

ion.

Even if less harmful than chemical fungicides and pesticides, they still co=

ntain

denatured molecules that are unavoidably absorbed by the plant and

deposited in fruits and leaves. The accumulation of such denatured

molecules in the plant's cellular tissue drastically deteriorates the gener=

al

quality of food and its taste. In order to avoid parasites and fungus, we r=

ather

recommend balancing out the ecosystem with a permaculture-type of setup

and by favoring the development of the parasites' predators.

 

- No irradiation. Irradiation, just as heat or freezing, detrimentally tran=

sforms

the chemical structure of food.

 

- No genetically-modified food. Genetic engineering produces plants that

synthesize proteins and other molecules that do not exist otherwise in the =

 

natural world.

 

- No exposure to commercial or heated fertilizers. Compost piles over 1 foo=

t/

30 cm high generate internal temperatures way over 40ºC/104ºF. Just as heat=

 

treatments alter the molecules in the food itself, high compost piles also =

 

produce new chemical substances that will enter and accumulate in plants

and their fruits. The unnatural chemical substances so produced will give f=

ood

an abnormal after-taste and lower the plants' nutritive qualities. Commerci=

al

compost and fertilizers are often heat treated because heat accelerates the=

 

decomposition process. The Purefood certification allows rock dust, mulchin=

g

or compost piles not higher than 1 foot/30 cm.

 

- No exposure to commercial or heated animal manure. No animal manure

from animals, or fish, fed food other than what that particular animal woul=

d

find in its natural environment during the past two generations. In additio=

n, no

use of animal manure heated over 40ºC/104ºF (animal manure is often heat-

treated to avoid unpleasant smells). Just as for commercial fertilizers, di=

fferent

types of animal manures often contain abnormal and heat-altered molecules

that will unavoidably accumulate in plants and their fruits. These unnatura=

l

chemical residues will give food an abnormal after-taste and lower its nutr=

itive

qualities. If manure should be used, the Purefood certification would allow=

 

only animal manure from animals that have been fed foods they would

consume in their natural habitat for at least two generations. Also, the ma=

nure

should preferably come either from wild animals or animals living freely, a=

nd it

should be naturally distributed and brought to the soil without human

intervention.

 

- No over-hybridized and over-selected plant products, such as wheat, corn,=

 

Hass avocado, Fuerte avocado, Beef tomatoes and soy. Similarly to GMO,

excessive hybridization and artificial selection both create new plant spec=

ies

that synthesize molecules foreign to the human body. We strongly encourage =

 

the use of the so-called heirloom varieties (original species) and root-sto=

ck

trees, as opposed to commercially grafted trees.

 

 

In general, we are strongly opposed to any growing or processing technique =

 

that will alter the natural chemical composition of foods as can be found i=

n the

wild. We believe that the human body is genetically built for foods strictl=

y left

in their natural state -foods to which we have adapted over millions of yea=

rs.

The organic certification process does not exclude all growing and

processing techniques (such as heat treatments) that transform food on a

chemical level. In this regard the organic quality requirements are, for us=

,

insufficient. In addition, since the organic label has become a federal mat=

ter,

congress has decided to lower the organic quality standards. At the same

time, agriculture growing techniques and techniques for food conservation

continue to become increasingly sophisticated, creating even more abnormal,=

 

unnatural molecules for which our bodies are not adapted. The sole purpose =

 

of these techniques is to raise profitability and increase market value. In=

order

to protect the quality of our food, we need to educate farmers and consumer=

s

by creating a new quality standard that will guarantee easy access to truly=

 

natural and affordable foods.

 

It is, of course, clear that most farmers will be unable to match the above=

 

quality requirements right away. Just as for the organic label, a conversio=

n

period will be necessary for farmland that has been intensely cultivated fo=

r

many years.

 

Besides making food available matching the above quality guidelines, the

following consideration is very important to us:

 

Since the time we have began working on The Purefood Network project, we

have always been concerned about meeting the apparently contradictory

interests of two groups - the farmer and the consumer. From our perspective=

,

farmers who are willing to produce Purefood-quality foods should be fairly =

 

rewarded for their extraordinary effort, and consumers who are health

conscious enough to buy Purefood quality will only be able to do so if food=

s

are affordable. In order to serve both parties, we decided to eliminate the=

 

middleman, who usually buys food from the farmer under its fair market valu=

e

and adds a profit margin to the retail price. Instead, we want to directly =

link the

farmer and the consumer via a website that will allow the farmer to sell

products at a fair market value. Additionally, the consumer will pay a pric=

e that

will be lower than prices found in most health food stores.

 

A very pleasant " side effect " of this approach will be that food, rather th=

an

being stored in the wholesaler's warehouses for a certain period of time, c=

an

be picked fresh and shipped immediately. You have probably experienced

the difference in taste between a fruit you have just picked from a tree an=

d a

fruit from the same tree picked a week ago and stored on your counter or

refrigerator. Furthermore, you are probably aware of the difference in tast=

e

between a fruit ripened on the tree and a fruit ripened during the storage =

and

transportation time. It is our goal to minimize the time between the harves=

t and

the actual delivery. Picking your food right from the tree is, of course id=

eal, but

avoiding the middleman is probably the next best alternative.

 

 

 

2. The differences between the Purefood and the Organic label

 

The fundamental concept at the origin of the organic certification was to

exclude all end products of chemical synthesis. This was a very good step,=

 

but with Purefood, we want to go one step further.

 

Compared to what thermal alteration does to food at a molecular level, the =

 

exclusion of all end products of chemical synthesis has only a very small

impact. Ironically, every time we heat food, we create end products of

chemical synthesis. We usually don't think of heat-dried nuts as an end

product of chemistry because we are not used to the idea of denatured

molecules present in processed foods. As a matter of fact, any heating

process applied to food produces chemical reactions that create new,

denatured molecules, which can also be called end products of chemical

synthesis. Drying nuts at a high temperature or freezing fish is, if we

objectively look at it, chemistry.

 

New molecules created by heat treatments may, to a certain extent, be even =

 

more dangerous than chemical fertilizers because agro-chemists intentionall=

y

use molecules that are not excessively toxic for the human body. But there =

is

no control whatsoever in terms of what types of molecules could appear

during heat, drying, or cooking for that matter.

 

It is totally aberrant to call bread an organic product, because " organic " =

 

should mean that the product is, in a sense, alive. Only few living organis=

ms

survive temperature much higher than 40ºC/104ºF. Most life only exists unde=

r

40ºC/104ºF and above the freezing point. The vital and biochemical

mechanisms are disturbed outside this temperature frame.

 

Even natural compost or humus can be found in thin layers in the shade of t=

he

forest. The internal temperature of this kind of humus barely exceeds the

ambient temperature. When we now use compost piles that heat up from the

inside, it is very convenient because they ripen very quickly and supposedl=

y

produce fertile soil. Unfortunately, the entire decomposition process occur=

s

along with unnatural chemical reactions that will create abnormal, heat-

altered molecules. Those denatured molecules will then become part of the

soil and will be absorbed by the plants. They will finally accumulate in fr=

uits or

vegetables so grown. The result will be huge produce blown up by denatured =

 

molecules, just as with chemical fertilizers. The foods produced in this ma=

nner

will have abnormal taste components and low nutritional values.

 

This is why we have to get rid of heated compost piles, even those only

heated in the " natural " process of decomposition. We have to find organic

growers who will work without them, using growing techniques such as

Biodynamic Farming from Rudolph Steiner, which promotes composting

techniques with piles less than one foot high.

 

Besides the use of heated compost, the organic certification does not addre=

ss

several other problems, such as the use of organic fertilizers. For instanc=

e,

animal manure and specifically, fish manure are processed at high

temperatures to take the smell away. Of course, such processing techniques =

 

create large amounts of denatured molecules. In addition, even organically-=

 

raised animals are not fed in a natural way. They often receive high quanti=

ties

of grain supplements and other industrially processed foods. The manure

contains whatever the animals were fed on, and the resulting denatured

molecules are absorbed by the plants. Tomatoes grown with fish manure

have a noticeable fish aftertaste, and sometimes a strange taste-component =

 

of beef jerky that can be abnormally attractive for someone who is not trai=

ned

to recognize the problem.

 

There is another even more critical aspect we need to address here. Some

farmers, and especially corporate farms, use fertilizer not produced on-sit=

e.

Some " organic " fertilizer derives from water purification facilities or was=

te

burning facilities. It is true that these substances are, to a certain exte=

nt,

organic. But where the reasoning is false is, to think of these organic fer=

tilizers

as containing only natural molecules. Unfortunately, we have here a

concentration of denatured molecules that do not degrade completely in the =

 

composting process. In fact, we may end up having industrial waste in the

food we eat. Of course, in this case, we are far from the ideals an organic=

 

certification is meant to portray.

 

Organic fertilizers are widely distributed these days. They increase the si=

ze of

fruits and vegetables. When growers use denatured fertilizers, fruits and

vegetables grow bigger and have lower nutritional value. As a general rule,=

 

every time fruits and vegetables are abnormally big, there is a good chance=

 

they have been grown with fertilizer containing denatured molecules. There =

 

are more pounds to sell that way, and as long as people buy by the pound,

growers make more money.

 

For all the reasons above, we believe that the organic certification proces=

s

does not offer sufficient quality criteria to people who are looking for tr=

uly

natural foods.

 

 

 

3. What is our approach to make this food quality available?

 

• File for a non-profit organization and apply for a tax-exempt status: We =

need

The Purefood Network as a legal entity, the purpose of which will be to

manage the Purefood quality label and certification process without the

intention of making profit. The Purefood Network will not sell food, but in=

stead

certify farmers and link them directly to the consumer.

 

• Register the Purefood quality label.

 

• Legally define the certification and the conversion process.

 

• Educate and certify farmers willing to grow food in accordance with the

Purefood quality guidelines.

 

• Create a virtual market place in the form of a website that will directly=

link

Purefood-certified farmers and members of The Purefood Network. The

Purefood Network website will be an Internet shopping mall, where each

farmer will be able to display and sell his or her products. The consumer w=

ill

be able to order foods directly from the website by using online credit car=

d

payments. The Purefood Network will take advantage of existing distribution=

 

companies, such as FedEx and UPS (both companies have already offered

us interesting discount rates for large shipping volumes that will easily b=

e

reached by The Purefood Network). Once the order has been placed, an

email will directly go to the farmer. All orders placed before 11AM should =

 

ideally be shipped the same day.

 

• Acquire land in order to expand the quantity and variety of Purefood qual=

ity

foods. In addition to yearly membership contributions, The Purefood Network=

 

will retain 10% of the gross sales as a donation. After deduction of operat=

ing

expenses, the money will be used the buy or lease unspoiled land. The

Purefood Network will also gladly accept land donation. The land owned and =

 

administered by The Purefood Network will be used exclusively to grow

Purefood quality foods.

 

• Develop new parcels of land in respect with the existing ecosystem by

assigning these properties to people willing to grow food in accordance wit=

h

the Purefood quality guidelines

 

 

 

4. How can you help?

 

• Make a donation. Become a funding member and help us in our venture.

Even though we don't have tax-exempt status yet, your donation will be

honored with a certificate of tax deduction as soon as we reach tax-exempt =

 

status. Donation of $100, $500, $1000, or more will give us the means to

succeed. Please send check or money order payable to The Purefood

Network to the following address:

 

The Purefood Network

30765 Pacific Coast Highway, Suite 211

Malibu, CA 90265

USA

 

For more information about our project please call us at (866) EAT PURE

 

• Let us know about property-owners who would be willing to donate land to =

 

The Purefood Network, or who would let others grow Purefood-quality foods

on their property.

 

• Recommend a farmer or food provider. If you know a farmer or food provide=

r

you think should become a member of the Purefood network, please send us

his or her contact information.

 

• Share your knowledge about producing food in highest quality standards

and write us about additional quality requirements that you would like to s=

ee

on our list. Suggestions are welcome.

 

• Work with us by offering your knowledge and expertise (from legal advice =

to

personal experience that could be profitable to the Purefood venture).

 

• Talk to your friends and spread the word about this amazing concept that =

 

could make a huge difference in your everyday life.

 

 

 

Now is the right time to get the Purefood label and Network off the ground!=

 

 

Thank you all for taking the time to read this letter and sharing it with y=

our

friends! We are looking forward to hearing from you and receiving your

contributions that will help us make Purefood come to live.

 

With all our hearts,

 

Antje Spors and Roman Devivo

 

Voice: (866) EAT PURE

 

Email: info