Purefood Label/a long read

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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

affordable

access to truly natural foods.

 

• 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

major 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

are

dedicated to creating a new certification system and distribution

network

that will allow easy access to the highest quality of truly natural

foods -foods

that are truly unaltered by human intervention at a chemical, thermal,

mechanical 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

farmers'

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 and

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

body,

but also lowers the nutrient content of food.

 

- No exposure to fungicides or pesticides allowed by the organic

certification.

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

contain

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

general

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

we rather

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

transforms

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

foot/

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 food

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

Commercial

compost and fertilizers are often heat treated because heat accelerates

the

decomposition process. The Purefood certification allows rock dust,

mulching

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

would

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

addition, no

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

heat-

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

different

types of animal manures often contain abnormal and heat-altered

molecules

that will unavoidably accumulate in plants and their fruits. These

unnatural

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

nutritive

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

manure

should preferably come either from wild animals or animals living

freely, and 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

species

that synthesize molecules foreign to the human body. We strongly

encourage

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

root-stock

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 in the

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

strictly left

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

years.

 

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

matter,

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

consumers

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

conversion

period will be necessary for farmland that has been intensely cultivated

for

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

foods

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

value

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

price 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

than

being stored in the wholesaler's warehouses for a certain period of

time, can

be picked fresh and shipped immediately. You have probably experienced

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

and 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

taste

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

 

harvest and the actual delivery. Picking your food right from the tree

is,

of course ideal, 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

intentionally

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

organisms

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

under

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 the

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

supposedly

produce fertile soil. Unfortunately, the entire decomposition process

occurs

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

fruits 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 manner

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

address

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

instance,

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 quantities

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

trained

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-site.

Some " organic " fertilizer derives from water purification facilities or

waste

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

extent,

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

fertilizers

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

size 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

process

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

truly

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

instead

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 will

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

card

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 be

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

quality

foods. In addition to yearly membership contributions, The Purefood

Network

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

operating

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

with

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

provider

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 see

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 your

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