Organic
Organic Seasoning Blends That Give 100% Of Profits To Artists With Disabilities
Today my guest is Debb Masterson, founder of Minnesota Nice Spice. She makes organic seasoning blends that really pop with flavor! (I’ve tried some of them) And all the profits go to helping a local organization that empowers adults with disabilities through art. Debb is a self-proclaimed spice gypsy, naturalist, and world traveler, From a young age, Debb’s affinity for creating deliciously unique recipes was evident. She learned French culinary techniques from her grandmother and became a master of substitution and experimentation when faced with limited ingredients. A diverse career path that included working in restaurants, owning a neighborhood bar and grill, and selling medical devices and beverages, supported Debb’s love of food and also sparked an interest in the healing arts, which led to Debb’s strong belief in the healing properties of everyday herbs and spices. As a risk-taker with a true entrepreneurial spirit, it’s no surprise that Debb’s current venture combines all her life and work experiences, including her love for world travel. Debb has traveled to dozens of countries seeking out native spices and global healing products and has channeled her unique experiences into each of her Minnesota Nice Spice Seasoning Blends. www.mnnicespice.com
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Organic, Cage-Free, and Other Exceptional Eggs
My guest today is Rick Leibee, Sales and Marketing Manager for Nature’s Yoke, a specialty brand of Westfield Egg Farm, Inc. We’re going to learn all about how organic, free range, and other specialty eggs are produced, how they are labeled, and why you should eat them. This is the brand of eggs I eat every morning. Rick grew up on a small family farm in rural Kentucky where they raised a lot of their food and had livestock for family use. He is still married to his college sweetheart for 39 years, Helen, and they have 11 children—six birth and 5 adopted, four are international adoptions. He lives in New Holland, PA home to Nature’s Yoke. When they were first married in 1976, Rick and his wife adopted the “healthy” eating lifestyle. They received, for a wedding present the cookbook Laurel’s Kitchen, which had just been published, and since then have eaten as “clean” and organic as possible with a large family. They lived on 15 acres and grew their own food and raised free range chickens and cattle for our personal use. Rick graduated from Florida State University in 1977 with a degree in business with an emphasis and marketing. While working for other businesses, Rick became friends with the owner of Westfield Egg Farm and was invited to work there. www.naturesyoke.com
Make-It-Yourself With GOTS Certified Organic Fibers
My guest today is Stephanie Abgrall, founder of the Only Organic Fabric Shop website. Based in the Brittany region of France, they sell only full GOTS certified organic fabrics where the yarns, spinning, weaving, washing, dyeing are all GOTS certified. And they ship worldwide. We’ll be talking about the GOTS certification for organic fabrics and the certified fabrics that are available for your fabric needs. Stephanie is a 47-year-old mother of three, who studied in a French Business School and worked for 15 years as an executive in different companies, then decided to create her own business. She wanted this business to be close to my beliefs, so of courseit had to be organic-related and crafts-related. In 2009 she founded Biotissus, which is the mother business of Only Organic Fabric Shop, It is dedicated to GOTS certified organic fabrics and sells to individuals as well as to large fashion companies in France. In late 2014, they decided to expand their business and dedicate a website to their english/american speaking customers, and developped the Only Organic Fabric Shop website. They also are developing the first GOTS certified sewing workshop in France for their professional customers. www.only-organic-fabric-shop.com
GOTS Certification for Organic Fabrics
Today my guest is Karlin Warner, the Textile Certification Specialist for OneCert, Inc., an organic certification company in Lincoln, Nebraska. We’ll be talking about the GOTS certification program for organic textiles, so we can all understand what the standard is and how it is certified when we see the certification seal on a label. Karlin received her B.S. in 2007 and M.S. in 2009 from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in Textile Science, with a minor in Chemistry. While working on her thesis project, testing an eco-friendly wrinkle resistant finish for silk, she found she had a fascination with the more sustainable side of the textile industry. Starting at OneCert while finishing her degree, 
Karlin has now worked to certify organic textiles for nearly six years. Her work at OneCert includes reviewing and inspecting applicants to the increasingly popular Global Organic Textile Standards (GOTS), as well as Textile Exchange’s Organic Content Standards (OCS). She likes to travel to work by bike, but also enjoys running, reading, travelling and spending time with her husband and two dogs. www.onecert.com.
More About “Organic”: Politics and the Regulation of Marketplace Distribution
Today my guests Diana Kaye and James Hahn will tell us more about what goes on behind the scenes in the world of organic agriculture and the making and sales of organic products. We’ll be talking about politics and how regulations affect the distribution of organic products in the marketplace. This husband-and-wife are co-founders of their USDA certified organic business Terressentials. They own a small organic farm in lovely Middletown Valley, Maryland and have operated their organic herbal personal care products business there since 1996. Terressentials was originally started in Virginia in 1992. It grew out of their search for chemical-free products after Diana’s personal experience with cancer and chemotherapy in 1988. Prior to Diana’s cancer, they were involved in commercial architecture in Washington DC. Diana and James are proud to be an authentic USDA certified organic and Fair Made USA business. They are obsessive organic researchers and artisan handcrafters of more than one hundred USDA certified organic gourmet personal care products that they offer through their two organic stores in Frederick County, Maryland, through a network of select retail partners across the US, and to customers around the world via their informative web site. www.debralynndadd.com/debras-list/terressentials
The Challenges of Achieving Organic Certification
Today we’ll be learning about what it takes to get the USDA organic certification with my guests Diana Kaye and James Hahn. We’ll be talking about locating a certifier, preparing the organic system plan, compiling documentation, maintaining records, inspections, and everything else that must be done to get organic certification. This husband-and-wife are co-founders of their USDA certified organic business Terressentials. They own a small organic farm in lovely Middletown Valley, Maryland and have operated their organic herbal personal care products business there since 1996. Terressentials was originally started in Virginia in 1992. It grew out of their search for chemical-free products after Diana’s personal experience with cancer and chemotherapy in 1988. Prior to Diana’s cancer, they were involved in commercial architecture in Washington DC. Diana and James are proud to be an authentic USDA certified organic and Fair Made USA business. They are obsessive organic researchers and artisan handcrafters of more than one hundred USDA certified organic gourmet personal care products that they offer through their two organic stores in Frederick County, Maryland, through a network of select retail partners across the US, and to customers around the world via their informative web site. www.debralynndadd.com/debras-list/terressentials
What Organic Means — From the Experience of Being Organic Farmers
My guests today are Diana Kaye and James Hahn, husband and wife, and co-founders of their USDA certified organic business Terressentials. They own a small organic farm in lovely Middletown Valley, Maryland and have operated their organic herbal personal care products business there since 1996. We’ll be talking about what “organic” means, their experience as organic farmers and problems with the organic system. Terressentials was originally started in Virginia in 1992. It grew out of their search for chemical-free products after Diana’s personal experience with cancer and chemotherapy in 1988. Prior to Diana’s cancer, they were involved in commercial architecture in Washington DC. Diana and James are proud to be an authentic USDA certified organic and Fair Made USA business. They are obsessive organic researchers and artisan handcrafters of more than one hundred USDA certified organic gourmet personal care products that they offer through their two organic stores in Frederick County, Maryland, through a network of select retail partners across the US, and to customers around the world via their informative web site. www.debralynndadd.com/debras-list/terressentials
A Behind-the-Scenes Look at What Goes Into Organic Products
My guest today is Peggy Miars, Executive Director/CEO of the Organic Materials Review Institute. Founded in 1997, OMRI provides organic certifiers, grower, manufacturers, and suppliers an independent review of products intended for use in certified organic products, handline, and processing. They also prove subscribers and certifiers guidance on the acceptability of various material inputs in general under the National Organic Program. Peggy came to OMRI in 2010 from California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF), where she served for six years as the Executive Director/CEO. She holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Western Michigan University and completed post-graduate courses in nonprofit management at Regis University in Colorado Springs. Peggy has worked in the organic industry for more than 17 years, previously in marketing and management positions with Earthbound Farm, Whole Foods Market, Granary Market, various nonprofit organizations, and her own marketing consulting business. She completed International Organic Inspector Association training for organic inspectors of crop products in 2007. www.omri.org
