This blog post isn’t as per our content plan.
I already had two posts ready which were to be pulled up one after the other on the blog. But for some reason, there was a lingering, itching thought that did not feel right. It seemed like there was something else, something more important that our readers were waiting for. I was reading about it very often on all our social media channels. I kept reasoning with myself and then just yesterday decided to give in.
We attempt to respond to this every single time we get questioned on the cost of products. So why not just talk it out here. Let’s understand the factors that play a role – it’s a complex subject and there are a lot of points we will need to cover so that we properly understand the dynamics – while you might be tempted to assume that I’ll be picking my words carefully while writing this; let me assure you that I really hope to place all facts neatly before you with utmost sincerity, and while doing so be able to cover all your confusion, the smallest of questions and misinformation.
Today Organic is a full-fledged lifestyle choice. More and more consumers are leaning towards natural living. There is clearly a growing demand for naturally farmed, organic food. Consumers today are mindful of the choices they make and are aware of how chemicals, fertilizers, and artificial additives through the food that we consume daily are destroying our health and our world. In urban cities, more and more people are instantly being drawn to the concept of an interconnected ecosystem that supports simple and conscious living and encourages a transparent link between producers and consumers.
It wasn’t too long ago – maybe 2 decades or a little more - when I was in primary school, I remember how my mother would use what South Indians or Keralites call a ‘Murram’ which is a traditional sieve used since ancient times to separate other grains and husk from rice. It is held with both hands and hit with one hand at the bottom repeatedly while the rice in it is flung into the air. The rice falls back while the lighter husks fly off or get sieved out. It was made of ‘Eeta’, a plant similar to bamboo. She would use it every day to separate husks from rice before the rice was cooked.
Similarly, jaggery is something we used a lot in our dishes, especially for breakfast or snacks at tea time. I have very special memories of my cousins wrestling each other not wanting to lose each one’s share of dark, sweet small lumps of jaggery (called bellam) that we kids relished like candies. I grew up watching the women in our house often use haldi and besan on their faces twice or thrice a week. Shikakai, amla, hibiscus and tulsi were infused into coconut oil that my grandmother heated slowly in iron kadhais and it was this fragrant oil that everyone used on their hair and scalp.
Gradually over the years, the rice no longer needed to be sieved and could be directly washed and cooked as they came in sealed packets and each grain looked dazzling white. To make it terribly hard to resist they also ran eye-popping offers like buy one get one free. For a joint family of 13, this wasn’t an offer that could be overlooked. The Murram sat idle in a corner now having no role really in the kitchen. Also, the food industry worked hard on consumer psyches where ad after ad that came on TV glorified ‘refining’ of ‘crude’ or ‘not –safe-for-health’ products.
The next two decades saw the “refined” paradigm consolidating in the consumer psyche. From regional oils, the refining oil industry had done an excellent job of having the nation shift to standardized packaged refined sunflower, soybean, canola and rice bran oils.
Just in the last 10 years, we saw definitions of “healthy” assuming never-before-seen interpretations. The processing industry kept dishing out ads that held on tightly to the fear it had succeeded in generating in our minds. We started fearing our paranthas, the coconuts native to our land. Ghee and coconut oil had by then gained a notorious reputation. Achaars were being abandoned and no matter how much our grandmothers kept telling us that all this hue and cry wasn’t for our good, we were convinced well by the industry to believe she knew little about the health challenges of modern times.
In November 2017, the India State-level Disease Burden Trends report revealed some disturbing findings. The report stated that while life expectancy had gone up, more Indians were dying of non-communicable diseases such as ischemic heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), stroke, diabetes, and chronic kidney disease. Diets low in fruit, vegetables, and whole grains, but high in salt and fat as in processed foods, were India’s leading risk factors for health loss in 2016. This led to the top officials at the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) to launch the ‘Eat Right Movement.’ This initiative aims to bring in greater awareness of the dangers of eating too much-processed food. As per a report published in the Economic Times in July 2018, Mohit Anand, managing director, Kellogg South Asia was quoted saying
“Indian breakfast habits and food choices have seen some very interesting shifts over the last decade. Changing lifestyle, travel, experiences, and essentially exposure to a variety of cuisines are significantly impacting changing consumer food choices and attitude towards food. Consumers like to experience ‘food’. Therefore, food is not just sustenance any more. Another obvious big trend is the rise of ‘health & wellness’. Therefore, an education initiative like the ‘Eat Right Movement’ is a multi-stakeholder effort that will empower consumers.”
In our quest to reverse some of these life-threatening trends, slowly and gradually people are rediscovering ancient wisdom and traditional formulas with the help of indigenous, whole grain foods native to our country.
Let us now talk about Organic and its cost mechanics. Firstly, before we continue reading further, we need to muster genuine intention to gain a well-rounded, complete perspective of the several factors that play into working up the cost of what is called Organic.
There exists a very big portion of society that perceives ‘Organic’ to being a luxury; something that is meant for the rich.
We also have enough cynicism around with many who believe it to be fraudulent - that looting consumers in the name of organic is the new thing.
One of the main problems that we have encountered is the mistrust and lack of conviction of people who are older, above 45-50 years of age. This is mainly because they instantly compare the cost of organic products today to what it used to be when they were younger – when organic was all that there was and freely available. They fail to recognize that today the small section of organic farmers that exist are operating within a completely transformed context – one that is extremely unfriendly and dominated by large agri businesses.
Let’s attempt an exercise to make this easier –
Imagine and visualize someone working in a boxed space deficient of clear, breathable air. Imagine this space to be filled with smoke, dust, harmful gases. Imagine the person working here functions sincerely in isolation. All his friends are far away and working in similar environments themselves. Imagine this person with a cloth tied around his/her nose, mouth and eyes as only basic protection, working in this space every single day! Doesn’t that seem like a very difficult situation to be in?
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That imagery you have before your eyes right now is pretty much the state of an organic farmer today, especially those farmers who do not have access to markets and rely on middlemen to get their produce to consumers.
Doesn’t this farmer seem to be pursuing a high-risk job? Now let us think of the costs attached to a job of this nature -
Organic crops are farmed naturally without the use of anything artificial or chemical. This essentially means that the process is slow – it takes more time to produce crops, not forcefully expedited up to meet bulk quantities.
Organic farms are not as huge as conventional farms in most cases. More importantly, today, Organic Farmers are few. Why? Because there are too many misconceptions about organic farming. Because these farmers do not benefit from any government subsidies. Because if they have to go the organic way, it is presumed that the stakes are really high.
Most Organic products are made in small batches. This is because they do not involve the use of preservatives and other artificial additives to increase shelf life. They are vulnerable to temperature fluctuations, affected easily by storage conditions and cannot stay on the shelf for months on end unlike the factory made ones. This significantly drives up the cost.
Organic farms are not as huge as conventional farms in most cases. More importantly, today, Organic Farmers are few. Why? Because there are too many misconceptions about organic farming. Because these farmers do not benefit from any government subsidies. Because if they have to go the organic way, it is presumed that the stakes are really high.
Most Organic products are made in small batches. This is because they do not involve the use of preservatives and other artificial additives to increase shelf life. They are vulnerable to temperature fluctuations, affected easily by storage conditions and cannot stay on the shelf for months on end unlike the factory made ones. This significantly drives up the cost.
We at TBOF try to work in sync with nature’s pace and rhythm. In our 90-year-old farm-kitchen, there are no machines; if there are any, they are very old traditional equipment or rather tools like a hand churner, a manual stone grinder, a mixer that needs to be run by hands etc. Our products have a character of their own because there is no inconsiderate, rampant application of any force in its making – heat, pressure, vacuum, artificial additives or otherwise. Each of our products is crafted in an environment of Joy, fulfillment, gratitude and mutual respect and we are certain that these values find their way into the very essence of our products.
There is simply no comparison between a bulk produced bottle of machine made nut butter and small fresh batches of handmade butter using freshly harvested organic peanuts sand-roasted patiently on low heat and then ground with organic artisanal jaggery also made by us on our farm, brought to market in recycled bottles!
Let’s look at a few examples to understand this better.
Take for instance the Desi Ghee that we make on our farms.
This ghee has a very distinct aroma and our customers agree that the flavour is superlative. The TBOF Amorearth Desi Ghee is cultured ghee with probiotic properties.
The cows on our farm are pure desi breeds of the Gir variety. We do not tie our cows. They feed freely on organic fodder. They are left to walk around the farms as daily routine which is a good form of physical exercise for them that keeps them fit. The Gir breed of cows have a very strong sense of motherhood. The calves are not separated from their mothers, the baby calves are always given their share of milk first before milking the cows. This contributes in a big way to the quality of milk our cows produce. No cow is artificially inseminated. They are not injected or not allowed to feed on anything artificial. They graze freely.
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Hence there is no question of collection and storage of cream. Unpasteurized, fresh Gir Cow milk is directly inoculated with curds. This dahi is then used to make ghee. The dahi is slowly churned using traditional churners to separate the milk solids from the liquids. The fresh probiotic white butter is then heated in traditional ironware on very slow heat using firewood. The fact that we do not use cream or butter and use direct unpasteurized milk to convert to curds ensures that the ghee we make is extremely light on the stomach, is easily digested and quickly absorbed with all its nutrients intact.
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One of the main factors bringing about a drastic reduction in cost is factory based, mass production. Mass production means bulk buying. There is a forced reduction of the cost of ingredients and raw materials right at the source.
Almost all of the extremely cheaper brand's source butter directly from various suppliers - mix together all grades of this sourced butter, clarify it, package and sell. Cost is cut at every stage –
Let's take one more example – Jaggery!
Dasgupta writes beautifully about our very own, most nutritious, wholesome sweetener Gud which “has 2.8 gm of vital salts like magnesium and potassium per 100 gm, compared with white sugar’s 30 mg, besides iron. Our ancestors acknowledged its beneficial qualities — purifying the blood and preventing rheumatic and biliary afflictions — in ancient medical texts. Jaggery is regarded as delightfully rural by the otherwise organically orientated elite. It flavours tea in the outback, sweetens the meals of robust farmers and is carried by India’s masses as a cheap alternative to regulated white, granulated sugar!”
The making of jaggery in the traditional way is not a job that is meant for the faint hearted. At our farms, we first harvest the naturally grown sugarcane which is then crushed in a basic sugarcane crusher to extract sugarcane juice.
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This juice is then let to slowly boil in large iron pans on slow heat using a fuel mix of firewood and the leftover crushed sugarcane pulp. The boiling continues for 2-3 hours with continuous stirring until the juice reaches the required consistency. Further lady’s finger (bhindi) that is also grown on our farm is crushed and this plant mucilage is added to clarify the boiling liquid and the coagulated scum is removed to separate impurities. This concentrated clarified organic liquid jaggery also called as Kaakvi is poured into liquid moulds and left to solidify to form blocks of jaggery.
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It is common practice to use Soda, Calcium carbonate, lime, sulphur compounds etc during various stages for clarification (it is tedious to clarify the boiling liquid using plant mucilage), to lighten the colour of jaggery, to enhance solidification which also means a longer shelf life etc.
We carry out natural clarification which is labour intensive. But that extra effort is worth it.
The taste of the resulting jaggery is excellent. It has a pleasant sweet taste and deep dark colour. The texture is natural, almost caramelised velvety and can be easily scraped off using a knife or spoon. Ofcourse the texture is likely to vary slightly with each batch as the entire process is done using hands, manually!
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Coming to the cost now – A block of TBOF Organic Jaggery weighing 1 kg is priced at Rs. 180/- Doesn’t a cup of coffee in a café cost almost that much? Doesn’t a movie ticket these days cost more?
The effort involved in crafting a product of this quality is humongous – so much so that we can’t come close to imagining it sitting in the comfort of our homes behind a mobile screen. Dasgupta very rightly points out,
“Anywhere in the First World, it would be hailed, nay worshipped, as an example of ageless, handmade goodness. People would fight for it to be given Geographical Indicator status, and guard its exclusivity jealously. Its seasonal appearance would be publicised and celebrated with international marketing campaigns. But for us, Gur is, well, just Gur. It is the stuff of traditional and rustic fare, a poor substitute for shiny, crystallised, factory-buffed white sugar. It is certainly not found in artisanal stores, keeping company with imported extra virgin olive oil, organic white honey and other prized hand-produced foodstuff. Not because it shouldn’t but because we don’t respect it.”
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Again, for instance, nearly 2-3 decades ago petroleum-derived fabrics like nylon, variants of mass-produced polyester were a common choice and dominated the garments scene. It is just in the last decade that we have seen a vehement comeback of skin friendly, breathable fabrics like cotton, hemp, silk and linen. Would it be logical to compare a handloom khadi saree with the stamp tag of the weaver who made it with a machine made polyester or art silk piece of cloth?At TBOF we understand that today’s consumer responds to basic emotions and seek honesty and simplicity in products. While unwilling to compromise on sustainability and quality, they look for products that lead back to the roots. As a brand, we strive to connect meaningfully with these emotions.
We are seeing the emergence of a home like natural, minimally processed, indigenous ingredients, cold pressed, no chemicals/preservatives, free-range, ethical and honest products appearing on shelves with an increasing appreciation of our age-old ways
A century of mono-crop farming and the subsequent engineered dependence on chemical pesticides has robbed all life and vigour of our soil to the extent that it seems irreversible at times. As farmers, we seriously consider it our duty to rebuild organic matter and living biodiversity in our soil. The saddest part is that we still continue turning our heads to the chemical companies for convenient solutions to soil and health problems. The chemical companies have tied up and are scaling partnerships with the pharma companies.
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Having worked within the Healthcare industry at primary as well as tertiary clinical settings at some of the most credible healthcare institutions in our country with specialists and super-specialists - helping them fix delivery issues with the help of technology, one question that I often get asked these days is about my experience working ‘outside’ of healthcare in a new industry like food and agriculture. Although I settle for simpler responses, I truly wish I could explain how tired I had grown seeing doctors ‘managing’ symptoms of chronic disease with the equally harmful impact of drugs like antibiotics, antidepressants, statins, chemotherapy, narcotics etc to suppress pain – that I eventually had to step outside of a space where Food was no longer believed to be our medicine.
We’d like for them to know that every rupee we spend can make a real difference.
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Your money could be minuscule drops in a large ocean funding expansion plans for brands that are already retailing all around the globe OR your money could make it possible for a mother to enroll her child for dance class or buy him/her a colouring book and toys once a while.
And while doing so, you could also care for your health and the environment.
Let’s make a better world.
References -
What a detailed article. Just happened to find this while casually scrolling on a Sunday morning, but truly awakened reading some of the points mentioned her that decide how organic food gets priced. Thank you Two Brothers for taking the time to educate us. Looking forward to reading all your articles on the blog.
Have been using your products and they are truly amazing. I can clearly see the quality difference between your awesome products and the other cheaper ones. A2 ghee and jaggery are amazing especially.Keep up the good work.
Good team work!!!!!!!
amazing work…very nice
Pl. share regular updates on mail
I own a organic store in Mumbai. I always look for good and natural things but they are difficult to find. Many brands say they are organic but they are not indeed. When my other partner personally visited your farm and saw everything by himself i must say i am very impressed by your work. I sell Amorearth’s products heartily and proudly also i personally use them all Specially Lemon Slice, Chhas and A2 Ghee are my favourite. Also It is a great pleasure to contribute our supper heroes our farmers. Hats off to you guys Great work TBOF 🙌 Thank You so much for Giving me an opportunity to searving people at least i know i am not playing with people’s life.🙏
amazing work…very nice
Hello TBOF
Thanks a lot for attaching so much importance to traditional way of cultivating and practices. I am myself looking all over for authentic organic or pesticide free products, as I truly understand its importance. However as many others I still believe they are expensive, ones here are extremely expensive. I completely understand your reasons for that as well but as a lay person, how would I be able to spend more than 5000 rupees a month on Ghee alone? I have 4 member household and utilize about 2 litres of ghee every month, as we believe ghee is superfood and I love that you have it produced authentically but sadly that becomes over budget even though you tell in the post to spend wisely. You did give examples from childhood but lets not forget those people you were talking about were lower middle/middle class like my family, if they are given choice , they also wouldn’t have been able to bear this much cost. Being and indian middle class family we hardly splurge, all we do is save for children’s education and other unforeseen things. Then does that mean we do not have right to be healthy, but there are no avenues.
I am a simple mother and wife wanting best for my family and hence still on lookout for affordable products and landed on your page and was quite impressed but again disappointed seeing the sky high prices. You are right there is very less margin in this work and that is the reason lot of people who venture into this field eventually have to shut the business, I have seen the cases. some of them just wanted to do it for social cause and not for profit at all but there was no way they can sustain or even out.
I request hence to consider some community initiatives to bring down cost like bulk production or forming group of individuals who can pool resources for buying and maintaining small piece of land for cultivation, you provide them guidance or even employ few farmers, bear the cost to receive every week organic veggies. I am looking for even options to be able to convert terrace to small veggies garden to be able to support my family needs. If you have any such ideas please let me know and I will be more than excited to participate.
Thanks for your patience to read through if you ever get to read it:)
I am an organic farmer since 1993. Age 65. nice way of explaining the organic process. Health is a good inducer for going organic. Being sick scares the shit out of people. But people will get sick with some thing or the other , organic or no organic, due to old age, genes, infections, and other factors. But as you have rightly, it is not just people’s health, it is also a matter of the earth’s health. And we are all striving to be good, do good for ourselves and the earth, the only planet for us. My pricing policy has been “what is your retail price is my wholesale price.” For people hesitate to buy if we put all the costs into the product, but are willing to buy if we sell them at their retail price. Good luck to your efforts. You have not mentioned where your farm is! Mine is in Chittoor dt. AP. Uma Shankari.
I am a big fan of your A2 Ghee and Khapli Wheat flour. Thanks for all the efforts to bring out such quality organic products.
Tbof team great job is done by you for transformation in soceity . This movement is the demand of this age. We salute you as a JAI KISSAN a main fighter of movement for making society polutionfree, healthy and stressfree. Let’s everyone join this movement.
Yours is truly a labour of love. Great respect for all that you do.
Very well written post.
God Bless Team TBOF.
Where can I buy your products in Pune?
Grateful for this awareness. God bless entire TBOF team.
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Divya Janardhanan
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