Why Your Union Square Greenmarket Produce May Not Be USDA Certified Organic

Union Square Greenmarket, New York City. 2014.

Less than 10 percent of the farmers at the ever-popular Union Square Greenmarket are selling organic produce. But many more of them farm in organic ways – they just don’t want to pay the price to get licensed.

It’s not that these uncertified Northeastern farmers are flying false flags. They say they are committed to the government’s definition of organic farming: food grown without synthetic pesticides or chemical mutagens. Without a USDA Organic seal, however, self-evaluation verifies a farmer’s clean growing process. At the Greenmarket, some farmers debate if this is enough.

“There’s a lot of ambiguity on whether or not it’s important to be certified,” said John Adams of Hudson Valley Organic. “I think it is.”

Adams, 56, specializes in microgreens, tender, young salad greens. His greenhouse farm is in Wawarsing, New York, just west of Poughkeepsie. He has had his Seal since 1992, the first year the government began regulating organic farming but has been producing organically since 1986.

John Adams, owner and farmer of USDA certified organic microgreens farm, Hudson Valley Organic.

Adams claimed that many of the market’s farmers who dropped their government certifications in recent years own high-revenue farms. Because the label’s cost is based on a percentage of organic sales, these big farms are not willing (or sometimes, not able) to pay the higher fee.

“I think you should be certified,” said Adams. “I’m glad there are certifications out there for the big companies because they’re going to do a better job in their [practice], even if it’s not perfect.”

“Some of our farmers were doing organic farming before there was a certification process,” said a Greenmarket manager. They stopped using the “organic” label because “they don’t feel it represents their farm and what they do.” The government’s licensing standards are a key part of the rift, he added.

The farm stand of John and Sue Gorzynski, nestled along the west side of the park, proudly displays the name “Gorzynski Ornery Farm” on a white board of vegetable prices. The word “ornery” replaces a crossed out “organic.”

“Sun, seed, soil and water,” Sue said. “That’s what we use. That’s organic.”

Gorzynski Ornery Farm is formerly USDA certified organic. In 2002, owners John and Sue Gorzynski dropped the title.

Since 1979, the couple has been farming organic produce in Cochecton Center, in Sullivan County, New York. Then, their business was called “Gorzynski Organic Farm,” certified by the USDA. 

However, with the enactment of the 2002 Farm Bill, they chose to rescind their certification.

“Organic to us means no herbicides, no pesticides,” said Sue, behind the crates of carrots creating her Greenmarket cash desk. She claims that the USDA now allows organic farmers to use 137 different synthetics, while retaining their Organic Seal. This number is drawn from the National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances. That doesn’t sit well with the Gorzynskis.

The Greenmarket inspects every farm at market annually to check inventory, not farming practices. It serves only to provide consumers with direct communication with those cultivating their produce. For consumers, the organic produce standards at stands like Gorzynski Ornery Farm require taking a farmer’s word.

“[Uncertified organic farmers] prefer to just talk to people about what they grow and actually explain why their food’s better,” the Greenmarket manager said, “not just with a label.”

Organic carrots and radishes from Gorzynski Ornery Farm.

How Quinn Ventura's Vegan Dessert Will Change the Way You Value Butter

Acai, blueberries, strawberries, banana, agave and soy milk make a
filling, vegan snack in Blossom Du Jour's Blue Velvet smoothie.

Quinn Ventura has got baking down to a science.

The 28-year-old is head pastry chef for Manhattan-based vegan food brand Blossom. Since 2010, she has been adapting traditional desserts for its animal-product-free menu, without compromising taste.

Ventura's bakery has been busier than ever with the opening of a fourth Blossom du Jour takeout café this summer. Luckily, she's got a few tricks up her sleeve. The key to successful vegan food is cooking substitutions and the chef has mastered the method.

“For me, [baking] has always been trial and error,” said the Greenville, N.Y. native. A chef father and baker mother inspired her interest in food. Culinary training at SUNY Schenectady gave her kitchen skills. 

She credits television show "America’s Test Kitchen" for her expertise in creating animal-free recipes that emulate butter, milk and egg-based desserts. Ventura's go-to ingredient is Earth Balance, a plant-based oil blend that she says "mimics butter."

Her own bakery experiments have found that bananas, dates and tofu can create texture and sweetness for breads and cookies. A simple baking soda and vinegar reaction will raise a cake in the oven.

The Oatmeal Harvest Cookie is buttery, chewy and 100% vegan.

“I had only ever made one vegan recipe before I started working with Blossom,” she said. 

In fact, Ventura, a vegan herself, didn’t make her first batch of cookies until she was 22! Now, she runs the Blossom kitchen, cranking out an obscene amount of baked goods each day: 300 to 400 cookies, 150 cupcakes, 32 mini pies, 36 loaves of banana bread and 180 brownies, on average.

I was impressed after one bite of a Blossom oatmeal harvest cookie and a lick of vegan “cream cheese” frosting. Ventura’s alternative baked goods have convinced me, and New York, to embrace conscious eating, and maybe rethink butter.

10 Recipe Websites Every Student Should Already Be Following

Image via The Kitchn

Over the summer, I officially moved into my own New York City apartment. Now, it's bye-bye to seemingly endless semesters of tiny college dorm kitchens and hello to counter space. I've begun cooking with the regularity I've always wanted. And subsequently have invested in a lovely little supply of reusable containers to bring that homemade food to class and work.

As a senior in college, I've already got a lot on my plate. Between rent, bills and school expenses, cooking saves me green for weekends out. The process is a creative way to relax at the end of a ten hour internship day. Since the beginning of my dorm days, I've amassed quite a host of sources for food inspiration.

Here are ten of my favorite recipe websites, all suitable for the busy (and budget-conscious) student: