Real Organic Project interviews OrganicEye’s Mark Kastel

Choosing the best, authentic, nutrient-dense, and pasture-raised organic dairy products for your family has, unfortunately, never been more complicated. Unlike locally available produce that you can be assured is truly grown organically, dairy products commonly come from larger operations and are distributed regionally or, more commonly, nationally.

Due to the co-opting of the USDA organic program by corporate agribusiness, factory dairies—some managing as many as 25,000 animals—have been allowed to produce milk labeled as “organic.” That’s not real organic!

Earlier this year, Mark Kastel was interviewed by a longtime ally, Dave Chapman, codirector of the Real Organic Project. Mark’s research over the past two decades on organic dairy has been incorporated into the messaging and mission of ROP and many other organizations in the organic movement. This interview was excerpted and presented as part of the Real Organic Project’s 2022 Real Organic Symposium.