Even though my website has been up for only a very short period of time, several people have left comments on the blog that they like to look their local farmer in the eye before they purchase their food.

Why is this?  Well, they want some reassurance that the food they are buying is truly organic and free of pesticides.

In essence, they want to know where their food is coming from.

Dole Organic has recognized this desire of many consumers and has actually done something about it.

At the top of the label, you will see a farm number.  If you go to doleorganic.com and search for the corresponding number, in this case #633, you will be able to get information about and pictures of the farm where the bananas were produced, including PDFs of the organic certification papers.  The content and pictures may vary slightly from farm to farm.

According to Frans Wielemaker, Director of Sourcing and Development of the Organic and Exotics Program at Dole, “this program was started two years ago.  It was initially something that our organic certifier wanted us to have but once all the hard work and logistics were implemented, we decided to use the system as a way to connect with the consumer.” Read more »