We also share a priority on family fun , which was evident when they flung the door open on the John Deere ® harvester , inviting my daughter to ride inside for the first harvest of curly organic kale . My boys were green with envy , and , eventually , they all got a chance to “ drive ” the massive piece of equipment . The kids also got a chance to ride in the truck where freshly harvested kale was loaded .
We followed the kale straight from the field to a building adjacent to one of their farm parcels , full of equipment that Jeff designed for flash freezing . It ’ s an incredibly clean facility with tight controls , so my entire family had to dress in white lab coats , hair nets , booties over our shoes – the whole deal .
Have you ever seen a truck load of organic kale go from harvest to instantly freeze-dried ? Me , either . Here ’ s a very simple explanation of what happened : approximately 30 minutes after harvest , the organic kale got a triple-wash with purified water at the loading door . It was then loaded onto a belt that air-dries the kale and moves it directly into a room the size of three semi-trailers , where the organic kale is instantly blasted with air so cold that it literally freezes the kale through in the flash of an eye —“ flashfreezing .” The freezing dries the water out of the kale so what ’ s left is a frozen , dehydrated leaf with all of its nutrients — antioxidants ; vitamins including high amounts of vitamins K , A , C , and B6 ;
My 11-year old boy and his John Deere hat .
minerals including manganese , calcium , potassium and iron ; and most interesting for us — high concentrations of naturally occurring nitric oxide — all of which gets immediately locked in .
Once the organic kale has been freezedried , a machine that reminded me of a big mixer turns it into a rich , dark-green powder . That ’ s the organic kale that will be shipped out within a few weeks
Organic Kale
( after testing for purity ) to be blended in Garden of Life ® products .
We spent the rest of the day doing “ farm stuff .” We ate lunch — made up of lots of freshly harvested veggies . We played in the muddy fields . And David , along with one of our new friends working with Garden of Life , who competes professionally in “ Top-Shot ” style competitions , took us to an abandoned corn field for some range practice . During our visit , David Van Drunen gave my 11-year old boy his John Deere hat , which has become one of my son ’ s treasures .
About a week after we returned , my kids and I were talking as we shopped together with our local health food store , hanging out in the aisle “ inspecting ” the Garden of Life formulas on the shelves . We discussed the idea of traceability . I explained to them how important it is to know where your farmers grow your ingredients , and to make sure they ’ re all audited by reputable third parties , including Organic certifiers and the Non GMO Project .
Frankly , my kids don ’ t get it . My kids think it ’ s normal to have friends such as the Van Drunen farm family . In their simple , child-like views , they believe that everybody selling a product in a place such as a health food store should be able , at any time , to visit the fields and see their products being grown in an organic field .
Actually , they ’ re right about that . Maybe they do get it . Traceability means getting the informed choice you and your family deserve .