For the last 15 years, Santiago Contreras has been a vegetarianu2014conscious of healthy eating and healthy food. After many years working in the restaurant industry, he made the leap to learn to become a farmer by enrolling in the Farmer Education Course (PEPA) at the Agriculture and Land-Based Training Association (ALBA) to develop his knowledge and skills to work the land. After a year of classroom learning and hand-on training, Contreras is now a full-time farmer cultivating many different vegetables, such as squash, beans, tomatoes, onions, and melons, on five rented acres in Hollister. Seeing the clear connection between peopleu2019s health and agricultural growing practices, Contreras is fully committed to growing organically: u201cIn reality, I started all this … for my health and for the health of the people who want this product.”1
Contreras hopes to create a farm in which everything works together and where the healthy treatment of the land is evidenced in the quality of the produce. u201cI know what we are doing here is 100 percent natural, organic; it does not have anything u2026 that could contaminate the body … because one knows that conventional has many insecticides, pesticides, toxins and u2026 this is consumed [by the eater].”2 Growing without synthetic chemicals allows every beingu2014even gophersu2014a chance to live within the farmu2019s ecosystem. Contreras respects these creatures and believes they u201calso have the right to eat.u201d3 Contreras understands the interconnectedness and impact of his farming practices and that what he puts in the soil affects animals above and below ground, the roots, the microbiome, the plants, and the people who consume his produce.
For Contreras, living a healthy life begins with natural food produced on organic farms. “This makes one think that it is good that someone is growing organic and is not eating toxins. u2026 That is why I am in love with what we are doing; because everything we do is natural.”4 Contrerasu2019 studies may have given him the tools to farm organically, but his passion and commitment to healthful produce have transformed him into an organic farmer and advocate.
Last year was the first time that the CCOF Foundation supported Contrerasu2019 career in organic agriculture. Contreras plans to continue growing organically on his farm, M.R. Organics, and hopes to expand his infrastructure and acreage in upcoming years. The CCOF Foundation congratulates and wishes the best to Santiago Contreras for the upcoming harvest in 2021!
Applications for CCOFu2019s Future Organic Farmers grants are open now and close on May 14. Find out more and apply at the Future Organic Farmers website now!
All quotes translated from Spanish to English and edited for clarity.
1 u201cEn realidad yo comencu00e9 todo esto u2026 por mi salud y por la salud de la gente que quiere este productou201d.
2 u201cYo su00e9 lo que estamos haciendo aquu00ed es cien porciento natural, orgu00e1nico, no tiene ningu00fan, nada. Nada que pudiese contaminar al cuerpo u2026 porque uno prende que todo lo convencional es con muchas insecticidas, pesticidas, venenos y tantas cosas y todo esto lo consume uno u2026 .”
3 u201cLos topos son animales naturales, y tienen derecho a comer.u201d
4 u201cEntonces esto hace uno pensar, de que bueno, que es uno quien estu00e1 cultivando orgu00e1nico y no estu00e1 comiendo algo de veneno. u2026 Por eso estoy enamorada de lo que estamos haciendo nosotros porque todo lo que hacemos nosotros es al natural.u201d