These methods apply while the food is actually grown.

This generally refers to a farming method also known as "holistic management", pioneered by Allan Savory. With regenerative farming techniques, farmers and ranchers are able to use grazing livestock to actually revitalize the land and ecosystems, making the soil more robust, which leads to less flooding, erosion, and reduction of deserts. It's quite miraculous stuff.

A very popular benchmark for low-chemical farming techniques, the organic certification prohibits the use of many artificial chemicals including pesticides, herbicides, etc.

In food production, it also prohibits the use of certain artificial additives and preservatives.

While not the most rigorous standard, it is a relatively common and effective benchmark for more natural production methods, particularly when it comes to produce.

While in practice the farming techniques are the same as the above, many farms are not explicitly certified by the USDA and are therefore not allowed to use the Organic label.

However, they can follow the practices whether they are certified or not. The process is typically time consuming and expensive, so some farmers choose not to do it.

Farms that use organic methods therefore produce the same quality foods, but the burden of verifying this fact comes down to the customer and their trust of the farmer.

Cows eat grass. However, it is common for factory farms to feed them corn and other grains, particularly as they get older. But these animals did not evolve to eat such food, and it produces meat that is of lower nutrient quality than cows that exclusively eat grass.

However, this doesn't necessarily mean they are outside all day in the fields like you see in pictures-- factory farmed cattle can still be fed grass. That's why we also look for...

This means that the animals in question spend most of their time outdoors, on pasture, under the sun, and not in some fluorescent lit factory.

All animals can be pasture raised, but what they eat while on pasture varies. For example, chickens will tend to eat bugs, while the cows go for the grass itself.

Think of this as a step further than organic. Biodynamic farms take into account many additional variables, and look at the ecosystem as a whole rather than just banning the use of certain chemicals

Farmers have selectively bred, and more recently genetically modified, crops and livestock for thousands of years.

Often, the qualities they breed are desirable mostly from a profitability standpoint and not from a quality standpoint.

These terms all refer to strains of crop or livestock whose genetic lineage predates the industrial and green revolutions.

While not a farming technique per se, this label applies to fish and game that have been taken from the wild; i.e. not raised from birth in a domesticated environment.

While wild caught fish are much more common, wild hunted game is available for sale by many vendors.

Wild animals are typically more nutrient dense, and usually subjected to far fewer pesticides while growing in their natural environment.

These are techniques that apply when preparing a specific type of food for consumption.

While any food can be eaten raw, it is of most interest when applied to dairy. In this context, it means the milk goes straight from udder to bottle. Raw dairy products (including cheese, cream, butter, kefir, etc.) are never heated in any capacity.

This heating process has been said to denature or reduce specific nutrients; nutrients which proponents highly value.

This term can also be applied to honey and fruit juices.

Seed oils, also known as vegetable oils, are a set of oils which come from the seeds of commodity crops, including soy, corn, peanuts, rapeseed (canola oil), sunflower, and safflower, etc.

The methods used to produce such oil are highly industrial, having only been invented in the early 1900s, and require many energy- and chemical-intensive steps.

They are ubiquitous in processed food, fast food, and most restaurants. This term therefore refers to such foods that do not use these oils, but instead use the other cooking oils such as palm, coconut, olive, avocado; and the fats such as butter, ghee, lard, and tallow.

This refers to the traditional method of breadmaking which uses a culture of wild yeast and bacteria as the leavening agent instead of commercial yeast.

Sourdough does not necessarily taste sour; rather, it's about where the yeast comes from.

Sourdough breads are typically handmade, and usually contain fewer preservatives and other artificial additives.

Typically applied to breadmaking, whole wheat bread involves the use of the entire grain (and not merely the endosperm which is used in white flour).

Freshly milled applies when the grains are milled immediately before baking, and not weeks or months prior (which is common for most whole wheat flour)

This is a broad set of production techniques that typically recruit wild yeast and bacteria to ferment raw ingredients, often vegetables. These microorganisms perform a multitude of reactions on the food, which will usually become more sour and have a longer shelf life.

This process also introduces the microorganisms themselves to the finished product, which has been said to be helpful for the gut microbiome of whoever eats them.

Natural wines are not very well defined, but the term usually includes the use of organic (or often biodynamic) farming methods for the grapes, as well as the rejection of many modern artificial additives that find their way into the winemaking process.

Natural wines typically have a lower sulfite content, are often unfiltered, use natural yeast, and are free of many other additives.

Many cultures traditionally prepared nuts and seeds for consumption by soaking them in water, and sometimes even sprouting them.

This process is said to reduce the concentration of certain nutrient inhibitors, such as phytic acid, and make them more digestible.

How to talk to farmers and food producers about Shire. Shire's job is to help everyone find high quality food. To achieve our goal, we also have to help the thousands of producers who make high quality food market and distribute their products more effectively. But Shire can only help them if they know about us, and if we know what their needs are.

That's where you come in, as a passionate member of our community who regularly buys food from Shire-style businesses. By having a quick conversation with them about their business and Shire, you can have a huge impact toward making local, high quality food production more robust.

Sound interesting? Then read on...

When you're out buying food, strike up conversations with the owners of the businesses.

The purpose of these conversations is threefold:

To build relationships with people who share similar values about food as you (really a good idea to do this for any local business you frequent)

To learn about the difficulties that these producers face, and communicate that information to us so we can design better solutions

To let them know about Shire and get them excited about our mission and community

Take some time to get to know your farmer/producer. Ask them about their families, how they got started, and why they're passionate about what they do. They spend long hours doing the often thankless work of growing the amazing food that we often take for granted. Let them know that you appreciate what they produce, and express a desire to learn about what they do. It feels much better nourishing your body with real food made by someone you know and trust than just with some factory-packaged item a faceless corporation sold to you. And such relationships vastly increase your food security during a time when grocery prices are skyrocketing and shelves are often uncomfortably empty.

For us to build the most effective tools to help food producers, we need to know their needs. To find out about the struggles they face as a business, it's best to ask a few questions and let the conversation flow.

Here are a few ideas to get the conversation going:

What are some of the biggest obstacles to selling high quality food profitably? Not enough customers/demand? Regulations? Unpredictable sales? Inefficient distribution methods?

Do you have trouble finding enough customers? Do your customers understand the value and therefore the higher price of your products?

Why do you think so many farmers choose to sell commodity crops to large distributors, as opposed to value-added products direct to consumer like you do? What would it take to encourage more people to do what you do?

These questions can also be adapted to restaurateurs and other types of business owners. If you're curious about anything they say, feel free to dig deeper. No need to take notes, but try to remember the main points.

After you've gotten to know them a bit and learned about their unique struggles as a business owner, it might be a good time to mention Shire.

There's no need to sell them on anything. Just mention that it exists, and if you can relate it to one of the struggles they brought up, e.g. that it's hard to find customers that care about what they do, then that's even better.

Here are some ways to describe Shire's advantages to them:

It allows more people who know about and value their products to find them, selling higher volume and allowing them to charge a more comfortable price

It will enable them to connect better with a community of people who like and support what they do, which is useful in growing the industry and fighting for more fair regulations, etc.

Feel free to share our socials with them, and if they seem excited you can definitely put them in touch with us.

That's all there is to it-- nothing complicated, and remember your interest and passion in supporting quality food are all that really matter at the end of the day.

Congratulations, you hopefully made a new farmer friend, learned about the food industry, and told them about our awesome app all in the same day!

After the conversation, let us know how it went. This does not have to be formal at all, simply let us know whom you spoke with and anything interesting that came up in the discussion.

Feel free to send this to us on social media or email at info@shireapp.io