Living on Borrowed Credits: Finca Brutal’s Quest to Keep Future Generations from Going Bankrupt

What if the food on your plate today isn’t just feeding you, but programming your grandchildren? That’s one of the questions driving Chris and Celeste’s work at Finca Brutal and Comida Limpia de Puerto Rico. For them, clean food isn’t a trend. It’s not boutique farming or nostalgia. It’s generational accounting. And right now, they believe we’re spending health we didn’t earn.

From Federal Courts and IT to Pastures

Celeste grew up between Ponce and Juncos and spent summers on Vieques. Chris grew up on Long Island in Bay Shore, New York. Their professional lives were anything but agricultural. Celeste worked in Orlando as an assistant to a Federal Judge in the Federal Courts. Chris worked in IT. They met kayaking in an outdoor group in Florida. Looking back it was a fitting beginning for two people who would later build their lives around nature.

Puerto Rico wasn’t originally the plan. A vacation after a disappointing trip to Mexico changed everything. Celeste wanted to show Chris Vieques, where she had spent childhood summers. The beaches, the snorkeling, the whole experience drew Chris in. 

When they first made the decision to move to Puerto Rico, they thought they’d move to Vieques. Their kids warned they might get bored on Vieques long term. “They were probably correct,” they admit. Then, after a not so enjoyable ferry ride to Vieques, they decided to explore more of the island.

After visiting Rincón, meeting people, and experiencing the restaurants and community, they eventually planted roots in Western Puerto Rico.

It Was Supposed to Be a Few Chickens

They didn’t move to Puerto Rico to start a large-scale farm. “We planned to homestead,” they say. “Have a couple of cows and chickens… things got out of hand fast.”

They had assumed Puerto Rico would be a mecca of fresh, healthy food. It wasn’t what they hoped for. So they began raising and growing more of their own.

Friends started asking for some. Then more friends. Then dozens of people began showing up on harvest days to pick up chickens. “There was obviously a need greater than ours for good healthy food,” they say. What started as self-sufficiency became something much bigger.

Outgrowing the Farm

In Rincón, they owned four cuerdas and leased another 23 on a handshake deal from a generous local family. But as livestock numbers grew, so did the need for long-term security and space.

Over the years, Rincón’s real estate market exploded and expanding there became financially unrealistic. They began looking nearby. When they found a 37-cuerda finca in Moca with access to even more surrounding land, they knew it would be the perfect place to continue their mission. Today, they farm about 100 cuerdas. The scale changed. The mission didn’t.

Farming as a Daily Chess Match

There is no typical day at Finca Brutal. “It’s like a daily chess match in our heads,” they explain. Mornings start very early with a shared cup of coffee. Then they head out onto the farm; feeding and caring for animals is always first priority. Celeste tends her garden. Mid-morning is project time. There are always projects. Afternoons mean harvesting, butcher shop work, planting, collecting eggs, milking cows, maintaining pastures, and then another round of feeding. “It’s not boring,” they laugh. But it is demanding.

Puerto Rico adds its own challenges: nonstop rainy seasons, difficulty sourcing organic feed, double the mainland cost for shipped supplies. Clean farming is labor-intensive and logistically complicated.

And yet, they refuse shortcuts. They do not spray cattle with pesticides every few weeks. They don’t routinely dose sheep with pharmaceutical parasite treatments as a preventive measure. Instead, they build resilience through healthy soils, rotational grazing, and selective breeding. Too much intervention, they believe, fosters weakness. Sometimes you have to wait, even when it’s hard. They intervene when absolutely necessary. But if an animal requires pharmaceutical intervention, that animal does not enter the food supply.

The Epigenetics of a Food System and Clean Food as a Deposit

Celeste talks about “health credits.” The idea echoes principles of epigenetics. It is a science showing that environmental inputs like nutrition, toxins, and stress influence how genes express themselves. These changes can ripple across generations.

From Chris and Celeste’s perspective, if you grew up before the late 1970s, you may have started life with more “credits.” Food was less processed, soils were less depleted, and agrochemicals were less pervasive. Since then, nutrient density has declined in many foods. Ultra-processed products have become standard, while pesticides and herbicides are commonplace.

“We feel we’re seeing more childhood diseases in newer generations,” they say. “Processed and chemically laden foods are being administered from day one.” Whether you frame it scientifically or philosophically, their point is simple. You can’t keep withdrawing from a biological bank account without making deposits. Right now, they believe many families are unknowingly spending future health for present convenience.

For them, “clean food” is straightforward: Whole, natural food devoid of agrochemicals, pesticides, herbicides, synthetic fertilizers, and contaminants. And sustainability isn’t enough. They strive to be regenerative, in soil, in livestock health, and in human health. The work is slower. Yields can be smaller and labor is higher. But the nutrient density is greater, and for Chris and Celeste, that’s the point.

Health Is Not Convenience

In 2012, they lost a family member to medication. That loss forced them to question the health system. Soon after, both began experiencing health issues often dismissed as normal aging. Conventional medicine masked the symptoms but offered no solution to the actual health problem. The risks began to outweigh the benefit, in their eyes, and food became the foundation to real health and wellbeing.

They believe doctors don’t always address food quality as a primary health intervention. Yet through their own experiences and those of other families, they’ve seen dramatic health improvements, especially in children, after switching to nutrient-dense, whole chemical-free foods. For them, the farm isn’t just about agriculture. It’s preventive medicine.

Comida Limpia: Scaling the Mission

What began as neighbors picking up chickens at the homestead evolved into Comida Limpia de Puerto Rico. The market has evolved through the years. What originally started at their farm in Rincón now hosts over a dozen food producers. The goal was simple: consistent access to clean food, and support for farmers protecting land, waterways, and beaches. 

Each Friday, they publish links to the market in WhatsApp groups for Rincón, Dorado, San Juan, and Palmas. Orders close at noon on Mondays, and pickups happen midweek depending on location. Wednesdays in Rincón, every other Thursday in the other areas.

Behind the scenes, standards are strict. “First and foremost, they have to produce clean food. Period.” They work closely with farmers who want to transition. They provide support, knowledge, sometimes even materials. Many find it too much work, but those who stay are deeply committed.

The hardest part? “Finding producers that actually really produce clean food.” Transparency matters. Because, as they bluntly put it: “We’ve all been lied to.”

Teaching the Next Generation

Beyond the market, they host pizza nights at the farm using wholesome ingredients. They hold farm days and homeschooling events. Kids learn where food actually comes from. They collect eggs, they see soil and they understand animals.

The goal isn’t fear; it is awareness. “Food is not a matter of convenience,” they say. “You have to work hard at making conscious choices.”

When asked how they hope what they are doing will shape the world and future generations, they joke that “maybe people will go from round to long and skinny.” However, behind the humor is something serious. They want children to inherit resilience, not debt.

Living Within Our Means

Epigenetics teaches that environment shapes expression. That inputs matter, and that the body responds and remembers. Finca Brutal is built on the belief that we are not separate from that system. You may spray away symptoms, or you can rebuild soil. One can medicate weakness or breed resilience. You can optimize convenience or you can invest in credits your grandchildren will spend.

Chris and Celeste chose the harder path. Not because it’s trendy, but because they believe bankruptcy; biological, environmental, generational, is not inevitable. It’s a choice. And they’ve decided to start making deposits.

For more information on the Comida Limpia market and educational opportunities, you can visit their website: https://comidalimpiapr.com/our-market