Certified Organic - The Reality Of It All

[Guest guest]

Hi Butch

I kept your post in my *In box* because I really wanted to say

*thanks* for posting the information, but I seem to be falling over

myself - time wise - so have only just got round to it! Big sorry :-)

What you say makes so much sence, and I hope people take the time to digest it.

As an illustration of what you are saying :

A gardener comes and takes quite a bit of of our muck heap (manure)

from the stables for his plot. He sells his produce (not a lot and

very small scale) as organic.

We worm our horses regularly (OK - I use a herbal wormer but the

others use chemicals). But how much of the chemical residue is going

on his land? And into his produce? Would his produce be eligible for

certification? I dont know.

I do know that as a tree hugger (big grin!) I *dont* buy organic

oils....and you explain far better than I can - Why!

Thanks again :-)

LLx

PS as your post is oldish I'm leaving it below so those that missed it

can read, and those that skimmed it can digest it second time

round.... :-)

 

 

 

On 30/03/2008, Butch Owen <butchowen wrote:

> Howdy y'all,

>

> Throughout the below writing you will find an excessive use of Caps .. I

> have always done this to emphasize what I consider to be important points

> and because I think that by doing so it helps folks to better remember those

> points .. I have no apologies for disregarding the rules of grammar. Just

> look at it as being a Tennessee Hillbilly stomping his foot when he makes

> points that just might show up on the final exam .. difference being y'all

> ain't gonna be tested on this information .. but your pocketbook might get

> tested. ;-)

>

> Being the Non Politically Correct person I have always been .. I have never

> hesitated to kick the beloved Sacred Cows in the Essential Oils (EO)

> Industry .. nor have I avoided bursting a few of the balloons of Hype and

> Misinformation that are (unfortunately) too often foundations of the

> industry. I've never been as successful at doing this as have Martin Watt

> and Tony Burfield .. but I do it as best as can and I tell it like I really

> think (or know) it is rather than how many folks wish it was because my

> memory is not all that great .. if one wishes to be a super marketer and

> charismatic con artist they must have an extremely good memory so as to not

> trip over their own tales .. like politicians running for elected office

> often do. ;-)

>

> I started writing on the fallacy of CO back in the mid 1990s .. Martin and

> Tony have written far more than I have on the problems inherent in so-called

> Certification programs. None of us have said that these programs are

> useless .. just that in the case of EO they are often not dependable .. and

> that in reality, it is not possible to certify products from certain areas.

> Even if the Certification system is working as it should work, which is too

> often NOT the case .. it is the soil (not the products grown in the soil)

> that can truly be certified. And .. even if the products alleged to have

> been grown in legitimately certified soil were, in fact, grown in that soil

> .. there is still no proof that they have not been contaminated by downwind

> drift or acid rain or many other forms of fallout. Some of my posts on

> this are in the archive of this list.

>

> Taking it a bit further .. lets go beyond plants that we intend to eat in a

> salad and such .. and move to EO. If one seeks only so-called (alleged) CO

> Essential Oils then they will spend a lot of money but have few EO in

> their collection .. simply because most EO are produced in Third World (TW)

> and Emerging Market (EM) Countries where Certification is not a norm due to

> the major expense of complying with the bureaucratic (though actually, very

> loose) requirements. As is the case with most systems, if one has the big

> bucks they can work well within the CO system .. the little guys don't have

> the swing to do what the big boys can do. On the positive side, odds of

> getting a truly Organic product from a TW Country are probably better than

> those of getting one from a more developed country .. due to tradition and

> economics. Having lived a total of 26 + years in Turkey .. the last " trip "

> being 19 + years from 1988 through 2007, I know that fungicides, pesticides

> and even commercial fertilizers are rarely used by Turkish farmers because

> (1) Their father and grandfather did not use them .. and (2) They can't

> afford to purchase them. Of course, most of the EO from Turkey are Wild

> Grown in any case .. and they are harvested in areas that are very sparsely

> populated .. this is also the case with Wild Grown plants in most of the TW

> & EM countries I have worked in or visited.

>

> If .. in fact .. an Aromatic Plant is grown in legitimate CO Soil .. and

> then distilled .. the EO from that plant will obviously be more free of

> commercial chemicals than an EO distilled from Aromatic Plants plants that

> have been sprayed with Commercial Chemicals. If one can purchase those

> oils DIRECT from the still .. they can have all kinds of warm fuzzies

> about the product .. that is, as far as it not having been directly exposed

> to Commercial Chemicals. However, this says nothing about the QUALITY of

> the EO.. Certification can't assure this. There are many commercial

> chemical free .. pure .. EO out and about that are Low or Mediocre Quality

> because the chemical profile of the oil is well outside the profile or

> " footprint " of what is considered to be the acceptable range of EO produced

> from Aromatic Plants within that Origin country. Certification can NOT

> tell us about Quality .. only a Lab Analysis can do this. I believe it

> was " Chicken of the Sea " that used to have Charlie Tuna talking with another

> Tuna who was dressed in a Tux and quoting Shakespeare .. asking, " Do you

> want a Tuna with Good Taste .. or a Tuna that Tastes Good? " ;-)

>

> Take it a bit further .. let's assume that an Aromatic Plant is grown in

> legitimate CO Soil .. and the Grower is a Conscientious person and is also

> the Distiller of the EO. Buy from that Grower/Distiller and we will get a

> truly Certified Organic EO. Problem is that most end users of EO can't

> afford to import EO .. they purchase from folks like me and others on this

> News Group. We import much of what we offer but its not possible for us to

> import ALL of the EO we sell. For many reasons it just not practical or

> economically feasible to do this .. especially when we need only one

> extremely low cost EO from a particular Origin .. in such a case

> shipping and other costs can be far more than the cost of the oil. We

> import what we can because it is OUR money we are investing and we are

> professional enough to know that we can not stay in business if we spend OUR

> money on Garbage. I have known the major sellers on this New Group for

> many years and I know that by protecting ourselves we are also protecting

> you .. the end user.

>

> For those EO that we do NOT import ourselves .. we turn to the Major

> Importers .. many of which have MILLIONS and MILLIONS off dollars tied up in

> their stock and they can obtain their stock for far less per kilogram than

> we can because at one time they can purchase 500 or 1,000 kilos of even a

> very low priced EO. I offer way over 100 EO so I can't afford to have 500

> kilos of each one on hand.

>

> ALL of these large importers are not as careful as we try to be ourselves ..

> so we do our homework and then seek out those who we believe are

> as conscientious and professional as we consider ourselves to be .. again, a

> simple matter of logical self-preservation. However, if one of these large

> importers DOES NOT purchase an EO direct from the grower/distiller .. if

> they purchase from an importer larger than they are .. then even the most

> honest and conscientious seller can NOT bet their life that a Certified

> Organic EO is in fact an EO that was extracted from an Aromatic Plant that

> was grown in legitimate CO Soil .. because it is possible that the larger

> importer could have mixed another EO with that CO oil. Some major

> importers do not purchase ALL oils directly from the grower/distiller ..

> when I owned a Turkish company they often purchased from me because I also

> had a American company .. and I spoke Turkish and knew the distillers and

> their families .. the buyers trusted me. There were many months where we

> would ship over a metric ton of Origanum and other EO to major U.S. importers.

> Know that this is also the case for other EO from other countries.

>

> If anyone wants follow up information on WHY I am not overly impressed with

> Certified Organic products I will provide it .. On Line. All you have to do

> is ask. I will NOT provide it Off Line because I don't have the time now

> to be " educating one Aromatic Soul at time. " ;-)

>

> Since I came into this business I have used a coding system that is posted

> on my BROKEN web site .. as follows. I say Broken because it was broken

> even before Friday night when the server for that site went down .. right

> now you can't even pull the site up .. nor can I receive email at the

> address hosted by that server ButchOwen @ AV-AT .com .. it will be up Monday

> (I hope). We are working even harder now to get the new web site on line

> .. using a different server.

>

> The Agri Class and Distillation Method Codes for this system are as follows

> and I have always felt extremely comfortable using this system:

>

> WG .. Wild Grown - Self propagating - Uncultivated - Harvested by hand in

> the wild

> CO .. Certified Organic - Certified by a third party

> OR .. Organic - Same as CO except NOT Certified

> EF .. Ethically Farmed - may or may not be Organic

> SE .. Solvent Extracted - Absolutes

> HS .. Hydro Steam Distilled

> EP .. Expeller Pressed

> HD .. Hydro Diffused

> SD .. Steam Distilled

> CP .. Cold Pressed

>

> There will come a time (soon) where I will not be able to use this system ..

> the government will screw it up by demanding that the term Organic be

> Certified. How the industry will deal with this then is still a puzzle to

> me because .. for example .. ALL of the EO I sell with an Origin of the UK

> are grown and distilled by a man who certainly uses NO Commercial Chemicals

> .. both Martin Watt and I know him well and we both trust him .. but this

> gentleman has said that he will NOT go along with the ridiculous and

> expensive requirements to obtain a CO designation for his oils .. his

> feelings are shared by many other growers/distillers.

>

> I see this as being no different than the very large vegetable garden I will

> be planting in a few weeks .. it will be TOTALLY Organic but not

> Certified. There is a need for government oversight in many areas now ..

> the U.S. and EU governments have shown major shortfalls in their efforts to

> protect us from Hazardous imports from China and other countries but they

> still see a need to play Big Brother in areas that are not broken within our

> own countries. Tony Burfield and his Cropwatch organization have been

> busting butt for a long time trying to protect Europeans from their own

> government .. the EU is prohibiting the use of many EO for the most

> ridiculous reasons .. and Tony has done much to head them off at the pass ..

> he is a thorn in their side. Whether or not his organization will be able

> to win these battles remains to be seen but if he loses it will not be for

> lack of effort .. and not for lack of presentation of credible information

> to counter their ridiculous positions on many EO

>

> Back to CO before I close out .. I offer some CO oils because (1) some

> customers want them and (2) I am sometimes able to find reasonably priced CO

> oils .. but not always. There are some CO oils that are priced as much as

> 300% more than the same oils that are Organic .. or even Wild Grown. I am

> not foolish enough to buy them and I have come to the conclusion that most

> folks think as I do. All of my oils are tested via either GC or GC/MS ..

> and I have seen CO oils that tested LOWER in Quality than oils that are not

> CO. If a person wants to throw their money away in order to have warm

> fuzzies .. then they should do it but they should also understand that they

> might be paying for a false sense of security .. the Emperor does NOT always

> have new clothes.

>

> There are even many Certified Organic Absolutes out and about .. I offer one

> myself .. Vanilla .. but is it logical? Of course not! Regardless of how

> an Aromatic Plant is grown .. when you process it with Hexane it takes a

> great imagination to believe that it is still a Certified Organic oil.

>

> Would you purchase a Certified Organic EO from China or Russia? It might

> surprise some folks to know how often I receive spam from folks claiming to

> sell CO oils from these two countries.

>

> Below is one of the reasons why I don't offer California Citrus oils .. I

> prefer Italian and Florida Citrus. Should a person be satisfied with a CO

> Orange or Grapefruit EO from California? Maybe .. but I am not betting my

> money on it.

>

> Y'all keep smiling. :-)

>

> Butch .. http://www.AV-AT.com <http://www.av-at.com/> .. the site you can

> not open today .. but I have a print out of the prices so if you need

> something ASAP .. just ask. ;-)

>

>

>

> Top Ten Dirty Cities in the U.S.A.

> http://body.aol.com/condition-center/respiratory-health/polluted-cities

>

> 10. St. Louis, Missouri

> St. Louis is known as the Gateway to the West. But, it's still near many of

> the east coast's coal-fired power plants, said Janice Nolen, assistant vice

> president for national policy and advocacy at the American Lung Association.

> These power plants, which create electricity through burning coal, spew

> microscopic particles that bypass the body's defense mechanisms, Nolen said.

> These toxic bits -- which are typically one-seventh to one-thirtieth the

> diameter of a single human hair -- can get lodged in the lungs or even be

> passed like oxygen molecules into the blood stream.

>

> 9. Indianapolis, Indiana

> Like St. Louis, Indianapolis makes the list because of its proximity to

> coal-fired power plants, according to Nolen. Indiana's capital city,

> however, has other problems including a large manufacturing base that emits

> large amounts of soot into the atmosphere. Traffic in and around the city

> can also be heavy as three major roads -- Rt. 65, Rt. 70 and Rt. 74 -- all

> run through Indianapolis. Thanks to these factors, Indianapolis received a

> " D " from the American Lung Association in the smog category and outright

> fails when it comes to particle pollution.

>

> 8. Cincinnati, Ohio

> Cincinnati is not only home to the Reds and the Bengals. The city that's got

> its own kind of chili also has an air pollution problem. Cincinnati, which

> is in southern Ohio just a stone's throw away from Kentucky, also gets

> failing marks from the ALA. The problem? Cincinnati is near many of the

> coal-fired power plants that churn out electricity for the east coast -- and

> tons of particulate matter each year. And, the fact that the city is near

> three big highways -- Rt. 71, Rt. 74 and Rt. 75 -- means there's plenty of

> traffic rolling through Cincinnati.

>

> 7. Visalia, California

> Visalia has the distinction of being one of the most abundant agricultural

> regions of the United States. Everything from grapes to citrus fruit to

> cattle is raised in the open fields of Visalia, which is located in the

> central region of California. But, with the agriculture, comes diesel

> tractors and farm equipment to help grow and reap crops. Large trucks are

> needed to transport the harvest to grocery stores across the country.

> Burning diesel -- a petroleum-based product -- is one of the major sources

> of particle pollution, according to Nolen.

>

> 6. Cleveland, Ohio

> Cleveland may " rock " according to television star Drew Carey, but the city

> located on Lake Erie has poor air quality. The city has a heavy

> manufacturing base, which contributes to particle pollution. And, it's

> situated near two major trucking highways -- Rt. 80 and Rt. 90 -- that are

> used to transport goods between the eastern and western United States. In

> fact, for these reasons, the American Lung Association gives Cleveland an

> " F " for particle pollution.

>

> 5. Detroit, Michigan

> Like Cleveland, Detroit is one of the country's major manufacturing centers.

> The city, one of the largest in the state, is synonymous with the car

> industry because companies like General Motors, Ford and Chrysler are

> headquartered there. Like many of the other cities on this list, Detroit

> gets a failing grade and ties with Birmingham, Ala., to be fourth worst city

> in the nation for particle pollution. The city also struggles with smog

> pollution, according to the ALA.

>

> 4. Birmingham, Alabama

> Birmingham's air quality problems stem from industry, according to Nolen,

> the official from the American Lung Association. Steel and coal-fired power

> plants emit enough soot to choke the city into a tie with Detroit for the

> fourth spot on the list, she added. The Birmingham area has thousands of

> people at-risk for pollution-related disease. Out of the roughly 170,000

> residents, roughly 13,000 have asthma. Another 5,000 have chronic

> bronchitis, 2,000 have emphysema and 36,000 have cardiovascular disease,

> according to data compiled by the association.

>

> 3. Bakersfield, California

> Like Visalia, it's no surprise that Bakersfield made the list. Its

> geographical location in California combined with the traffic in the area

> makes it a prime candidate for air quality problems, according to the

> American Lung Association. " Bakersfield is part of the Central Valley,

> [which] has a lot of problems with air pollution, " Nolen said. In addition

> to the traffic, Bakersfield also has a lot of agriculture, which means

> diesel-run tractors and farm equipment to grow and transport crops, Nolen

> added.

>

> 2. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

> Pittsburgh is one of the largest cities in Pennsylvania and is known for its

> industry and manufacturing. The city is also near one of the biggest causes

> of particle pollution on the East Coast, coal-fired power plants. In

> addition to being a manufacturing center and its location near power plants,

> Pittsburgh is also near several major highways that serve as trucking

> routes. Thanks to this, the city earns failing marks for both particle and

> ozone pollution. All of these problems come together to earn Pittsburgh the

> second spot on the list.

>

> 1. Los Angeles, California

> A warm climate, lots of traffic and geographic bad karma puts Los Angeles at

> the top of the list. The City of Angels is not only home to one of the

> biggest seaports in the country, but it's also known for massive traffic

> congestion so there's lots of particulate matter around. To make matters

> worse, the surrounding mountain areas keep the winds from blowing the

> pollution away. These factors combined to give Los Angeles a big fat " F "

> for air quality.

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Howdy y'all,

 

A post I sent many, many years ago to various News Groups. It will be followed

by another old one .. and both of them are long. I repeat myself in some cases

but I believe some things deserve repetition.

 

You have been fairly warned. ;-) Butch

 

***********

 

Throughout the below writing you will find an excessive use of Caps .. I have

always done this to emphasize what I consider to be important points and because

I think that by doing so it helps folks to better remember those points .. I

make no apologies for this or my disregard for the rules of grammar. Just look

at it as being a Gud' Ol' Tennessee Hillbilly stomping his foot when he makes

points that just might show up on the final exam .. difference being y'all ain't

gonna be tested on this information. Well .. maybe your pocketbook might get

tested. ;-)

 

I have never hesitated to kick the beloved Sacred Cows in the Aromatherapy (AT)

Essential Oils (EO) Industry .. nor have I avoided bursting a few of the

balloons of Hype and Misinformation that are (unfortunately) too often the

foundations of the industry. I've not been as successful at doing this as have

Martin Watt and Tony Burfield but I do it as best as can and I tell it like I

really think (or know) it is rather than how some folks wish it was because my

memory is not that great .. if one wishes to be a super marketer and charismatic

con artist they must have an extremely good memory so as to not trip over their

own tales .. like politicians running for elected office. ;-)

 

I started writing on the fallacy of Certified Organic back in the mid 1990s ..

Martin and Tony have written far more than I have on the problems inherent in

so-called Certification programs. None of us have said that these programs are

useless .. just that in the case of EO they are often (usually?) not dependable

... and that in reality, it is not possible to certify products from certain

areas.

 

Even if the Certification system is working as it should, which is too often NOT

the case .. it is the soil (not the products grown in the soil) that can truly

be certified. And .. even if the products alleged to have been grown in

legitimately certified soil were, in fact, grown in that soil .. there is still

no proof that they have not been contaminated by downwind drift or acid rain or

many other forms of fallout.

 

(Added today) I am an Organic Vegetable farmer .. we stashed over 600 jars of

veggies, fruits and berries last summer .. plus filled two freezers with those

goodies and two more with wild game and wild fish .. I do care about avoiding

pesticides and such.

 

Taking it beyond plants that we intend to eat in a salad .. lets move on to EO.

If one seeks only alleged CO Essential Oils then they will spend a lot of money

but have few EO in their collection because most EO are produced in Third World

(TW) and Emerging Market (EM) Countries where Certification is not a norm due to

the major expense of complying with bureaucratic (though actually, very loose)

requirements.

 

As is the case with most systems, if one has the big bucks they can work well

within the CO system .. the little guys don't have the swing to do what the big

boys can do. On the positive side, odds of getting a truly Organic product from

a TW Country are probably better than those of getting one from a more developed

country .. due to tradition and economics.

 

(Added last summer) Having lived a total of 26 + years in Turkey .. the last

" trip " being 19 + years from 1988 through 2007, I know that fungicides,

pesticides and even commercial fertilizers are rarely used by Turkish farmers

because (1) Their father and grandfather did not use them .. and (2) They can't

afford to purchase them. Also, most of the EO from Turkey are from Wild Grown

aromatics and they are harvested in areas that are sparsely populated .. this is

also the case with Wild Grown plants in most of the TW & EM countries I have

worked in or visited .. which is MANY.

 

If .. in fact .. an Aromatic Plant is grown in legitimate CO Soil .. and then

distilled .. the EO from that plant will obviously be more free of commercial

chemicals than an EO distilled from Aromatic Plants plants that have been

sprayed with Commercial Chemicals.

 

If one can purchase those oils DIRECT from the still .. they can have all kinds

of warm fuzzies about the product .. that is, as far as it not having been

directly exposed to Commercial Chemicals. However, this says nothing about the

QUALITY of the EO.. Certification can't assure this. There are many commercial

chemical free .. pure EO out and about that are Low or Mediocre Quality because

the chemical profile of the oil is well outside the profile or " footprint " of

what is considered to be the acceptable range of EO produced from Aromatic

Plants within that Origin country.

 

Certification can NOT tell us about Quality .. only a Lab Analysis can do this

and even then there are some limitations. I believe it was " Chicken of the Sea "

that used to have Charlie Tuna talking with another Tuna who was dressed in a

Tux and quoting Shakespeare .. asking, " Do you want a Tuna with Good Taste .. or

a Tuna that Tastes Good? " ;-)

 

Take it a bit further .. let's assume that an Aromatic Plant is grown in

legitimate CO Soil .. and the Grower is a Conscientious person and so is the

Distiller of the EO. Buy from that Grower/Distiller and we will get a truly

Certified Organic EO. Problem is that most end users of EO can't afford to

import EO .. they purchase from folks like me and others on this News Group. We

import much of what we offer but its not possible to import ALL of the EO we

sell .. it is just not practical or economically feasible to do this ..

especially when we need only one extremely low cost EO from a particular Origin

... in such a case shipping and other costs can be far more than the cost of the

oil. We import what we can because it is OUR money we are investing and we are

professional enough to know that we can not stay in business if we spend OUR

money on Garbage.

 

For those EO that we do NOT import ourselves .. we turn to the Major

Importers .. many of which have MILLIONS and MILLIONS off dollars tied up in

their stock and they can obtain their stock for far less per kilogram than we

can because at one time they can purchase 500 or 1,000 kilos of even a very low

priced EO. I offer way over 100 EO so I can't afford to have 500 kilos of each

one on hand.

 

ALL of these large importers are not as careful as we try to be ourselves .. so

we do our homework and seek out those who we believe are as conscientious and

professional as we consider ourselves to be .. again, a matter of logical

self-preservation. However, if one of these large importers DOES NOT purchase

an EO direct from the grower/distiller .. if they purchase from an importer

larger than they are .. then even the most honest and conscientious seller can

NOT bet their life that a Certified Organic EO is in fact an EO that was

extracted from an Aromatic Plant that was grown in legitimate CO Soil .. because

it is possible that the larger importer could have mixed another EO with that CO

oil. Some major importers don't purchase ALL their EO directly from the

grower/distiller.

 

When I owned my Turkish company they often purchased from me because I also had

a American company .. and I spoke Turkish and knew the distillers and their

families .. the buyers trusted me but also they could reach out to my American

company if I did something wrong. There were many months where we would ship

over a metric ton of

Origanum and other EO to major U.S. importers.

 

Know that this is also the case for other EO from other countries.

 

Since I came into this business I have used a coding system that is posted on my

web site .. as follows.

 

The Agri Class and Distillation Method Codes for this system are as follows and

I have always felt extremely comfortable using this system and have no

intentions of changing it unless I have to and if that happens I might just quit

and go fishing.

 

WG .. Wild Grown - Self propagating - Uncultivated - Harvested by hand in the

wild

CO .. Certified Organic - Certified by a third party

OR .. Organic - Same as CO except NOT Certified

EF .. Ethically Farmed - may or may not be Organic

SE .. Solvent Extracted - Absolutes

HS .. Hydro Steam Distilled

EP .. Expeller Pressed

HD .. Hydro Diffused

SD .. Steam Distilled

CP .. Cold Pressed

 

There might come a time when I am FORCED to not use this system ..

the government might enforce a demand that the term Organic be

Certified. I have said what I will do but how the rest of the industry will

deal with this then is a puzzle to me because .. for example .. ALL of the EO I

sell with an Origin of the UK are grown and distilled by a man who certainly

uses NO Commercial Chemicals.

 

Both Martin Watt and I know him well and we both trust him .. but this

gentleman has said that he will NOT go along with the ridiculous and

expensive requirements to obtain a CO designation for his oils .. his

feelings are shared by many other growers/distillers.

 

As is the case with my totally Organic .. not Certified vegetable garden, we

find many totally Organic .. not Certified Essential Oils.

 

(Added today) There is a need for government oversight in many areas now .. like

in the vetting process for some political bureaucrats and cabinet members .. and

the U.S. and EU governments have shown major shortfalls in their efforts to

protect us from Hazardous imports from China and other countries but they still

see a need to play Big Brother in areas that are not broken within our own

countries. Tony Burfield and his Cropwatch organization have been busting butt

for a long time trying to protect Europeans from their own government. The EU

prohibits the use of many EO for the most ridiculous reasons and Tony has done

much to head them off at the pass .. he is a thorn in their side. Whether or

not his organization will be able to win these battles remains to be seen but if

he loses it will not be for lack of effort .. and not for lack of presentation

of credible information to counter their ridiculous positions on many EO.

 

Back to CO .. I offer some CO oils because (1) some customers want them and (2)

I am sometimes able to find reasonably priced CO oils .. but not always. There

are some CO oils that are priced as much as 200% more than the same oils that

are Organic .. or even Wild Grown. I am not foolish enough to buy all of them

them and I have come to the conclusion that most folks think as I do. All of my

oils are tested via either GC or GC/MS and I have seen CO oils that tested LOWER

in Quality than oils that are not CO. If a person wants to throw their money

away in order to have warm fuzzies then they should do it but they should also

understand that they might be paying for a false sense of security .. the

Emperor does NOT always have new clothes.

 

There are even many Certified Organic Absolutes .. but is it logical? Of course

not! Regardless of how an Aromatic Plant is grown .. when you process it with

Hexane it takes a great imagination to believe that it is still a Certified

Organic oil.

 

Would you purchase a Certified Organic EO from China or Russia? It might

surprise some folks to know how often I receive spam from folks claiming to sell

CO oils from these two countries.

 

Read the below and ask yourself if a person should be satisfied with a CO Orange

or Grapefruit EO from California?

 

Y'all keep smiling. :-)

 

Butch ...... http://www.AV-AT.com

 

 

Top Ten Dirty Cities in the U.S.A.

http://body.aol.com/condition-center/respiratory-health/polluted-cities

 

10. St. Louis, Missouri

St. Louis is known as the Gateway to the West. But, it's still near many of the

east coast's coal-fired power plants, said Janice Nolen, assistant vice

president for national policy and advocacy at the American Lung Association.

These power plants, which create electricity through burning coal, spew

microscopic particles that bypass the body's defense mechanisms, Nolen said.

These toxic bits --which are typically one-seventh to one-thirtieth the diameter

of a single human hair -- can get lodged in the lungs or even be passed like

oxygen molecules into the blood stream.

 

9. Indianapolis, Indiana

Like St. Louis, Indianapolis makes the list because of its proximity to

coal-fired power plants, according to Nolen. Indiana's capital city, however,

has other problems including a large manufacturing base that emits large amounts

of soot into the atmosphere. Traffic in and around the city can also be heavy as

three major roads -- Rt. 65, Rt. 70 and Rt. 74 -- all run through Indianapolis.

Thanks to these factors, Indianapolis received a " D " from the American Lung

Association in the smog category and outright fails when it comes to particle

pollution.

 

8. Cincinnati, Ohio

Cincinnati is not only home to the Reds and the Bengals. The city that's got its

own kind of chili also has an air pollution problem. Cincinnati, which is in

southern Ohio just a stone's throw away from Kentucky, also gets failing marks

from the ALA. The problem? Cincinnati is near many of the coal-fired power

plants that churn out electricity for the east coast -- and tons of particulate

matter each year. And, the fact that the city is near three big highways -- Rt.

71, Rt. 74 and Rt. 75 -- means there's plenty of traffic rolling through

Cincinnati.

 

7. Visalia, California

Visalia has the distinction of being one of the most abundant agricultural

regions of the United States. Everything from grapes to citrus fruit to cattle

is raised in the open fields of Visalia, which is located in the central region

of California. But, with the agriculture, comes diesel tractors and farm

equipment to help grow and reap crops. Large trucks are needed to transport the

harvest to grocery stores across the country. Burning diesel -- a

petroleum-based product -- is one of the major sources of particle pollution,

according to Nolen.

 

6. Cleveland, Ohio

Cleveland may " rock " according to television star Drew Carey, but the city

located on Lake Erie has poor air quality. The city has a heavy

manufacturing base, which contributes to particle pollution. And, it's

situated near two major trucking highways -- Rt. 80 and Rt. 90 -- that are used

to transport goods between the eastern and western United States. In fact, for

these reasons, the American Lung Association gives Cleveland an " F " for particle

pollution.

 

5. Detroit, Michigan

Like Cleveland, Detroit is one of the country's major manufacturing centers.

The city, one of the largest in the state, is synonymous with the car industry

because companies like General Motors, Ford and Chrysler are headquartered

there. Like many of the other cities on this list, Detroit gets a failing grade

and ties with Birmingham, Ala., to be fourth worst city in the nation for

particle pollution. The city also struggles with smog pollution, according to

the ALA.

 

4. Birmingham, Alabama

Birmingham's air quality problems stem from industry, according to Nolen, the

official from the American Lung Association. Steel and coal-fired power plants

emit enough soot to choke the city into a tie with Detroit for the fourth spot

on the list, she added. The Birmingham area has thousands of people at-risk for

pollution-related disease. Out of the roughly 170,000 residents, roughly 13,000

have asthma. Another 5,000 have chronic bronchitis, 2,000 have emphysema and

36,000 have cardiovascular disease, according to data compiled by the

association.

 

3. Bakersfield, California

Like Visalia, it's no surprise that Bakersfield made the list. Its

geographical location in California combined with the traffic in the area makes

it a prime candidate for air quality problems, according to the American Lung

Association. " Bakersfield is part of the Central Valley, [which] has a lot of

problems with air pollution, " Nolen said. In addition to the traffic,

Bakersfield also has a lot of agriculture, which means diesel-run tractors and

farm equipment to grow and transport crops, Nolen added.

 

2. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Pittsburgh is one of the largest cities in Pennsylvania and is known for its

industry and manufacturing. The city is also near one of the biggest causes of

particle pollution on the East Coast, coal-fired power plants. In addition to

being a manufacturing center and its location near power plants, Pittsburgh is

also near several major highways that serve as trucking routes. Thanks to this,

the city earns failing marks for both particle and ozone pollution. All of these

problems come together to earn Pittsburgh the second spot on the list.

 

1. Los Angeles, California

A warm climate, lots of traffic and geographic bad karma puts Los Angeles at the

top of the list. The City of Angels is not only home to one of the biggest

seaports in the country, but it's also known for massive traffic congestion so

there's lots of particulate matter around. To make matters worse, the

surrounding mountain areas keep the winds from blowing the pollution away. These

factors combined to give Los Angeles a big fat " F " for air quality.

[Guest guest]

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website http://www.planethazard.com/

 

Be Well,

Marcia Elston, Samara Botane/Nature Intelligence

http://www.wingedseed.com

http://www.aromaconnection.org

" The most commom way people give up their power is by thinking they don't

have any " : Alice Walker