Oh hell... I was hoping for better

[Guest guest]

http://www.berkshireeagle.com/editorials/ci_3276022

 

Don't pollute the organic market

Editorial

 

 

Sunday, December 04Art Ames was on his way to Colorado recently for a

conference of co-op market managers and members when the U.S. Senate went

into the back room to draw up rules compromising the integrity of

organically labeled products. It would be a stretch to suggest that senators

used the moment when Mr. Ames and his group, the National Cooperative

Grocers Association, were away from their desks to pull a fast one, but when

the organically conscious grocers heard about the impending congressional

action to lessen organic standards an uproar ensued. Within days thousands

of calls went out to senators. Senator Kennedy's office was shocked by the

spontaneous grass-roots response to the small rule change that didn't even

appear on the congressional docket, according to Mr. Ames, who also was

impressed by how fast and furious members of the Berkshire Co-op Market that

he manages were to shout their disapproval alongside co-op members

nationwide. The grocers association won a short-lived victory in postponing

Senate action on rules that have been hotly debated this past year, since a

small farmer in Maine drew national attention for challenging USDA organic

standards. Organic blueberry farmer Arthur Harvey sued the United States

Department of Agriculture in federal court over allowing synthetics into

organically labeled products, the court sided with the farmer and ordered

the USDA to comply. Instead of instituting the most rigorous standards for

organic food, the USDA and organic industry special interests, more

concerned with profits than integrity, predictably set out to rewrite the

laws on what is and what is not organic. The debate has caused a rift in

the organic community. The Organic Trade Association is one of the leading

voices in the industry, and actually wrote the rule change that loosens

organic standards. The grocers association is on the leadership council of

the trade association, but Mr. Ames has called for the co-op grocers to

withdraw from the leadership circle out of protest for these new rules.

Many within the organic community are losing faith in the Organic Trade

Association because it has become more interested in profits than standards

and has become corrupted by big business representatives who sit on its

board. The organic brand is a growth market, raking in almost $15 billion in

the last year and expected to grow 20 percent a year. Forty percent of

Americans buy organic products, so it should be no surprise that the

nation's largest corporations are looking to get involved in the market for

healthy foods. Wal-Mart sells soy milk, which says plenty.

 

 

 

After the co-op grocers' minor victory with the Senate, the Organic Trade

Association, stubbornly refusing to renegotiate standards with other groups

vested in the organic label as the Senate had recommended, handed its bill

of goods to the House, which passed it stealthily within an agriculture

spending bill last month. Regrettably, this bill was also passed by the

Senate, which didn't want to hold up the entire agriculture bill over the

organic issue, and became law upon the president's signature. The new laws

regulating organic products make it easier for corporations to get in the

game by basically allowing synthetically tainted products to be called

organic, which is a case of government-sanctioned false advertising. Organic

is basically a brand name and consumers are being misled. One new rule

allows cows raised on conventional farms - fed with genetically-modified

food and injected by hormones - to move to an organic farm where their milk

can be called organic. The law also lessens the restrictions on conventional

farmers who want to change to organic. Also, it allows synthetic ingredients

to go into organic products under the claim that no organic alternative was

available, which is often a phony argument. So now when a consumer looks

for a purely organic product there will be less certainty, because the rules

of organics, which should be as strict as kosher labeling, have been

changed. Government is infamous for abusing terminology, altering

definitions and deceptive labeling to trick the public and obscure the

truth. The trickery is one of the greatest threats to an informed public and

sound policy. The USDA seal of approval should stand for something, but now

that is questionable. It should be simple - organic products are organic and

synthetic ones are not. How did this truth get lost? Mr. Ames put it this

way: " If someone buys certified organic, damn it, it should be certified

organic. " But there is still hope and people like Mr. Ames and members of

the Berkshire Co-op are still fighting for the purity of the organic trade,

and further debate is certain in Washington. Lawmakers should fight for

what's right in this case, truth in advertising of organic products.

 

 

 

 

--

 

 

Version: 7.1.371 / Virus Database: 267.13.12/192 - Release 12/5/2005