Hightower: Think Your Food's Organic? Think Again

[Guest guest]

Let's eliminate all of the corporate pretenders like Barbara Robinson,

administrator of the organic program during the George W. Bush years. and get

real Organic standards back again. To tell new Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack

to do both, call his office: 202-720-3631.

 

 

 

Hightower: Think Your Food's Organic? Think Again

By Jim Hightower, AlterNet

Posted on August 6, 2009, Printed on August 11, 2009

http://www.alternet.org/story/141771/

 

When it comes to a healthy diet, I am not a purist. Too late for that

because I grew up eating such culinary concoctions as toasted sandwiches

constructed of Spam, white bread and that oddly orange, oddly spongy cheeselike

stuff known as Velveeta.

 

As an adult, I even have been irresponsible enough to serve as a taster,

judge and promoter of Spam creations that were served at a now-defunct annual

event held in my town of Austin, Texas. Called " Spamarama, " the festival

featured unspeakable and (often unswallowable) dishes made from the gelatinous,

pink potted meat, including -- get ready to gag -- Spam ice cream.

 

So I am not quick to criticize every little diversion from 100 percent

wholesomeness. For example, even though I've been an early and ardent advocate

of organic production, I recognize that there are certain times when processors

of organic foods (from beer to cheese) are unable to get essential ingredients

that are produced organically. Thus, non-organic hops sometimes are allowed in

organic beer. Indeed, the original law creating the U.S. Department of

Agriculture's " certified organic " program recognizes such realities, allowing up

to 5 percent of a certified product to consist of non-organic ingredients.

 

This exemption, however, was not intended to be a free-for-all loophole

for dilution of the USDA's organic standard. Two strong caveats were attached to

that 5 percent allowance. First, any non-organic substance has to be approved by

the National Organic Standards Board. Second, the explicit intent of the law was

for producers and processors to be in active pursuit of all organic ingredients,

moving away from synthetic and non-organic substances as quickly as the real

things could be found.

 

Enter from stage right: corporate agribusiness and Barbara Robinson. With

the phenomenal growth in consumer demand for organic products, such giants as

Kraft and Dean Foods have rushed to capture this multibillion-dollar market,

except they don't want to play by the rules. Big Food found its enabler in

Robinson, who was chosen to administer the organic program during the George W.

Bush years.

 

Consulting regularly with the corporate powers, Robinson has brought

synthetic after synthetic under the organic label. At the start of the

certification program, 77 non-organic ingredients were on the allowable list,

which was supposed to shrink as time passed. Today 245 ingredients are listed.

 

Likewise, the program was supposed to set uniform standards for how

organic foods are produced. Yet 65 of the standards recommended by the board

since 2002 simply have been ignored by the administrator. For example, the board

proposed specific rules to ensure that organic dairy farmers provide " access to

pasture " for their cows, but Robinson's team has refused to implement the

proposal. Thus, a giant milk purveyor such as Dean Foods (Horizon dairy

products) is allowed to sell " organic " milk from cows that are confined in

factory conditions rather than allowed to graze in open pastures. By failing to

set rules that apply to everyone, the USDA is permitting private, for-profit

organic certification firms to create their own standards, which means corporate

interests can shop around for the most lenient certifiers.

 

You might think that the USDA would see the organic labeling program as a

way to earn consumer trust in the integrity of these products. But, no. Robinson

told The Washington Post that the label's main purpose is to " grow the

industry. " A consultant to Kraft Foods eagerly added his amen to her

loosey-goosey regulatory ethic. " We don't want to eliminate anyone who wants to

be a part of the organic community, " he explained.

 

What a neat idea! We can expand organic production simply by eliminating

that bothersome " organic " adjective. Who knows; Spam might qualify for the label

now.

 

Here's a better idea: Let's eliminate Robinson and all of the corporate

pretenders. To tell new Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to do both, call his

office: 202-720-3631.

 

To find out more about Jim Hightower, and read features by other Creators

Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate web page at

www.creators.com.

 

COPYRIGHT 2009 CREATORS.COM

 

 

Jim Hightower is a national radio commentator, writer, public speaker, and

author of the new book, " Swim Against the Current: Even a Dead Fish Can Go With

the Flow. " (Wiley, March 2008) He publishes the monthly " Hightower Lowdown, "

co-edited by Phillip Frazer.

 

© 2009 Independent Media Institute. All rights reserved.

View this story online at: http://www.alternet.org/story/141771/