Bush Move On Organic Foods

[Guest guest]

http://www.organicconsumers.org/sos.cfm#action

 

 

ACTION ALERT: Bush Administration moving to allow corporate

takeover of organics!

 

CLICK HERE TO TAKE ACTION!

 

Over the past few weeks America's organic standards have once again come

under heavy attack. First the USDA's National Organic Program (NOP)

announced on April 14 that they would no longer monitor or police " organic "

labels on non-agricultural products, literally opening the door for

unscrupulous companies to put bogus organic labels on products such as

fish, body care products, pet foods, fertilizer, and clothing.

 

In the case of seafood and body care products, the marketplace is already

starting to become flooded with products bearing the organic label, even

though the production methods (industrial fish farms) or content ( " organic "

shampoos with organic claims based upon added water) in many of these

products violate traditional organic principles. Besides giving the green

light to bogus organic labels the new USDA " scope policy " penalizes

genuine organic companies that have begun sourcing, certifying, and

labeling their products as organic.

 

Corporate agribusiness and the biotech lobby have apparently decided that

strict organic farming practices and the booming organic market constitute

a threat to their bottom line, and have called on their friends in the

Bush administration USDA to degrade organic standards and prepare for a

restructuring of organic production so as to facilitate the use of

industrial agriculture practices such as pesticides, antibiotics,

non-organic feed, growth hormones and even genetically engineered animal

drugs.

(For more info on corporate agribusiness control of U.S. government, click

here)

 

USDA's NOP announced on April 28 controversial new directives/guidance

statements on national organic standards including:

" Organic " Crops Raised with Pesticides?

The USDA has now stated that as long as the farmer and the organic

certifier don't know the specific ingredients of the pesticides applied to

the " organic " plants, the crops can be sold as " organic " . To make matters

worse, it is not required by law for pesticide companies to list the

ingredients on their products (it's considered proprietary information),

so the farmers rarely know what the specific ingredients are.

(Read full USDA pesticide statement here)

" Organic " Dairy Cows Injected with Antibiotics and Synthetic Hormones?

The USDA has announced that individual cows can be treated with any kind

of drug at any time, including synthetic growth hormones, but milk can

only be sold from that cow 12 months after that treatment. The problem

with this directive is that it opens up the door for split operation

factory style dairy farms, whereby organic and non-organic dairy

operations are carried out simultaneously, and hundreds if not thousands

of " organic " dairy cows are kept in intensive confinement. Not only are

industrial sized dairy farms bad for the environment, but they inevitably

give rise to sick cows who have to be treated with drugs. Of course many

of these drugs build up in the body fat and are released in the milk and

meat from these animals.. If this new directive is allowed to stand,

organic milk could potentially contain residues of drugs and hormones.

(Read full USDA dairy statement here)

Mercury and PCBs Allowed in " Organic " Beef?

The USDA also stated on April 28 that non-organic fishmeal can be fed to

cattle and the beef can still be sold as " organic " . Fishmeal is used as a

protein supplement on conventional cattle ranches, but it frequently

contains mercury, PCBs and other synthetic chemicals. Mercury and PCBs are

" bioacculmulators " meaning they are concentrated and stored in the " meat "

of the animal.

(Read full USDA livestock feed statement here)

 

The OCA is working hard to stop the degradation of organic standards by

the USDA and head-off the takeover of the organic market by corporate

agribusiness and biotech interests. We are now launching a national

campaign called SOS--Safeguard Organic Standards, to make sure that strict

organic standards are maintained and that organic monitoring,

certification, and policing extends to the full range of consumer products,

including body care, clothing, pet food, fertilizer, and other items. But

to Safeguard Organic Standards we need your donations and we need your

grassroots volunteer energy. Join us, and ask your friends, family, and

neighbors to do the same.

Please make a tax deductible online donation today!

 

or mail donation to Organic Consumers Association

6101 Cliff Estate Rd, Little Marais, MN 55614

E-mail:Staff · 218-226-4164

 

 

Sign OCA's Petition and CALL

Anne Veneman - USDA Secretary of Agriculture

Phone: (202-720-3631) Fax:(202-720-2166)

 

Richard Matthews - National Organic Program

Phone: (202-720-3252) Fax:(202-205-7808)

First *

Last *

Email *

Address

City

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* = required

 

To:

Anne Veneman - USDA Secretary of Agriculture

Richard Matthews - Program Manager of the National Organic Program

 

I am deeply concerned with the recent direction the USDA is taking

national organic standards. Radical changes have been made via new USDA

NOP Guidance Statements that drastically weaken organic standards.

 

Specifically, I am concerned with the following:

 

* The new fishmeal guidance statement allows fishmeal potentially

contaminated with mercury, PCBs and other bioaccumulates to be fed to

" organic " cattle. These dangerous toxins collect in the body fat of the

animal and are then relayed onto the consumer via the dairy and/or beef.

Beef laden with synthetic carcinogens and neurotoxins should NOT be

considered " organic " .

* The new pesticide guidance statement allows farmers to spray crops

with pesticides prohibited on EPA's List 2 and 3, as long as the farmers

and their certifiers are unaware of the specific ingredients. Most

pesticides do not have ingredient labels, and the ambiguity of the

expression " due diligence " within the guidance statement (regarding the

level of ingredient investigation required by the farmer and certifier)

sets no enforceable mandates. Crops raised with toxic chemicals like

toluene and formaldehyde should NOT be considered " organic " .

* The new antibiotic guidance statement allows dairy cattle to be

treated with synthetic hormones and any type of drug and be sold as

" organic " , after a 12 month waiting period. Many of the commonly used

bovine pharmaceuticals are bioaccumulates. The toxins are stored in the

body fat of the mammal and are released predominantly through the milk.

Dairy produced with drugs and synthetic hormones should NOT be considered

" organic " .

 

Please revoke these Guidance Statements immediately and initiate the

practice of establising public comment periods prior to releasing such

drastic directives that affect millions of hard working organic farmers,

producers, retailers and consumers across the U.S.

 

Thank you.

 

 

 

 

" Duct tape is like the Force. It has a light side, a dark side, and it

holds the universe together. "

-- Carl Zwanzig

[Guest guest]

The Stewarts wrote:

>

> http://www.organicconsumers.org/sos.cfm#action

>

>

> ACTION ALERT: Bush Administration moving to allow corporate

> takeover of organics!

 

OMG, it's a nightmare.

 

 

--

http://www.trumpfiresbush.com/ - Make it so.