[compost_tea] NOP Strategy? (was NOP Update)

From: Kirk Leonard <kirk_at_oregonatural.com>
Date: Tue, 25 May 2004 14:03:52 -0700
Didn't believe you were ready to give up, Bob, so good to get confirmation.

> Date: Mon, 24 May 2004 21:47:57 -0700 (PDT)
> From: Robert Norsen <bnbrew_at_yahoo.com>
> Subject: Re: Re NOP Update
>
> No, Kirk, I agree. Giving up is not an option.  It is hard for me to
communicate with government.  You seem to know how.  Having the names,
addresses, e mail addresses,  some ideas that, as individuals, we could, by
driving a  FEW but critical ideas, get the key issues approved.  Do you or
others have ideas of how we can wage an organize thrust where it will do the
most good?   Bob
>
I have some ideas, would welcome others.  Jeff knows a lot about this stuff.
I'm not an expert.  Call your congressperson and ask what's happening with
compost tea at NOP!  Surely you can talk on the phone and are a responsible
person!

Strategy-wise, first major thing to do is comment on CTTF report when that
opportunity opens, seems to me.  I'm asking about that all over and
eventually will find out and post.  We need to make lots of comments to let
them know there are lots of people who care, and comments can influence the
outcome, too.

Down the road, some direct communication with NOSB members and NOP should
happen as NOSB meetings approach, especially if CT is on agenda. It's
possible, if NOP schedules CTTF comment in a timely way, that something
might be ready for next meeting (Sep-Oct), more likely 2005 (Apr-May),
though.

Nitty-gritty questions: What is NOP doing on tea in the meantime?  Does
action go back to CTTF and NOSB or can NOP simply sit on it?  How do NOSB
executive committee meetings figure in?  I don't know yet.

Biggest hoop seems to be getting NOP to forward a recommendation to
Secretary of Ag, and as far as I can tell the only way we can affect that is
by getting congress bugging them on it.  That's why Doc E and I and others
have mentioned contacting congresspeople so many times.

So something to do now is contact your congressperson - easiest and probably
best to call their local office.  The number is in your local phone book but
you can find them on the web, too.  An email is usually not as good as a
phone call to start, though.  A good question to ask right now is when
public comment on CTTF report will happen.  What is NOP plan and schedule?
Public comment on the report is supposed to happen, legally, as I understand
it, so there must be some information somewhere.

I am still uncertain about the process, actually, but ultimately NOP will
make the decision and write the language that will be incorporated in "The
Final Rule," which is the ultimate goal here.

Given NOP's past anti-tea behaviors, some kind of congressional pressure
seems critical.  NOP does many things behind closed doors (witness "Friend
or Faux" story this week) so we need to do whatever we can to pry them open,
get better information and thinking happening, get a good, positive CT rule.

Other players: ICTC & CTIA should be involved, need to figure how.  US
House Organic Caucus could be a major player - a congressional "champion"
would be a big boost.  And can we get other organic organizations - NCSA,
OTA, OFRF, there are many - to pick up on it?  Any institutional players -
garden clubs, local coops, CSA's?  Everybody counts, and organized groups
count more.

If you have a business involved with tea that counts even more and will gain
you an extra level of attention with both congresspeople and feds, usually.

Gone on too long.  There's my nickel on organization and strategy.  Call
your congressperson, please... Ask some questions and get a ball rolling.
Takes ten minutes. Talk to your friends and get everybody to comment on CTTF
report.  I hope Steve D's estimate of 5-10 years for NOP acceptance of
compost tea is too conservative.  Seems to me if we all speak up that time
will be shorter, as in two years, maybe sooner with a new administration?

I still like the idea of an ICTC meeting in DC and a tea show and demo event
on the Mall, too.:) You folks near there have any other ideas?  Host a
conference?  Spray the Capital or USDA buildings?  (...That could be the
most positive surreptitious action I've ever imagined... hopefully not
necessary, but surely fun!... "They came in the evening, quietly, and Lo!
How the plants shine today"...:)

-- Kirk



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Received on Tue May 25 2004 - 18:56:33 EDT

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