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Re: Organic Foods Production Act Implementation
In article <v01510102ae76f4d911f6@[204.214.97.18]>, david_d@efn.org (David
DeCou) wrote:
> Pam-
> As an organic farmer and an individual involved in attempting to
> get the USDA to publish the "Final Rule" to implement the National Organic
> Program I am very concerned about your letter. One of the primary reasons
> for the writing of the law in 1990 was to provide meaning to the word
> "Organic" all of the different certifier's and many different individuals
> were using the term but many with a different definition, sometimes very
> significant differences. That the USDA has not not been able to yet come
> out a set of rules is largely due to these differing opinions. Some of the
> opinions are based upon philosophy, some based upon regional experience,
> some upon one aspect or another of science, and some are based upon a
> desire make a great deal of money. It is clear that the Organic Industry
> has come of age because there are people making fortunes in it in some
> places. As a grower I would like to assert that very few growers are
> getting rich, the big money is to be made by controlling a portion of the
> market. This hue and cry about wishing to be able to label products as
> having a "higher standard" than the USDA standards seems to be an attempt
> to make money by some influential individuals.
No, it's not an attempt by some individuals to make more money. It's a
push by orgs such as OCIA to keep the term organic from being watered down
until it's meaningless. In the US with implementation of the act, the
lowest common denominator will come into play. Thus, Washington State's
three month (that's right, three months) transition period for dairy
products becomes the standard across the US. Almost everywhere else in the
country, the transition period is one year, which ensures organic dairy
eater/drinkers (many of whom have multiple chemical/ environmental
sensitivities) that the milk they're drinking or cheese they're eating is
the cleanest they can get. A three month transition will have thousands of
dairy farmers clamouring to get on the organic bandwagon, which will ruin
things for the organic farmers who have been in for years, not to mention
put the health of thousands of Americans at risk. Even farmers who had
been injecting Posilac (rBGH) could, in three months, call their product
organic.
If there is a higher
> standard how do you measure this? Is my standard higher than yours? Who
> judges?
Any organization claiming their standards are higher still has to be
accredited by the government. Do you really think they would tell the
truth and be honest at the level of minimal standards, then lie through
their teeth about their higher standards? Their credibility would be lost
in less than a year, and their accreditation would probably go with it.
If someone meets the standards of USDA we know who judges, if
> someone proclaims their standards to be higher do they have some validity
> or are they just trying to get more of your hard earned money with a
> baseless PR blitz. You come right back to the reason Congress passed the
> National Organic Law in 1990.
It was the certification bodies that asked for legislation to ensure that
people using the term organic really were organic. People were making
money using the term when they had done nothing to deserve it, which is
fraud. Most of the CBs have been around for over ten years and have
credibility with their customers. (OCIA is farmer-owned and run.)
Given the money which is driving some
> individuals and corporations to participate in influencing these standards
> it is important to gain a larger perspective. Some in the Biotechnology
> industry are upset that the NOSB has recommended to not allow plants
> derived through biotechnology to be used under Organic production, there
> will be pressure exerted by some strong moneyed interests around this
> issue, be sure to understand what is really behind these issues.
The only thing big business wants is the lowest standards possible, so it
can jump in without having to wait for three years before they can make
that **huge** organic profit. They'll suffer through one year, only
because they know the buying public would laugh them off food store
shelves if they immediately declared their products organic.
Of course, this is all likely a moot point since IFOAM has decreed one
year transition, although it will allow CBs and countries to have higher
standards.
--
Jeff Johnston
President, Canadian Organic Growers
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