Question asked: Organic pretty much means "naturally, without man-
made chemicals", doesn't
it?
The answer is "No", not at all. What it means is. You have met the
requirements set by the USDA to receive a USDA certified organic
label. It really has nothing to do with "natural" though lots of
people associate it with this. Any labeled natural can be anything
BUT natural. There are no real rules behind natural. Natural could
mean that flavoring is manufactured using starches from corn broken
down a huge vat and chemically altered to taste like vanilla.
Organic at its best is an honor system (including organic sources from
overseas). The grower supplies the data. The certifier does little
or no testing and usually goes down a check list to see if the grower
has documented the USDA requirements...no onsite checking, but
checking the producer's checklist and documentation (onsite testing
occasionally happens, but its rare and is usually a result of
questionable practices that show up down the "food chain"). At best,
in its current form, organic is little more than a licensing fee to
charge more for a certain food item. Most organic is large industry
farming, modified, using less pesticides and herbicides and chemical
fertilizers, but because of its heavy reliance on massive amounts of
amendments for the soil and diesel fuel and increased water
consumption for dealing with weeds the system is not sustainable long
term and in many ways just as bad for our soil quality as normal large
scale farming.
I've argue that there is simply no way to supply Walmart, Cosco,
Krogers, and Whole Foods, using a more natural system. It is,
literally, impossible because of the level of waste and demand.
There is a shift, small as it may be to a more local food system.
They are certainly in a minority, but organic certification, around
here, is going by the wayside and being replaced by farmers that
people know. They pay a premium price for their food knowing the
source of the food they are purchasing.
I just visited a guy yesterday to establish a new out yard this year.
He has forty acres and is inside the urban sprawl. When I sell honey
at market this year and to restaurants and bakeries they will know
honey came from his place and my farm and my neighbor's farm. They
know that I stand behind it and that no amount of organic labeling is
going to make it healthier or safer than knowing ME. This is changing
how I do business as both a farmer and a beekeeper. This is the last
year I will be purchasing bees from outside my local region unless
they are confirmed hygenic and non-chemical reliant. That requires me
to actually KNOW my source of bees and I am not too sure that is
possible. So, I might be developing my own bee breeding side business
just to fit my own personal needs and my customers. It also means I
need to know my source for additional honey if I fall short in
production because of drought or early freeze. It also means that if
I do, regardless of who I purchase it from people will know that I did
purchase it from a different source and all I did was bottle it. They
will know who I purchased it from and where their beekeeper is
located. They then have an informed choice to to make, but at least
they have the information to make that choice.
All of which I think is a good thing.
I am not arguing against large scale organic growing. It is what it
is and think that if I were to have to make a choice I'd pick a system
that use far more fuel and water and less herbicides and pesticides.
People have to eat and the system is needs to be able to reliably
feed those people. This is what we have for now and it beats
starving. :)
Cheers!
Richard Stewart
Carriage House Farm
North Bend, Ohio
An Ohio Century Farm Est. 1855
(513) 967-1106
http://www.carriagehousefarmllc.com
[log in to unmask]
On Mar 4, 2009, at 9:27 AM, Peter L Borst wrote:
>> The plants in Texas and Georgia that were sending out contaminated
>> peanut butter and ground peanut products had something else besides
>> rodent infestation, mold and bird droppings. They also had federal
>> organic certification.
>
>> A private certifier took nearly seven months to recommend that the
>> U.S.D.A. revoke the organic certification of the peanut company’s
>> Georgia plant, and then did so only after the company was in the
>> thick of a massive food recall. So far, nearly 3,000 products have
>> been recalled, including popular organic items from companies like
>> Clif Bar and Cascadian Farm. Nine people have died and almost 700
>> have become ill.
>
>> The Organic Trade Association, which represents 1,700 organic
>> companies, wants to shore up organic food’s image. This week it’s
>> beginning a $500,000 Web-based campaign on the benefits of organic
>> food with the slogan: “Organic. It’s worth it.”
>
>> Meanwhile, consumers are becoming more skeptical about
>> certification. Some shoppers want food that was grown locally,
>> harvested from animals that were treated humanely or produced by
>> workers who were paid a fair wage. The organic label doesn’t mean
>> any of that.
>
> Wednesday, March 4, 2009
> http://www.nytimes.com/
>
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