USDA may relax standards for organic foods

[nosmokes]

Anyone surprised that it's coming down this way go directly to remedial shrubco governance 101. Do not pass Go. Do not collect $200. Lose your turn.
--###--

original-latimes

USDA may relax standards for organic foods

The agency is considering a list of 38 nonorganic spices, colorings and other ingredients that would be allowed in products it deems 'organic.'

By Scott J. Wilson, Times Staff Write
June 9, 2007

With the "USDA organic" seal stamped on its label, Anheuser-Busch calls its Wild Hop Lager "the perfect organic experience."

"In today's world of artificial flavors, preservatives and factory farming, knowing what goes into what you eat and drink can just about drive you crazy," the Wild Hop website says. "That's why we have decided to go back to basics and do things the way they were meant to be … naturally."

But many beer drinkers may not know that Anheuser-Busch has the organic blessing from federal regulators even though Wild Hop Lager uses hops grown with chemical fertilizers and sprayed with pesticides.

A deadline of midnight Friday to come up with a new list of nonorganic ingredients allowed in USDA-certified organic products passed without action from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, leaving uncertain whether some foods currently labeled "USDA organic" would continue to be produced.

The agency is considering a list of 38 nonorganic ingredients that will be permitted in organic foods. Because of the broad uses of these ingredients — as colorings and flavorings, for example — almost any type of manufactured organic food could be affected, including cereal, sausage, bread and beer
~snip~
.
.
.
complete article and related links here

[Robbien]

1. The USDA has standards?

Could have fooled me.

[depakid]

2. I don't trust ANYTHING with a USDA seal

If it says "Oregon Tilth" or California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF) then it's Organic- otherwise, I assume it's likely to be yet another fraudulent marketing scam.

[xultar]

3. BUHWAWAWA!

[Bluestar]

4. Well of course

Because this is what Wal*Mart wants. SOB's!

[Robson]

6. WAL*MART Does want it so they can destroy the high quality growers......You are correct

Wal-Mart is the scourge of our country, the scourge of quality and they will be the scourge of the Earth.

[Lerkfish]

5. gee, relaxing standards is exactly what we need

:sarcasm:

[Rex]

7. Hey why not!? The fastfood corps and the anti-RDA crowd rolled over

for them - why not go for the holdouts? Make sure everyone is fucked up beyond all repair! Can't leave anyone out!

Hey health food ppl - 'modified' corn!

[TechBear_Seattle]

8. This is EXACTLY what organic supporters said would happen

From the moment the USDA announced that they would create a labelling standard for "organic," people who were concerned about organics knew that it would never last. First, the government would create a high standard. After consumer confidence had developped and folks began to depend on the USDA seal, those standards would be eased at the demands of food producers. Before too long, the seal would be absolutely meaningless, a government sponsored marketing ploy to charge 50% more for the identical product made using the exact same ingredients.

All I can say is... right on schedule.

[peacebird]

9. damn! Wild Hop was a fine tasting beer.... arghhhh. How can it be sold as "organic"

with chemical fertilizers and pesticides?!?!?!?

Does Whole Foods know about this? They sell it.


edit - I called Whole Foods here in Cville - the fellow was stunned. Said he was going back to tell the manager about it and to pull up the LA Times article. Does anyone have a Trader Joes in their neighborhood? If Whole Foods and Trader Joes quit carrying Wild Hop it would be a start. I will certainly quit drinking it....

[MADem]

10. So, then--there's "organic" and there's "USDA Organic"-- is that it?

What a load of gubmint horseshit....

[hvn_nbr_2]

11. The corporate tools at USDA think "organic" means only "higher price"

Therefore, the only purpose of the "organic" label is to increase corporate profits for giant corporations. They don't have even a clue that consumers want organic for reasons other than wanting to give more money to companies.

[gollygee]

12. People choose organic food if they are allergic to food colorings

it's one of the only ways to be safe. A friend's daughter is deathly allergic to red food coloring and has to carry an epi-pen around because of it. These aren't minor little things of no significance to add to food. Food with artificial ingredients are by definition NOT ORGANIC and it pisses me off that this is even open for discussion.

[no_hypocrisy]

13. And you know what will happen hereafter.

When the true organic farmers advertise as "real" or "true" organic, they will be sued by the imposter companies for libel for suggestion of fraud.

[Ezlivin]

14. Do an Orwell on 'em - change the term to "NoChem"

The corporations did not want to do sustainable, green or organic farming. But when some small entrepreneurial farms did and started making good money, suddenly these corporations wanted in on the cash without having to actually do sustainable, green or organic farming.

So they did what all Orwellian types do: Change the meaning of the word.

We fire back by now advertising "organic" foods as "NoChem" (for no chemicals). Or we can use any other creative term.

Just coin another word and use it. Consumers will quickly learn to buy NoChem when they want honest food and not corporate PR.

[robinlynne]

17. absolutely. I think real organic growers should have a private entity who

gives a seal of approval which we can all follow. with real standards.

[Canuckistanian]

18. That's a great idea

And maybe broaden it to a "pre-industrial" kind of standard.

NO chemicals, NO GM-modified shit, just plain old "legacy" and "farmer-bred" standards.

Make the word "organic" a meaningless term.

[KT2000]

15. Free markets indeed

How to destroy an industry that people want and demand.
Big business LOVES this government.

[otherlander]

16. So organic no longer means anything.

I looked on Wikipedia about organic certification, and since the USDA isn't reliable any more, it seems like CCOF still has integrity for its standards.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Certified_Organic_Farmers

But I don't know that much about them. Are they just a regional organization of small farms, or would you be able to find products certified by them throughout the country? If not, are there any similar organizations in other regions of America?

[undergroundpanther]

20. It's basically a worthless cert.

But regardless of the empty slogan organic,it still will cost you more. People want to BELIEVE they have a way out a choice and some will pay out the nose to cling to that belief.Dare I say it Organic food was never really organic pesticide drift,and many other factors make organics as nasty as regular food now,because of the lax standards,and soon the standards are to be even laxer, so the whole foods organic shit that is popular now has basically become another corporate SCAM to exploit scared people and their desire to believe there is someone with some ethics somewhere in the producer to buyer food chain..but sadly there is none.small time farmers unless you inspect where they grow their food yourself and find a way to test it on some a chemical detectors and GM food detecting equipment you have no proof the stuff the "locals" sell is really organic.The farmers market has that down on the farm reassuring aesthetics, but once I was perusing a local market ,and saw some fruits on display, they looked good so I began to pick some out I saw one with a sticker, and it said it was from mexico .Seems Some "local" forgot to take off the sticker.

[conspirator]

21. Yep. Organic will become as credible as "light" products or "fair trade". All bullshit nt

[undergroundpanther]

22. As long as people believe

and are willing to pay like they believe it...They will never know because they don't want to give up the beliefs that tell them there IS safe food somewhere. Truth is..Everything is contaminated.Why do you think wild animals are mutating,gender bending, getting sick ,getting tumors .Wild animals don't shop in supermarkets. They eat as organic as it gets and THEY get sick? How can this be?

No organic true believer wants to think on that observation.

Too threatening to their belief system they need to have that if they pay more they will be protected..they want to believe someone cares that someone with power is looking out for them.That money equals power. A citizens chump change doesn't mean much to people swimming in money. Who you know equals power it's called social capital..But sadly if you are not elite no one in power cares if you die.

http://www.unknownnews.org/051209a-Panther.html

[undergroundpanther]

19. They relaxed standards once,now again?

They are relaxing the standards because EVERYTHING is contaminated now..


"Organic" Foods:
Certification Does Not Protect Consumers
Stephen Barrett, M.D.

If you, as a consumer, want to purchase a fake or a fraud of one kind or another, should your government guarantee your right to do so? More than that, is your government obligated to prosecute one who, knowing of your propensity for fraud, tricks you into buying the genuine in place of buying the fake? Remembering that "your government" is all the rest of us, is it right for you to take our time and money to underwrite such ridiculous exercises as making sure you are cheated when you want to be cheated? And must we penalize the man who breaks his promise to cheat you?

These astute questions were raised in 1972 by Dick Beeler, editor of Animal Health and Nutrition, who was concerned about laws being adopted in California and Oregon to certify "organic" foods. Those laws signaled the beginning of efforts that culminated in 1990 with passage of the U.S. Organic Foods Production Act (OFPA), which ordered the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to set certification standards. Although USDA had opposed passage of the act, the Alar scare plus a campaign by environmental, consumer, and farm groups persuaded Congress to include it in the 1990 Farm Bill <1>.

http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/organic.html

More
http://www.firedoglake.com/2007/05/26/trashing-organic-standards/
http://www.nrdc.org/health/pesticides/olgpesticides.asp
http://www.hoover.org/publications/policyreview/3402146.html
http://www.centerforfoodsafety.org/page203.cfm
http://www.commondreams.org/views05/1122-20.htm