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market-farming - RE: Writer's Request: Organic Industry vs Organic Movement

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  • From: Lucy Goodman <goodows AT infinet.com>
  • To: Market Farming <market-farming AT franklin.metalab.unc.edu>
  • Subject: RE: Writer's Request: Organic Industry vs Organic Movement
  • Date: Sun, 29 Sep 2002 05:32:24 -0400




Rick Williams wrote:
>
>
> It is interesting to note that although the organic laws do allow for a
> token $5000 sale before certification is required, this amount is miniscule
> compared to the gross sales that would be needed for substantial family
> income from organic production. But over the next few decades, it will
> effectively be a smaller and smaller amount due to inflation. For example,
> if this had happened during the depression, and they allowed $500 at that
> time, by today's inflation, the value would be minimal.
>
>I find this $5000 rule troubling My farm got decertified for all but
.07 acres and our chickens about 5 years ago. I found in direct
marketing that our customers assumed everything we grew was certified
organic because we had a couple of items on the table that were
identified as certified organic (chickens, pears and apples) but the
rest was legally not organic and we took pains not to call that produce
organic and to explain that fact to our customers. But what happened is
because we had been certified in total and we still had certified items
grown on our farm and for sale folks just assumed everything was
certified organic and we could not talkk a single person out of that
frame of mind.

What we had was organic by Association. It bothered me than that our
customers thought that way, but now that my farm will be certified
organic only until Halloween I think we will still call our eggs organic
and label them as such (we sell under $5000 gross in eggs annually-the
hens will still be fed certified organic grains and be raised exactly as
they were under organic regulations). And thus our quandary of what to
call our food will be over. The eggs will be organic and the rest will
such by association.

Lucy Goodman-Owsley
Boulder Belt Organics
New Paris, OH
http://www.angelfire.com/oh2/boulderbeltcsa

Looking for a CSA, Farmer's market or other venue for fresh local food?
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http://www.localharvest.com

It is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong

Voltaire (1694-1778)



  • RE: Writer's Request: Organic Industry vs Organic Movement, Lucy Goodman, 09/29/2002

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