Skip to Content.
Sympa Menu

permaculture - Organic Standards

permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org

Subject: permaculture

List archive

Chronological Thread  
  • From: "Eugene F. Monaco" <EFMonaco@compuserve.com>
  • To: "permaculture@listserv.oit.unc.edu" <permaculture@listserv.oit.unc.edu>
  • Subject: Organic Standards
  • Date: Mon, 2 Nov 1998 09:42:55 -0500

I have to agree that it's hard to get all worked up about this redefining
of the word organic. Sure on some levels it is important, but aren't folks
who buy organic produce and other products a little more educated than the
average consumer? Don't we know what's going on for sure? And isn't this
educational and awareness-building process what really counts in the long
run? If they steal the word organic we'll just come up with another word,
like "new organic" or something. By the time they get the word organic
redefined, it'll be oblolete. That's how we guerillas operate, isn't it?
And a footnote: Organic was already a redefinition of the word, the base
word being a chemistry term meaning having the element carbon as a base. I
remember getting strange looks from organic chemists who knew that
petrochemicals were all organic, and they are. Organic now evolved to mean
"naturally ocurring" or "lacking anything we don't like added". But it's
certainly not bioregional, nor all that natural, and certainly not
permacultural. It's okay to add fishmeal from an unsustainable fishing
industry in the Pacific Northwest to tomatoes grown in Georgia; than's
organic. And it's okay to grind up rocks using fossile fuel to add mineral
supplements to our "organic" produce. And (my favorite) how about organic
shipping and packaging to our markets.

-GM



Message text written by "Rick and Rose"
>
People are fools that think the government is going to do anything but
screw
things up.
The way that the word organic worked was that you built trust with your
clientel and they trusted YOU not the word organic. Now it is another owned
word. If you don't pay someone to use that word then you will be fined or
worse. Everyone thinks that by having the government protect something that
they think is right they will get what they want. It never works that way,
the government sells out to the most money. Period.
Sorry for ranting.<



  • Re: Organic Standards, Andrew Benn, 11/01/1998
    • <Possible follow-up(s)>
    • Organic Standards, Eugene F. Monaco, 11/02/1998

Archive powered by MHonArc 2.6.24.

Top of Page