Homestead mailing list

["clanSkeen" <sgian AT planetc.com>]

Toni writes:

> No, they were written to run little-lot and small-farm
> operators, who are *truly* producing organic foods,
> into the ground with licensing fees ...

This is exactly and precisely it.  Agribusiness could have started marketing 
food as "organic" any time they liked.  The purpose of having the federal 
standard was to allow misguided [real] organic farmers to have a hand in 
their own demise.  The purpose isn't to allow agribusiness to sell organic, 
it's to prevent everyone else from doing it.


> > Having a homestead with the ability to produce as much of what you need 
> > as you can will be a big plus. As long as you can stay off the radar....

> "Radar" ? Pooh ! Update that thinking to *mobile*
heat-seeking equipment ...


No doubt the authors of the USDA guidelines thought this would make the 
regulation sound fair and yet not allow any real competition, but if you 
market less than $5000 worth of produce a year, you can call it Organic 
without any certification whatever.  This is per producer.  There are six in 
my family, so each of us is a producer and could, in theory, market a 
combined $30,000 of Organic produce and not submit to licensing and 
inspection.    That's what's under the radar at present,

James