Healthy soil and sustainable growing

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SIGN PETITION TO THE NATIONAL ORGANIC STANDARDS BOARD TO STOP FACTORY FARM 
ORGANICS
http://www.organicconsumers.org/nosb.htm

Now that organic agriculture is a $15 billion industry and growing, it is 
squarely in the crosshairs of multinational corporations. Major food 
manufacturers are entering organic production, cutting corners, inflating 
prices, and endangering the integrity of organic agriculture (factory
farms, 
nonorganic inputs, and imported ingredients with questionable 
certification).

Some large corporations, along with a complacent USDA, have become masters 
at creating loopholes for corporate organic farming, such as:

    * Importing vegetables or feed grains from Third World countries
without 
USDA site certification visits.
    * Raising chickens without access to the outdoors.
    * Including unapproved preservatives in products.
    * Buying replacement dairy heifers shot-up with antibiotics and from 
nonorganic sources.
    * Operating a factory farm with 70,000 chickens or 5000 cows.


"Organic" Factory Farms?
After years of inaction, the USDA's National Organic Program has recently 
been forced to address a number of large, industrial dairy farms-without 
adequate pasture that are producing "organic" milk. These factory farms 
range in size from approximately 3,000 to 4,000 cows and are basically 
confinement feedlots without legitimate access to pasture for feed and 
exercise, as required by the federal organic regulations. Milk from most of

these mega-farms is being distributed by Dean/Horizon, the largest milk 
bottler in the United States, and under a number of private-label brands 
that are available at natural food and conventional grocers.

These corporate farms and their wealthy investors are jeopardizing the 
livelihoods of organic family-scale dairy farmers throughout the United 
States, along with the more modest-sized companies and cooperatives that 
market their milk.

Turf War
Recently, The Cornucopia Institute, a Wisconsin-based advocacy group that 
supports family farmers, filed formal complaints against three of these 
farms operating in Idaho, California, and Colorado. This issue will come to

a head at the semiannual meeting of the National Organic Standards Board 
(NOSB) in Washington, D.C., March 1-3.

Farmers and consumers will make their voice heard at this meeting. Many 
farmers in the Northeast, and others as far away as California, will be 
coming to testify in support of enacting strong rules requiring access to 
pasture for dairy cows, sheep, goats, and beef cattle. They will also call 
for enforcement of the requirement for access to the outdoors for other 
species such as poultry.

Make Your Voice Heard
1. Please share this action alert with your circle of friends and 
colleagues.

2. E-mail, fax, or mail a letter to the USDA. If you email all your
comments 
to The Cornucopia Institute by February 28, we will hand carry your message

and deliver it formally at the Washington, D.C., NOSB meeting.

3. Please consider coming to the meeting in person. This is especially 
important if you are an organic livestock producer. For meeting
information, 
directions, and accommodation options contact organic@cornucopia.org.

4. If you are an organic livestock producer or processor and cannot make it

to the meeting, we will do our best to partner you with another 
farmer/rancher or a consumer from the Washington area who will read your 
three-minute written testimony. Again, please contact The Cornucopia 
Institute, preferably via e-mail, for full instructions on preparing your 
(proxy) testimony.

You Have the Power
Whether it is livestock raised in industrial conditions, imported organic 
soybeans from Brazil, or name-brand organic vegetables from China (burning 
down rain forests and shipping food around the world in not sustainable!),
a 
lot is on the line right now for family-scale farmers. All the hope that 
organic agriculture has offered is at risk. If successful, this first
action 
concerning organic livestock production will demonstrate to the
agribusiness 
lobbyists, USDA bureaucrats, and members of Congress that the organic 
farming community is going to fight to maintain the ethical reputation we 
have earned in the eyes of the consumer. Please join us!

SIGN PETITION TO THE NATIONAL ORGANIC STANDARDS BOARD TO STOP FACTORY FARM 
ORGANICS
It will be hand delivered at the National Organic Standards Board meeting
in 
Washington D.C., March 1-3, 2005.

http://www.organicconsumers.org/nosb.htm