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market-farming - Re: Organic industry vs. organic movement

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Subject: Market Farming

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Chronological Thread  
  • From: "Rick Williams" <mrfarm AT frontiernet.net>
  • To: "Market Farming" <market-farming AT franklin.oit.unc.edu>
  • Subject: Re: Organic industry vs. organic movement
  • Date: Sun, 29 Sep 2002 21:55:51 -0500


Robert Farr wrote:
> The largest problem with what the USDA has done: they have stolen our
> language. Stolen it, in fact, for the large, corporate producers.

Do you consider Organic Valley (CROPP) to be a large, corporate producer?

> The first thing the slave masters did was to tell my ancestors they
> could not speak their own language. This was a way to control the
> slaves. Government intervention in small farm production represents the
> same thing - control. And when governments try to control their people,
> it is never good.

This sounds pretty extreme. There are no slave masters and the NOP was in
fact done over many years with enormous input from the stakeholders in what
is about the most democratic decision one could imagine. While you can not
make everyone totally happy with all decisions, the government did respond
well to citizen complaints about the early proposed NOP and had to make many
changes to satisfy a majority.

We do not have slaves in the U.S. We do have people who may believe that
they are slaves, but that is a perception on their part.

Government does exert some control. And you are way off base that control is
never good. You always have some folks who affect others and who must be
controlled at many different levels. You need a basic structure in society
that is enforced through laws that reflect the moral beliefs of the
citizens. Otherwise you wind up with chaos.

It is only when the citizens lose control of the democratic process, that
you move toward totalitarian regimes.

Sincerely,

Rick Williams





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