Market Farming

["sals" <sals AT rain.org>]

-----Original Message-----
From: Rick Williams [mailto:mrfarm AT frontiernet.net] 
Sent: Monday, September 30, 2002 6:17 PM
To: Market Farming
Subject: [market-farming] Re: Organic industry vs. organic movement


Paul and barb - on the continental divide wrote:
> Growers who don't claim the organic label or other eco-label don't 
> have to pay these fees and jump through hoops. There are all kinds of 
> regulations and inspections throughout the process from grower to 
> middleman to grocer.

It is true that there are many regulations. And they need to be. Every
regulation for food safety is there for a reason and the reason is often
that someone (or many) died and others lobbied their government to do
something about it. This was many years ago.

This is not true with organic growers.  The usda says that organic is
not safer than any other food and its not for safety reasons so why do
they force organic growers to go through this process.  The USDA says it
is not safer so we get the cross but not the crown.  Also many folks
want labels for Gmo HOW COME THE Usda makes organic growers keep audit
trails when gmo do nothing more people want gmo labels than ever wanted
USDA to take over organic.  

I think the USDA has it backward those that use chemicals and gmo don't
label those that don't are forced to prove they don't .  What's that all
about.  They have found pesticide in water, baby food ,the air etc.  I
think what ever they  make the organic grower go through all farmer
should have to do the same thing.  If a small organic farmer can do it
there is no reason GMO growers can't do it.  Look at starlink corn not
fit for humans and how it got into the food supply and the USDA can not
stop it that alone is enough reason to label and keep audit trails.
Also the USDA has a great conflict of interest because it releases GMO
yet kicks organic growers out if they have been cross pollinated and the
USDA is forcing Gmo on the whole earth yet they control the word
organic.  Big conflict of interest.  I can go on and on but we all know
what happening here.  Big fish eating the little fish.  They call a
small farm that is organic if they make over 5000 in sales yet when u
look up small farmers for other reasons it over 250,000 .  Its all bs .
The farmers never asked for this . I don't remember voting on it .  They
always talk about getting government out of small business and not
putting a burden on small business yet they do this.  They are liars.
They say one thing and do another.  They took a grass roots dream and
turned it into a bureaucratic nightmare.