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NY times seems unaware that organic should be GM free
In the article below there is no mention that organic should mean GM
free! Certainly GM free is a major selling point for organic in North
America. I wonder if the reporter is from this planet or if there is a
sinister motive in such mind control :-).
October 21, 2002
Organic Gets an Additive: A U.S.D.A. Seal
By ELIZABETH BECKER
ASHINGTON, Oct. 20 — Beginning on Monday, the Department of
Agriculture's new seal labeling food organic will appear in grocery
stores, making clear to consumers for the first time what produce has
been raised without conventional pesticides or fertilizers, antibiotics
or growth hormones.
For more than 12 years organic farmers, environmental groups, chefs and
food executives have lobbied for the seal, one of those cases where an
industry — or at least part of one — has urged the government to impose
regulations.
Beyond that, "Organic Monday" is a milestone in a long-running fight
that takes in issues like the role of agriculture in pollution and the
dominance of farming by corporations.
"People can make a statement by buying food that wasn't grown with
chemicals and won't hurt the air they breathe, the water they drink or
the soil they depend on," said Nora Pouillon, the owner and chef of
Nora's, the country's first organically certified restaurant.
For two days this week, her Washington restaurant was host to a coterie
of fellow organic travelers, feeding them dishes like smoked trout with
horseradish sauce and cumin-crusted sirloin roast smothered in rosemary
sauce.
This being a Washington celebration, it drew lawyers and lobbyists as
well as farmers and publishers.
Maria Rodale, the granddaughter of J. I. Rodale, the man who coined the
term organic farming, joined the Thursday lunch — but only by speaker
phone, getting not so much as a taste of what was causing all the
clattering of forks and knives.
At lunch on Wednesday, Wes Jackson, a soil conservationist and president
of the Land Institute in Salina, Kan., was treated to hugs from Ms.
Pouillon for his work as a leader of the organic movement when there
were few others.
"This is the single biggest step in the last 100 years to change a
broken agriculture system that puts profits above all else," said David
C. Cole, chairman of Sunnyside Farms and Acicra Inc., a company that
acquires organic food companies.
Those sentiments are dismissed by the conventional agriculture industry,
which prides itself for having turned American farmlands into the
breadbasket of the world, with one out of every three acres now planted
with crops for export.
Even the most fervent members of the organic movement acknowledge that
mainstream agricultural practices will not change with the advent of one
small green-and-white seal. Organic Monday will be celebrated on farms
and at restaurants across the country, but it will also be criticized as
a mixed blessing by many of its original supporters.
"Over all, it's a very positive occasion, but the seal should be the
floor, not the ceiling of a new agriculture," said Andrew Kimball,
executive director of the Center for Food Safety, a nonprofit Washington
advocacy group.
Mr. Kimball said he and others feared that the paperwork and costs of
complying with federal standards would discourage the smallest farmers
from applying for certification. With organic food growing in popularity
— it is now a $4 billion industry — there is real concern that large
food companies and farmers will take over much of the organic market and
push out small farmers.
After years of viewing organic farming with disdain if not outright
hostility, the federal government began planning for the new organic
regulations in 1990. Agriculture Secretary Ann M. Veneman said last week
that she hoped the label would increase sales of organic food.
"I know that many of the organic farmers in this country have been
looking forward to the release of these regulations with anticipation
and hope that they will create the kind of consumer confidence that will
allow their segment of the agriculture market to grow," Ms. Veneman said.
There are three types of organic labels. Products that are entirely
organic will be described as "100 percent organic." Those labeled simply
"organic" are at least 95 percent organic. Products labeled "contains
organic ingredients" or "made with organic ingredients" are foods that
are 70 percent organic or less.
Until now, this debate about organic food has been confined largely to
the elite consumer, according to the industry. Until mainstream
consumers feel that organic food is worth the higher prices and extra
effort it takes to find it, the number of organic farms will remain
minuscule.
"It is very, very important to reach out to all consumers and make money
if the organic movement is to make a difference," Mr. Cole said.
To that end, the Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit research
organization, will post information on its Web site beginning on Organic
Monday. The site, www.ewg.org, will use data from the Agriculture
Department showing the chemicals found on conventionally grown fruits
and vegetables and those grown organically.
"Organic is the gold standard for chemical-free food," said Richard
Wiles, senior vice president of the group, "and we want consumers to
know what they are eating."
.