Does anyone know a timeline on decisions and implementation?
Pam Kasey
1835 Addison Street, Apt. B
berkeley CA 94703
510/548-6675
ehansen@garnet.berkeley.edu
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I am writing to you with concern about the proposed implementation of the
Organic Foods Production Act (OFPA) of 1990.
As a consumer who cares about the nutritional quality and environmental
impact of the foods I eat, I have been buying mostly certified organic food
for the past seven years. I want to know that the farmers who grow the food
I eat are attending to the health of their soil. It's also important to me
to support them in using the least harsh methods we have to manage pests
and weeds. And when processors, warehousers, and distributors handle these
products, I expect them to honor the farmers' intentions by protecting the
products' integrity. Stringent, private organic certification is the only
assurance I have of these standards.
Certified organic foods are often more expensive, and my personal financial
commitment to the highest quality organic foods has been rewarded. From a
time when my choices were very limited, I have seen the variety of products
and producers increase, as well as the number of grocery stores carrying
these products. Having visited many farmers who have taken the trouble to
certify their operations, I am satisfied that my commitment is contributing
to a deepening lifestyle and land stewardship ethic that I feel good about.
The growers, processors, and distributors who have devoted resources to
implementing high nutritional and environmental standards for their foods
and to communicating those standards to consumers through private organic
certification have made a considerable investment in the meaning of the
word "organic." Federal regulation of minimum organic standards as proposed
in the OFPA honors their good faith.
However, I do not agree with any interpretation of the OFPA that prevents
private certifiers from establishing additional, more stringent guidelines
for their seals. The proposed implementation violates certifiers' right to
free speech. Further, the enforcement of maximum organic standards would
make it impossible for growers to realize a return on any investment in the
more ambitious standards that I and many other consumers value.
The Final Rules for implementation of the OFPA must not restrict private
certifiers' rights to establish independent standards for food quality.
Such a restriction will only plunder our hard-won equity in the term
"organic" for the short-term benefit of minimally compliant growers and
processors. Please don't let this happen.
I sent this to:
Mr. Albert Gore
Vice President of the United States of America
The White House
Washington DC 20500
Mr. Daniel Glickman
Secretary
U.S. Dept. of Agriculture
14th & Independence Avenues, S.W.
Washington DC 20250
Mr. Richard G. Lugar
Chairman
Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry
U.S. Senate
Washington DC 20510-6000
Mr. Pat Roberts
Chairman
Committee on Agriculture
104th Congress
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington DC 20515
Mr. Robert B. Anderson
Chair
National Organic Standards Board
Walnut Acres Road
Penns Creek PA 17862
Ms. Kathleen Merrigan
Chair, Accreditation Cttee
National Organic Standards Board
517 C Street, N.E.
Washington DC 20002