An outside observer

Rickard Family (FoxHollow@ecr.net)
Wed, 21 Jan 1998 20:05:41 -0500

When Fritz from the Netherlands asked about the views of non-organic
certified farmers, I couldn't resist. We run a cattle and sheep
operation here in Ohio, which by the new rules would qualify as
organic. Currently, we do not meet the local (Ohio Ecological Food and
Farm Assoc.) rules for organic. We accept that; certification is a
difficult problem for large commercial producers of meat, but it should
be. The value-added of "organic" is that it represents an entire
world-view of the way food should be produced. The new rules make it
just another marketing ploy.

When I reread the portion of the 1990 Farm Bill that initiated the rules
process, I thought "Who's idea was this?" It is clear from the purpose
of Title XXI that "national standards...to facilitate interstate
commerce" only serves large producers who need to put their product in
a box, ship it across the country, and sell it to a target market
guaranteed by the "organic" label. If you are running a CSA or selling
at the local farm market, you can look your customers in the eye and
they connect you directly to their food supply.

When these rules pass, as I am sure they will, you can bet on the
appearance next spring of Green Giant Organic frozen entrees.

Bruce Rickard
foxhollow@ecr.net

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