Re: An outside observer

steve bonney (sbonney@iquest.net)
Thu, 22 Jan 1998 00:55:53 -0500 (EST)

Good to see you weigh in on this, Bruce. I agree whole heartedly. I opposed
this entire process, much to the consternation of some of my good organic
friends. We must quit industrializing everything in our society. Those of us
who continue to build community, not industry, around food do not to have
layers of rules and regulations to guide us.

Glad to hear of your progress in supplying folks with good food.
Best,
Steve

At 08:05 PM 1/21/98 -0500, you wrote:
>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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>
Steve Bonney
Sustainable Earth, Inc.
Indiana Sustainable Agriculture Association
100 Georgton Ct.
W. Lafayette IN 47906
ph. (765) 463-9366
fax (765) 497-0164
email sbonney@iquest.net

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