Grace Gershuny
National Organic Program Staff
>>> owner-sanet-mg@ces.ncsu.edu@i 03/12/98 06:53pm >>>
In a message dated 98-03-12 17:15:18 EST,
Grace_J.Gershuny@usda.gov writes:
<< One of the clearest analogies I've seen is - what would we say if the
USDA
redefined kosher to include pork? Same thing. They don't have the
authority, and they miss the point.
GG: Good analogy. The answer is that USDA has as much intention of
redefining organic to mean what it isn't as it has of trying to make
kosher
include pork. >>
Warning!!!! Please don't fall into the "Organic is like Kosher" trap. This
knife cuts both ways and here's why. Let's assume that Kosher laws
have
nothing to do with food safety and food quality, and that they are a set
of
abstract concepts defined by religious belief. Is this what we want the
term
Organic to be based on? Last time I checked, people are marketing and
buying
organic food at a premium because they believe that it is safer, better
quality, and produced more ecologically. The only good news about
making
Organic based on abstract concepts is that it would allow the industry
to
define what can and cannot be included in Organics without worrying
about
coming under scientific or government scrutiny. But again, the bad
news is
that conventional ag will now be able to show that Organic is not worth
the
money since there are no benefits to Organics other than it satisfies
some
group's beliefs.
On the flip side, if we assume that Kosher laws are related to food
safety and
quality (which I believe that they are), then you run into an even bigger
monster. Organic regs become based on practices that are considered
to produce
safe, wholsome, ecologically produced food. However, the ag industry
and the
government have already defined what is considered safe food ie.
"acceptable"
levels of pesticide use, "safe" use of biosolids, "safe" use of irradiation,
"safe" use of GMO's, etc. How can the government have two standards
for "safe"
food: one produced without pesticides and one produced with
pesticides, etc..
This gives the ag industry and the government the opportunity to
challenge
some of the "contrary" practices of organic farming in the court of
science.
Do you have scientific proof to show that the present methods of ag are
unsafe, or that the methods for organics are more safe? Do we really
want to
get into this kind of debate? Will the ag industry be happy with
government
approved regs that run contrary to their existing practices? Let us not
forget
the rGBH labeling holocaust. Some people thought that it would be no big
deal
to label a product as produced with the addition of rGBH. The industry
complained that this could imply that there was some hazard to having
product
using rGBH, and yet the government had already declared the use of
rGBH as
"safe". Are we going to go down the same road with sewage sludge,
GMO's, etc?
Regards,
Alan Ismond, P.Eng.
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