> Date: Tue, 02 Nov 1999 15:59:19
> From: Bluestem Associates <bluestem@webserf.net>
> To: "sanet-mg@ces.ncsu.edu" <sanet-mg@ces.ncsu.edu>
> Subject: The word "organic," a right?
>
> Sal and I seem to have a fundamental difference over use of the word
> "organic" in the marketplace.
>
> He sees it as a *right* to be revoked only in the case of egregious
> who-knows what. I (and many others) see it as a *privilege* to be
> earned.
>
> There are many other marketing words for which you must earn the
> privilege of use --- kosher being the most obvious one. I may meet all
> the requirements of kosher, but I cannot call my products kosher unless
> I'm certified by one of the half dozen or so major groups offering that
> service. Whether I'm small or not does not, and *should* not matter.
It is not the government's business to enforce this process. Private
organic certification agencies and discerning consumers are all that is
required to carry this out successfully. Of course if "We're THE Organic
People", Inc. UnLtd. wants to mass market "official USDA Certified Organic
soy doodles" to 1 billion dumbells who can't or won't read the label, then
that's another matter, but WHY do skilled, committed, productive,
deserving small organic growers have to make huge sacrifices to make this
scam possible both for the government and their favored buddies in the
corporate megalith agribiz world. I know, Dennis Avery told them it was
OK.
> The most obvious example of Sal's preferred system --- in which anyone
> can call themselves whatever they feel like --- is "natural."
>
>
> Bart
Lawrence F. London, Jr. Venaura Farm
http://metalab.unc.edu/permaculture
/intergarden /intergarden/orgfarm /ecolandtech
lflondon@mindspring.com london@metalab.unc.edu
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