> 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.
To repeat your words, "a *privilege* to be earned" is exactly right
in the context of a producer wishing to market products labelled
CERTIFIED organic as opposed to "organic", a label that anyone should be
free to use, putting their credibility, accountability and quality
assurance on the line for public scrutiny of, course. Organic
certification agencies not given a free ride through government
enforcement of organic labelling laws it creates and tailors to its own
desired ends, would be motivated to compete with fellow certification
agencies for clients seeking certification, touting their standards as
the most exacting and reliable. Producers would strive to attain
certification from the best agencies in order to gain maximum
market access. "Letting the government do it" simply gives certification
agencies a free ride and opens the door to abuse of the system, on the
backs of the small organic grower who cannot afford the time and expense
of getting certification and would rather rely on nearby local sales and
building reputation and sales by "word of mouth", a perfectly
legitimate and extremely effective way of doing business. Customers would
gain by participating in such a system by having access to a
broader range of products, possibly of better or equal quality to
"certified organic" ones and participaion in a time-honored traditional
marketing system that is more farmer, customer and and community-friendly,
a system modeled in part on the Fertile Crescent, foodshed and food circle
concepts.
Get and keep the government out of the organic labelling business and let
it stick to enforcing truth-in-labelling laws and monitoring the safety of
products.
> 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.
> The most obvious example of Sal's preferred system --- in which anyone
> can call themselves whatever they feel like --- is "natural."
Nothing wrong with that and it usually comes with a high price tag these
days as so many food products in the marketplace continue be adulterated
and of poor nutritional quality.
Lawrence F. London, Jr. Venaura Farm
http://metalab.unc.edu/permaculture
/intergarden /intergarden/orgfarm /ecolandtech
lflondon@mindspring.com london@metalab.unc.edu
To Unsubscribe: Email majordomo@ces.ncsu.edu with the command
"unsubscribe sanet-mg". If you receive the digest format, use the command
"unsubscribe sanet-mg-digest".
To Subscribe to Digest: Email majordomo@ces.ncsu.edu with the command
"subscribe sanet-mg-digest".
All messages to sanet-mg are archived at:
http://www.sare.org/htdocs/hypermail