> > I know I am organic what did i get .....
>
> YOU know, but that's your personal business. eat your own food,
> be content with your own pure fruits, but don't expect me to
> believe, what you know... you certainly would convince some dear
> friends, who know you're an honest guy, but do not believe (or
> know), that i from the village nearby am going to trust you
> automatically.
What a hard, cold attitude. You're throwing the whole Fertile Crescent
concept out the window - and the process of consumers getting to know the
farmers in their area, those they buy food from, how they farm, how they
grow their crops, livestock, how they manage their farmland, treat their
animals, and so on. You go into a store, you see products on the shelf
from a farmer you've never heard of; the store tells you who he is and how
to get in touch with him, you follow up and make your own decision as to
whether his products are as he says they are or if he makes no statement
aboout his products you find out for yourself how they are produced by
asking him or going to his farm to see exactly how he runs his operation.
Those with farms too far away for you to visit can, in order to market
successfully in your town, can, voluntarily, simply pay to have his farm
certified by the agency he chooses. If he picks an agency lacking in
skills and credibility he looses, if he picks one that is good, and the
store he wants to market through endorses this agency, he wins, the store
wins and the customer wins. A win-win-win situation. Read Edwards Deming
about win-win business deals.
> that's exactly the problem with the word "organic".to
everyone > it has a different meaning. 8 years ago we made an analysis on
That's not a "problem", its human nature and individual choice.
Here you, again, open the door to competition in the true spirit of free
enterprise, between competing farmers and competing certification agencies
and between competing, discerning stores. What is organic? Let the
government define, it based on input from the cream of the expertise in
the organic industry, so as to provide everyone with a minimum standard to
follow and abide by.
> so if you think, you can have your way without certification,
> that's ok (i'm against obligatory certification for anyone, who
Amen.
> uses the name organic), but don't ride the same train, others pay
> for by certification. it's what i wrote long ago: if organic
Customers and store owners are fully capable of deciding which growers
are providing a good product, the rest will fall by the wayside if they
cheat, its that simple.
> growers will not find an agreement on what "biologic", "organic",
> "natural", "bio-dynamic" really means for ALL, who use these
Sure they will.
> labels, you will VERY SOON run into trouble of not being able to
> explain for what reasons i should prefer your products.
That should not be a problem for any grower, any credible grower, that is.
> time will show the wiser and in my opinion it
> will largely depend on how trustworthy you are on EVERY INDIVIDUAL
> consumer.
Absolutely true.
> but anonymously selling your products won't work....
Voluntary certification will take care of that problem. Competition
between growers and competition between certifiers will ensure that
all participants maintain high standards of production and certification
and will ensure that all comply with the minimum government standards.
> at least not here in europe. i checked it: for more than 10 years
> we had a MAJOR food scandal at least every 3 months !!
> trust from the consumers to an anonymous producer ? forget it !!!
That's an isolated example and mere scare tactics. Most people involved in
the organic food industry are better than that and those are who you need
to rely on to make the system work so that consumers will have access to
high quality, affordably priced, naturally grown food.
LL
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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