The discussion has and always will be with the consumer, in spite of
the lame attempts to claim otherwise and co-opt both the innate
authority of the author-creator of the product when presenting it, as
well as that of the buyer of the product when exercising with his
freedom of choice. The issue here hinges on the free exchange of
information, as well as the right to earn one's livelihood.
Certain groups seem to feel they've got a corner on the truth, and
that's a dangerous point of view. All that's required is complete and
truthful information, along with a standard (that doesn't even exist
yet), the truth in labeling laws that mandate the penalties and the
existence of an appropriate forum in which to ventilate disputes,
along with mechanisms for making claims. Why "fix" what isn't broken?
(All those who would privatize the use of the O word really want is a
sure corner on the market, not consistent standards. Why? Read on).
Once a definition that's consistent with the principles and tradition
of the organic movement (which has always included consumers) has
reached a consensus (and this is where the effort should have been
made before even attempt to legislate. OFPA seems to have been drawn
up by people with little or no juridical experience - as a piece of
legislation it's the parody of what a law should be), then and only
then will it be relevant to attempt for force compliance with a given
standard.
OFPA forces open (and and the same time tries to close) the door to a
myriad of new "green" labels, while spelling the death of the word
organic (but not the organic movement, which simply simply disperse
and regroup around new words and differentiated standards - right,
just like things are as is), in relation to the use for which it was
originally intended. What a circus! (And the past nine years events
bear me out).
To those who insist on making this happen by obligating certification,
I strongly suggest looking for another way to feel important, like
producing and and offering an outstanding product (and call it what
you damn well please - just don't lie).
Douglas Hinds (one of the "others" Glenn referred to)
----------
No soy una monedita de oro, para caerle bien a todos.
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