For whatever it's worth,
I fear that we who are trying to make change run the
risk of making a difficult charge even more so when we
stay stuck in the process of defining terms and who
defines what for whom...
Please know the last thing I am advocating is
adulterating the market with food that has the right
tag, or label, but is grown with slippery or suspect
production practices.
But organic is what organic does. Producers know what
that is as they allocate work, time and resources;
consumers want to know what that is so they may make
informed choice.
Many people want more detailed information about what
is "organic," or "natural," or whatever. The questions
I hear over and over again are "When are we going to
have labeling, what will they say and who will be
setting the standards?"
The market wants to know and it wants to know now. And
it is enough to say that if people perceive a product
to be better, or better for you, it is better.
Much time has already been wasted; it's time for all
to embrace the fact that perception rules the
marketplace. Phillip-Morris and Madison Avenue know
this; that's how they sell soap, cars and widgets.
It's my opinion that too many companies, or movements,
or whatever waste too much time TELLING their market
what it wants vs. LISTENING and RESPONDING to what it
wants.
The consumer is speaking; they want A standard, they
want labeling. Responsiveness, flexibility and
accountability are cornerstone to getting and keeping
a larger percentage of the food dollar.
Lasting, sustainable success will turn on success in
the marketplace. The time is ripe for change; making
the time and taking the risk will yield the power to
stay successful.
I know these issues are divisive and they cannot be
marginalized, or minimized, BUT it's imperative that
we try to move forward faster. That is what the market
is saying. The longer we mire in the muck, the more
confusion created and the more confidence that is
lost.
Anyway, one guy says, -John Flaim.
--- Ted Rogers <TROGERS@ars.usda.gov> wrote:
> Dear Paddy,
>
> I was very pleased and impressed by your post and I
> hope that 1- you
> are not to late and 2- that a majority of the
> organic community hear and
> understand you. I have been making similar noise
> for ten years now to
> no avail and frankly I feel that it is to late (I am
> also very tired of the
> foolishness that has been going on for the past
> decade). I think that you
> did so well in describing how organic should be sold
> that I will not go into
> any of my usual tirades...
>
> Crystal chromatography or sensitive crystallization,
> I believe does
> indicate something the question at this juncture, as
> you indicate, is what.
> Yes, though we BD folk have been looking at it for
> forty or fifty years it
> still needs many more replications and a number of
> other investigators to
> work on it before it should be used in any serious
> way. With the
> diversity of soils and competency of practice among
> conventional,
> organic and BD growers where do you establish a base
> line for the
> comparison? What would happen for instance if you
> used any quality
> testing protocol to compare a really competent
> conventional grower
> working with a superior soil and a real dog of an
> organic grower on
> modest or poor soils or vice versa for that matter.
> While I support the
> Hugh Lovel approach of "here taste this" I wonder
> if the majority of
> consumers today are equipped to deal with the
> subtilties required.
>
> As you pointed out very well it is one thing to
> believe that something is
> healthier or safer. It is quite another thing to be
> able to prove it well
> enough to make a claim in your market place that is
> either practical or
> legal.
>
> Best,
>
> Ted
>
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