RE: being a heretic

From: Bluestem Associates (bluestem@webserf.net)
Date: Wed Mar 15 2000 - 13:08:45 EST


On Wed, 15 Mar 2000 09:01:33 +0100, Hayo van der Werf wrote:

>Bart,
>
>Your point is clear, like Dale and Grace you feel that organic rulemaking
>concentrates too much on material lists and too little on stewardship
>components. You seem kind of fatalistic about this. Still, I would like to
>know, what approach would you propose to make organic rulemaking better?
>Please try to give some specific examples.

One very straight-forward example, for purposes of illustration ---

"Soil losses to erosion and other degradation shall not exceed the
natural rate of replacement for that locale."

This specifies the *results* to be achieved, while leaving the grower
much latitude in how they are to be achieved.

Government's chief duty in a free-market economy is not, however, to
solve peoples problems ( eg, the farm "crisis') , or to impose more and
more layers of bureaucratic regulation. If the organic industry can't
figure it out by healthy competition ["concurrence loyal", on dira en
francais] reinforced by periodic collaboration, let it go. The
government doesn't mess with "kosher," and it shouldn't be messing with
"organic."

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