Help Stop 'Organic' Factory Farming - MUST READ
From OCA (Organic Consumers Association):
"So-called organic dairy "industry leaders," including two of the largest organic dairy companies in the nation, Horizon Organic (a subsidiary of Dean Foods and a supplier to Wal-Mart); and Aurora Organic (a supplier of private brand name organic milk to Costco, Safeway, Giant, Wild Oats and others), are purchasing the majority of their milk from feedlot dairies where the cows have little or no access to pasture, and have routinely been imported from conventional farms, where the animals have been weaned on blood plasma, fed genetically engineered feed, slaughterhouse waste, and poultry manure, and injected or treated with antibiotics, according to research carried out by the organic watchdog group, the Cornucopia Institute. Together, these corporations control up to 65% of the organic dairy market."
From:http://www.organicconsumers.org/2006/article_543.cfm
Much more information here:
http://www.organicconsumers.org/nosb2.htm
http://cornucopia.org/index.php/71
From http://www.counterpunch.org/frank12152005.html:
"Attempting to define what USDA considers "organic" is like trying to figure out which lie George W. Bush told last -- it is a difficult, if not impossible task. Since 2002, USDA has changed their definition almost every year. So today's products labeled "organic" by the Agency may not have been labeled the same in 2003. This sort of wavering has been met with much criticism from many organic food advocates who believe USDA should stick to the standards it agreed upon in 1990. Others, mostly industry suit coats, still believe USDA's labeling is too stringent. And why wouldn't they? The lesser the standards, the fatter their bottom-lines. And here is where the lobbying efforts on the part of the agriculture giants come into play."
"In 2002, shortly after USDA announced its labeling policy, a controversy bubbled over when an accredited USDA-certifier allowed Georgia chicken producer, Fieldale Chickens, to label its products organic while only having to use ten percent organic feed instead of 100 percent required by the NOP under USDA's guidelines. Fieldale spent tens of thousands of dollars to hire a prime time Washington lobbyist to help change organic standards at USDA. And with the help of the Georgia delegation in Congress, they were successful"
"if industry giants are anything, they're persistent. And by June 2004, USDA had reinstated one of the directives from April of that same year. Today all seafood, body care products, and clothing, fertilizers and pet food can be labeled "organic" regardless of how they were manufactured. And on December 13, 2005, the U.S. Senate passed the 2006 Appropriations bill, which included language that weakened even more USDA organic labeling standards.
Young dairy cows can now be treated with antibiotics and can also be fed genetically engineered feed. Not only that, numerous synthetic food additives and processing agents can now be used in USDA approved organic foods. And in case of "emergency decrees," or rather, in case of a shortage of organic goods (shortage is determined by USDA, not the U.S. public) loopholes now exist in the federal statutes, which allow for the substitution of non-organic ingredients without any public notification or oversight. The new changes are a result of recent fight over USDA standards that began heating up in 2002 when organic blueberry farmer Arthur Harvey of Maine filed a federal lawsuit against the United States Department of Agriculture for allowing products containing synthetic ingredients to be sold as 'organic'. Mr. Harvey contended that USDA's organic standards were ambiguous, which undermined consumer organic goods and confidence in USDA's labels."
The USDA has posted revisions to the National Organic Program and is seeking public comment until June 12, 2006.
Click to send a letter to the USDA HERE
"So-called organic dairy "industry leaders," including two of the largest organic dairy companies in the nation, Horizon Organic (a subsidiary of Dean Foods and a supplier to Wal-Mart); and Aurora Organic (a supplier of private brand name organic milk to Costco, Safeway, Giant, Wild Oats and others), are purchasing the majority of their milk from feedlot dairies where the cows have little or no access to pasture, and have routinely been imported from conventional farms, where the animals have been weaned on blood plasma, fed genetically engineered feed, slaughterhouse waste, and poultry manure, and injected or treated with antibiotics, according to research carried out by the organic watchdog group, the Cornucopia Institute. Together, these corporations control up to 65% of the organic dairy market."
From:http://www.organicconsumers.org/2006/article_543.cfm
Much more information here:
http://www.organicconsumers.org/nosb2.htm
http://cornucopia.org/index.php/71
From http://www.counterpunch.org/frank12152005.html:
"Attempting to define what USDA considers "organic" is like trying to figure out which lie George W. Bush told last -- it is a difficult, if not impossible task. Since 2002, USDA has changed their definition almost every year. So today's products labeled "organic" by the Agency may not have been labeled the same in 2003. This sort of wavering has been met with much criticism from many organic food advocates who believe USDA should stick to the standards it agreed upon in 1990. Others, mostly industry suit coats, still believe USDA's labeling is too stringent. And why wouldn't they? The lesser the standards, the fatter their bottom-lines. And here is where the lobbying efforts on the part of the agriculture giants come into play."
"In 2002, shortly after USDA announced its labeling policy, a controversy bubbled over when an accredited USDA-certifier allowed Georgia chicken producer, Fieldale Chickens, to label its products organic while only having to use ten percent organic feed instead of 100 percent required by the NOP under USDA's guidelines. Fieldale spent tens of thousands of dollars to hire a prime time Washington lobbyist to help change organic standards at USDA. And with the help of the Georgia delegation in Congress, they were successful"
"if industry giants are anything, they're persistent. And by June 2004, USDA had reinstated one of the directives from April of that same year. Today all seafood, body care products, and clothing, fertilizers and pet food can be labeled "organic" regardless of how they were manufactured. And on December 13, 2005, the U.S. Senate passed the 2006 Appropriations bill, which included language that weakened even more USDA organic labeling standards.
Young dairy cows can now be treated with antibiotics and can also be fed genetically engineered feed. Not only that, numerous synthetic food additives and processing agents can now be used in USDA approved organic foods. And in case of "emergency decrees," or rather, in case of a shortage of organic goods (shortage is determined by USDA, not the U.S. public) loopholes now exist in the federal statutes, which allow for the substitution of non-organic ingredients without any public notification or oversight. The new changes are a result of recent fight over USDA standards that began heating up in 2002 when organic blueberry farmer Arthur Harvey of Maine filed a federal lawsuit against the United States Department of Agriculture for allowing products containing synthetic ingredients to be sold as 'organic'. Mr. Harvey contended that USDA's organic standards were ambiguous, which undermined consumer organic goods and confidence in USDA's labels."
The USDA has posted revisions to the National Organic Program and is seeking public comment until June 12, 2006.
Click to send a letter to the USDA HERE