USDA to Allow More Conventional Ingr... 
grzbear
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From:
http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_5217.cfm
USDA to Allow More Conventional Ingredients in Organics?
* By Lorraine Heller
Food Navigator, 5/16/2007
Straight to the Source
5/16/2007 - The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) is proposing to add a number of ingredients to the list of substances permitted for use in organic food products, in a move designed to prevent disruption to business when new regulations come into place next month.
The additional 38 proposed substances include non-organic colors, starches and oils, which may be used only when an organic counterpart is not available commercially.
The proposed amendments to USDA's National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances (National List) are a result of recommendations submitted by the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB), based on petitions made by industry.
According to USDA, these substances are already being used in organic food production, due to a misinterpretation of current National List regulations. Until recently, organic producers and handlers may have thought that any non-organic agricultural substance could be used in organic products if this was determined unavailable in organic form by an accredited certifying agent.
However, in June last year, a final rule was published clarifying that only ingredients appearing in the National List are permitted for use in organic products. The final order, which will become effective on June 9 2007, will mean that as of this date any products containing ingredients not specifically listed in the National List will be in non-compliance with organic certifications.
"Because these substances are critical to organic production and handling operations, producers and handlers should be able to use them in their operations as soon as possible," wrote the USDA in a notice published in the Federal Register yesterday.
"Loss of the use of any of these products would disrupt the trade of food products currently being labeled as 'organic'. Therefore, the continued allowed use of these products as ingredients in foods labeled as 'organic' is necessary to prevent possible significant business disruption for organic producers and handlers."
The agency has opened a 7-day comment period on the proposed modifications. Comments must be received by May 22 2007.
The proposed rule would add the following substances to the National List:
Colors from annatto, beet juice, beta-carotene, black currant juice, black/purple carrot juice, blueberry juice, carrot juice, cherry juice, chokeberry-aronia juice, elderberry juice, grape juice, grape skin extract, paprika, pumpkin juice, purple potato juice, red cabbage extract, red radish extract, saffron, and turmeric.
In addition: casings from processed intestines (used as sheaths in the manufacture of sausages), Celery powder (used to facilitate the natural curing process of meat), and chia (used to add fiber and omega-3 to baked goods and beverages.
Other ingredients include: dillweed oil, fish oil, fructooligosaccharides, frozen galangal, gelatin, water extracted Arabic, guar, locust bean, and carob bean gums, hops, oligofructose enriched inulin, kelp for use only as a thickener and dietary supplement, konjac flour, unbleached lecithin, frozen lemongrass, unbleached orange shellac, pectin, chipotle chile pepper, cornstarch, unmodified rice starch, sweet potato starch, Turkish bay leaves, Wakame seaweed, and whey protein concentrate.
To view the USDA Federal Register notice,
http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20071800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/...
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- Speaking of "organic"
Tony Isaacs
17 y
1,959
This is a reply to # 877,252Did you know that in the US, in order to qualify as organic, the soil only has to have not had any chemical fertilizers or pesticides used for a mere 36 months?
Also, any food labeled as "organic" may contain as much as 5% of non-organic substances.
"Organically grown" may contain as much as 30% non-organics.
Only the label "100% organic" must contain no non-organic substances.
And then there is this issue: while "organic" foods may be safer due to lack of contaminants (at least within the past 3 years - see above), the label means nothing when it comes to nutrition. A qualified organic soil may still be soil that has had virtually all of the minerals depleted. So, you could consume "organic" fruits and vegetables that are nutritionally bankrupt.
Odds are, this happens more than you want to know. Since the advent of chemical fetilizers and overuse of soils without proper crop rotation and mineral replacement, the minerals in the soil of most of the US land used to grow vegetables and fruits have been virtually wiped out.
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- Re: Speaking of "organic"
J Trace
17 y
2,021
This is a reply to # 877,335I am preparing to become an organic farmer myself in Missouri. In my research of orgainc farming I have noticed that the politics of Organics has been evolving for several years away from its original and intended meaning. In 2004 the National Organic Association (NOA) set up shop and took over the organic standards and sought to federalize/standardize what "Organic" means legally. Of course when this happened, the State of Missouri stopped funding the Missouri Organic Association (MOA) and therefore stopped providing inspectors and standards for the farms in Missouri. Now NOA allows private entities to inspect and certify farms all over the nation. The cost for certification naturally rose severely and now some farmers in Missouri have altogether abandoned certification and simply allow the public to visit and examine their farms.
Other places, such as California and Oregon maintain their state Organic Certifications and the state standards are tougher and more true to the intent of natural and sustainable farming.
It is also important to note that the USDA and NOA do not regulate the use of the term "organic" for any non-food production. So any shampoo, moisturizer, toothpaste, soap, cosmetic has absolutely no standards whatsoever in order to be labeled organic.
It is not surprising though is it?
I think it is important to remember that "organic" methods (in the strictest sense of the word) do work to produce bountiful and healthy products. Healthy eco-systems simply produce healthy products. So those who are looking to "cheat" are the large monocrop farming operations who want to streamline the operation and keep market share. Those who do grow by organic methods (again in the strictest sense) though are still out their and do not want to see the standards relaxed. The small and sustainable farms in Missouri and California and Oregon are good people and want to farm healthy good produce. They try very hard to fight against agri-business. Just last year in Missouri a state senate bill (1099 I think) that would have prohibited counties and localities from objecting to and passing laws against Genetically-Modified-Organisms farms operating where they would contaminate field of standard crops was defeated. At least for now Genetically-Modified-Organisms farms can be prevented from planting near standard farms.
The word "Organic" is on its way to becoming tainted yes, but the principals and people behind the original concept are still around and still producing good food. Seek them out and help them and they will help you.
- Re: Speaking of "organic"
Ohfor07
17 y
1,905
This is a reply to # 877,640The way I see it, a person needs to maintain two vocabularies these days, one to cope with the fraudulent/fictional nature of the increasing establishment world, one to deal with the shrinking natural world. This is not all that new, this trend was set in motion, conservatively, as far back as post Civil War era when inorganic amendments began getting tacked on in ernest to the original / organic Constitution and Bill of Rights; just another something that's been accelerating of recent. By comparison, the latter is simple and was always simple to understand even before it began to shrink. I'm not saying it's easy business, it no doubt requires a lot of labor, but a lot of labor based on simple fundamentals. The complex part comes from the fact that it's been a slowly disappearing / eradicated / ilegalized institution for many years now such that a lot of people, particularly the younger, either already forget or never knew to begin with that it ever existed (memory hole), leaving fewer and fewer people who have any clue what true organic is or means; plus the additinal burden and complexity of complying with ever increasing regulations that favor the big crooked corps to the disfavor of the small & genuine ops. The former, where fewer controlling interests dominate in producing massive volumes that produce masses of profit, brings with it all the attendent lingo, legalise, collusion, word art, mincing, deception, double-speak, sophistry and other contrivances required to make this so. If one is not their own soothsayer, magician, crook and modern-day lawyer all wrapped into one, and is not already an accepted & willing member of some inner union, racket, guild or syndicate, there is little chance to survive.
It is interesting, it's been said the east coast generally lags the west by a decade or more. In the past year or so, having done a bit of light networking around parts of rural, central Pennsylvania , it seems there has beeen some few pockets of small scale organic producers that have been slowly becoming organized. I even happened upon a somewhat informal, kinda underground (figuratively) people who will swap heirloom seeds with other like minded people to help maintain the legacy. This is some good news. The less than good news is, if/when legislation (already on the books, I think, just not yet phased in) begins additionaly extorting these small ops $50 bucks or so a pop, per animal, to chip each and every livestock animal on their property, it's not likely many of these will be able to afford to stay in business.
I agree with Grz, the increase of systematic degradations is noticably accelerating the past year or so, no doubt to converge at some pre-planned notion of corporate nirvana not far in the future. - Re: Speaking of "organic"
Tony Isaacs
17 y
1,827
This is a reply to # 877,640Advertisement
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Very good points.
GM crops are a true nightmare. Just like man's failed attempts to better nature in healing, when man tries to modify what nature has provided we have a horrible record, and the recent revelations about cancer and other illnesses being linked to Genetically-Modified crops is but the tip of the iceberg I fear.
In Canada, court decisions have ruled that the patent holder of Genetically-Modified crops has the right to the seeds and that farmers may not replant their own seeds if they grew Genetically-Modified crops but instead have to buy new seeds year after year. If they do not and their crops are found to contain markers for the GM crops, they have to pay the patent holder a royalty.
It gets worse. One would think that an adjacent non-GM crop grower would be entitled to damages from cross pollination of his crops and contamination of his seeds and subsequent crops by the GM genetics. Instead, if that farmer's crops are tested at harvest and found to have GM markers, he too must pay a royalty based on the level of markers found.
Is the same thing already happening here in the US too? Or elsewhere? It would not surprise me. As we have seen with big pharma, big money talks loudly, and big money corrupts widely. The huge soy industry is an excellent example. Soy has worked it's way into a very large portion of our foodstuffs and has been widely promoted as being healthy, with all the supporting studies and industry driven propaganda. The truth is just the opposite. Soy is quite dangerous except in ferment forms like tempeh and miso.
DQ- Re: Speaking of "organic"
Ohfor07
17 y
1,830
This is a reply to # 877,679yep, traditionally, and probably up to as recent as 10 - 20 years ago, people / farmers who had some of their fields contaminated by rogue plants/seeds that blew in on the wind would have considered this a significant nuisance to be vigilant against, one that now adays may land them in court for illegally growing without having paid the frankenfood inventors a patent / license kickback... it's bad enough that many people go about there lives now adays always sort of looking over their shoulder for the Thought Police... and now some of them also need to worry about the Genetically-Modified Police. It's these kinds of difficult-to-miss attention-getting trends that, even without being overly optimistic, one would think provides a great reason / opportunity for waking up at least some of the less comatose sleeping masses that abound these days, but a lot of them - farmers too, seem to be doing a bang up job at continuing to snooze right through these kinds of wake up calls.
Maybe farmers world wide have evolved into being part of the "early to bed, never to rise" generation?
To be fair, it's mostly a lose-lose situation these days. There are all kinds of gradual assaults, and burdens and expenses and penalties visible and hidden that make traditional farming a near impossible break-even proposition these days.
- Re: Speaking of "organic"
J Trace
17 y
2,182
This is a reply to # 877,789One can paint a pessimistic picture and feel that is "reality." I, however, know that I am more aware, more educated, more "awake" as you put it than my own former-hippie parents. When it comes to food and health, I am the most natural and "organic" of my family. I credit the internet and years of self-educating. It is true that laws and economics guide the many, but those who search have far more information available than those who came before us thanks to the Internet.
You may not be aware of the renaissance of organic and small-scale farming going on these days. The fact is that organic farming works so well these days that those who do it can make a reasonable living on fairly small plots of land. The demand far out-strips the supply.
So while there are many pessimistic realities, there are also great reasons to be optomistic and happy in this reality.Advertisement
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- Re: Speaking of "organic"
J Trace
17 y
2,182
- Re: Speaking of "organic"
Ohfor07
17 y
1,830
- Re: Speaking of "organic"
Ohfor07
17 y
1,905
- Re: Speaking of "organic"
J Trace
17 y
2,021
- Re: USDA to Allow More Conventional ... Ohfor07
17 y
1,835
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This is a reply to # 877,252Grz, just thinking about some other related things - like the way the FDA and WHO via excrement like CODEX, are on the verge of being given the authority to rewrite, wholesale, defintions of food stuffs, like natural growing plants/herbs, just so that they can get all of these pesky substances reclassified as constituting "drugs", this then of course, conveniently, puts same into the crosshairs of the regulatory bodies....it seems like they are basically doign the same thing, on a parallel track, gradually, slowly, tampering with and redefining what "organic" means, which is to say, already, it aint what it once was. As strange as this may sound to some, I can foresee a day in the near future when one is in the mood for some carrots, they will first need an excuse from the doctor in order to get a controlled-ration of carrots prescribed, and it will no doubt be controlled enough to save the person from ingesting what the authorities consider a harmful dose.
- gradually, slowly grzbear
17 y
1,842
This is a reply to # 877,543I am not so sure it is gradual or slow any more... it is anything but subtle. In addition these parallel tracks of which you speak are not quite parallel and all come together at a point.
- gradually, slowly grzbear
17 y
1,842
- Speaking of "organic"
Tony Isaacs
17 y
1,959
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