You know, I don't eat a ton of organic food and I know when I'm eating crap because I read the label. But, as someone who has absolutely no control over my food quality - after all, I'm not a farmer - it pisses me off that companies are not REQUIRED to tell me everything that is in my food including GMO, pesticides, etc. And if you don't care about adults, think of kids who are injesting this garbage unaware that it can be loaded with things that do long-term damage to their bodies. <i>Organic food industry says program's integrity threatened by USDA changes By CAROL NESS Knight Ridder Tribune A showdown is taking shape over the nation's organic food standards, triggered by a spate of recent rule changes that some producers and activists say are setting a pattern that could eventually render the organic label meaningless. The changes in the National Organic Program standards, made in April, expand the use of antibiotics and hormones in organic dairy cows, allow more pesticides in the organic arsenal and for the first time let organic livestock eat potentially contaminated fishmeal. Program administrators also reversed themselves and said seafood, pet food and body care products can use "organic" on their labels without meeting any standards at all. And in what the $11 billion organic food industry, consumer and farm groups call a dangerous precedent, program administrators made last month's changes in three "guidances" and one "directive" without seeking public comment or consulting with their own advisers on the National Organics Standards Board. "This is hugely terrible for the organic industry," said Nancy Hirshberg, a vice president at Stonyfield Farm, a New Hampshire organic dairy. "It's a real weakening of the standards. And it could have the effect of weakening consumer confidence in the organic label." A coalition of organic interests, including the powerful Consumers Union, says the interpretations represent major changes that could threaten the integrity of the program, which set a high standard for what products qualify as organic. And they say administrators risk undermining trust in the program by leaving the public, including its own advisory board, out of the decision-making. Sounding a national alarm, the coalition is pressuring the U.S. Department of Agriculture to retract the changes and keep the public involved. In both the House and Senate, letters calling on Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman to withdraw the documents are gathering bipartisan support. And businesses that will lose money because of the changes are said to be considering lawsuits. "We are drawing a line in the organic soil," said Bob Scowcroft of the Organic Farming Research Foundation in Santa Cruz, Calif., who helped write the organic standards. Barbara Robinson, the USDA deputy administrator in charge of the organic program, defended the moves as merely interpretations of the standards, not new regulations. Among the 90-plus USDA-accredited organic certifiers, some were interpreting the standards one way, some another, she said. For example, some were allowing dairy farmers to use antibiotics in certain circumstances, and some weren't. The board wasn't involved because the guidances didn't set new standards, she said. Decisions needed to be made, and Robinson said she has only six staff members and $1.5 million, out of the USDA's $70 billion budget, to run the program. </i>
Jeff this sort of brings up what I've been dealing with lately, eating healthy. I've started by practicing some good eating habits and I've quit drinking drinks with caffeine. I've even flirted with the idea of becoming a most-of-the-time vegetarian but I already catch a lot of slack because I choose not to eat chocolate, cheese, and have begun really limiting my trans fat intake, which is in almost every damn food on store shelves so I don't know what people would say if I didn't eat meat. I wish I could find organic foods around here but am unable to because we don't have options like that up here in Northeast Arkansas.
Knowing exactly what we're ingesting and passing on to future generations seems very reasonable to me.
