When the Growing Gets Tough
Seeking to consolidate the current patchwork of "organic" or natural labels on foods, a national standard that will regulate the production and processing of organic foods and ingredients is proposed
What's in a name? Or, in this case, a label? If you buy
foods that say "organic," chances are that they not only
contain modified or irradiated ingredients, but that some
of those ingredients may have been produced using hormones,
antibiotics, and synthetic or sludge fertilizers. Seeking
to consolidate the current patchwork of "organic" and
"natural" labels on foods, the U.S. Department of
Agriculture (USDA) has proposed a national standard that
will regulate the production and processing of organic
foods and ingredients.
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Presently, products marketed as "organic" are certified by
numerous state and private agencies, thereby creating
domestic consumer confusion and complicating the export of
products. But under the USDAs new proposal, which
Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman called "the most
comprehensive and strongest organic standard in the world,"
all crops, livestock and processed foods that want to
include "organic" on their labels will have to be produced
under uniform guidelines governing the methods, substances
and handling that go into their production. Three
controversial processes in particular - the use of
genetically modified ingredients, the use of radiation to
decontaminate, and the use of sewage sludge as fertilizer -
are specifically prohibited under the new labeling
criteria.
The USDA'S attempt to regulate this fast-growing sector of
American agriculture suggests that the agency can no longer
ignore consumer demand estimated retail sales of organic
foods in 1999 were nearly $6 billion) nor the growing
community of organic farmers, many of whom are small-scale
producers. In the past, many USDA policies were criticized
for discriminating against both consumers and small
farmers. In a recent press release, however, the USDA
confidently claims that its new standard is "exactly what
American consumers and organic farmers want," and the
department announced additional measures to promote organic
agriculture, including a trial, risk-management insurance
program to aid the organic farming community.