>
> --- In [email protected], "shempmcgurk" <shempmcgurk@>
wrote:
> >
> > --- In [email protected], "authfriend" <jstein@>
> > wrote:
> > >
> > > The New York Times magazine has an interesting article
> > > on the pros and (mostly) cons of the Wal-Martization of
> > > organic food. Excerpt:
> > >
> > >
> > > Wal-Mart will buy its organic food from whichever producers
can
> > > produce it most cheaply, and these will not be the sort of
farmers
> > > you picture when you hear the word "organic." Big supermarkets
> > want
> > > to do business only with big farmers growing lots of the same
> > thing,
> > > not because big monoculture farms are any more efficient (they
> > > aren't) but because it's easier to buy all your carrots from a
> > single
> > > megafarm than to contract with hundreds of smaller growers.
> > > The "transaction costs" are lower, even when the price and the
> > > quality are the same. This is just one of the many ways in
which
> > the
> > > logic of industrial capitalism and the logic of biology on a
farm
> > > come into conflict. At least in the short run, the logic of
> > > capitalism usually prevails.
> > >
> > > Wal-Mart's push into the organic market won't do much for
small
> > > organic farmers, that seems plain enough. But it may also
spell
> > > trouble for the big growers it will favor. Wal-Mart has a
> > reputation
> > > for driving down prices by squeezing its suppliers, especially
> > after
> > > those suppliers have invested heavily to boost production to
feed
> > the
> > > Wal-Mart maw. Having done that, the supplier will find itself
at
> > Wal-
> > > Mart's mercy when the company decides it no longer wants to
pay a
> > > price that enables the farmer to make a living. When that
happens,
> > > the notion of responsibly priced food will be sacrificed to
the
> > > imperatives of survival, and the pressure to cut corners will
> > become
> > > irresistible.
> > >
> > > Up to now, the federal organic standards have provided a
bulwark
> > > against that pressure. Yet with the industrialization of
organic,
> > > these rules are themselves coming under mounting pressure, and
> > > forgive my skepticism, but it's hard to believe that the
lobbyists
> > > from Wal-Mart are going to play a constructive role in
defending
> > > those standards from efforts to weaken them.
> >
> >
> >
> > I think this is an example of why we shouldn't always count on
the
> > government to give us "good" regulation: it can always be
subject to
> > the whims of lobbyists.
> >
> > If there was an organic-industry standard board or something
> > whereby -- I don't know -- people with a reputation for
determining
> > proper organics could sit on such a board, then THEY could set
the
> > standard and not the government.
> >
> > Then Wal-Mart would have to play by their rules.
> >
> > Can't blame Wal-Mart for trying to bring down prices and
squeezing
> > their capitalist suppliers and capitalist growers.
>
> The Maharishi Organic ratings people assign 3 separate ratings: us
organic, european
> organic, and Maharishi Organic, which combines the requirements of
hte first two plus
> various vedic thingies. I understand there's other independent
rating systems out there
> also.
>
There you go.
We don't need no stinkin' FDA approval...
To subscribe, send a message to:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Or go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/
and click 'Join This Group!'
SPONSORED LINKS
| Religion and spirituality | Maharishi mahesh yogi |
YAHOO! GROUPS LINKS
- Visit your group "FairfieldLife" on the web.
- To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
- Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.
