MAY 23, 2004. Not only is the government eroding its own definitions of "organic," it is setting up a more difficult road for genuine organic farmers.
On the first point, for example, we have the USDA announcement that food crops sprayed with pesticides can be labeled organic if all parties concerned DO NOT KNOW the ingredients. Well, of course, the government has also permitted pesticide manufacturers to HIDE INGREDIENTS as "proprietary corporate information." Clip..... Organic growers should band together in many more regional groups and present their own standards and promises to the consumer---without using the word organic. That may sound like suicide---because millions and millions of dollars have been spent driving home the meaning of the word organic for decades---but when the government controls the definition of word, we're all in trouble, and there is no use denying it. JON RAPPOPORT www.nomorefakenews.com
