A recent San Francisco Chronicle article by Carol Hess says that organic food rule changes will allow more pesticides and hormones.
According to the article four changes in April 2004 to the National Organic Program standards have created a conflict between the USDA and organic interests.
The first change allows pesticides with unknown ingredients to be included in organic foods if a "reasonable effort" has been made to identify them.
The second change is that organic beef and chicken can now come from animals and birds that can eat non-organic fishmeal, even if it contains a synthetic preservative or toxins.
Third, calves and cows can be treated with antibiotics and drugs and after a year their milk can be called organic. Previously, cows treated with antibiotics were generally removed from organic herds forever and sold to conventional dairies.
The fourth new interpretation allows seafood, pet food and body care products to be called organic without meeting any preset standards.
Members of the organic food industry, consumers and farm groups including Stonyfield Farm, the Consumers Union, Organic Farming Research Foundation, the National Organics Standards Board, Newman's Own Organics, National Coalition for Sustainable Agriculture and the Organic Farming Research Foundation are resisting these changes.
Many feel this is terrible for the organic industry and could weaken consumer confidence in the organic label.
Strict organic proponents argue that organic standards are based on the principle that cows should be raised in healthy, disease-preventive ways so drugs aren't needed, Hirshberg said. The new rule makes it easier for large dairy farms that have both organic and non-organic herds to move cows back and forth between the two. This could encourage dairy farmers to use less healthy standards and still call their milk organic.
Barbara Robinson, the USDA deputy administrator in charge of the organic program said the changes did not set new standards ands were made because decisions needed to be made, and she has only six staff members and $1.5 million, out of the USDA's $70 billion budget, to run the entire organic program.
Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., (author of the 1990 Organic Food Act), is gathering bipartisan support against the changes.
"Unilateral fiats like these may violate the letter of the law, and they certainly violate the spirit," Leahy said.
A draft letter to Agriculture Secretary Veneman in the House expresses "strong concern" that the "far-reaching" changes will "undermine the integrity of the organic label."
Consumers who are concerned about using organic products will do well to follow this issue because its final resolution could affect the trust that can be put into organic labeling.
