Being a lawyer and a food writer, a recent press release from the Cornucopia Institute caught my interest. Find out how to get involved below.
USDA Seeks Public Comment
Due December 26, 2012
The United States
Department of Agriculture (USDA) is seeking public comment on a rule
that would continue its policy of allowing the indiscriminate and
illegal addition of synthetic nutrients to organic foods.
Nutrients occur naturally
in foods, and many are essential for good health. But organic consumers
expect that any added nutrients in processed foods be derived from
natural or organic sources rather than synthetic versions that are
mass-produced in laboratories and factories by chemical corporations,
often using hazardous petrochemical solvents.
If you agree that organic
foods should be free from unnecessary synthetic ingredients, as the
federal organic regulations require, please make your voice heard.
Make your voice heard. Full instructions for commenting to the USDA:
http://www.cornucopia.org/
http://www.cornucopia.org/
Additional Background
In the past six months,
organic stakeholders won a string of victories at the National Organic
Standards Board (NOSB) meetings, which upheld organic integrity and
rejected corporate petitions for eight synthetic nutrients.
Rather than respect the
organic law and accept the NOSB recommendation and the will of the
organic community, corporate food manufacturers like Nestle have refused
to remove the synthetic nutrients from organic foods, and have turned
instead to the USDA for help.
Sadly, the USDA seems all
too eager to help them out. Despite a 2011 public apology by USDA
Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan for the previous administration’s
creation of a loophole in the organic standards, which led to the
indiscriminate and illegal addition of synthetic nutrients to organic
foods, the USDA is now unwilling to back this apology with concrete
action, and is once again catering to corporate interests.
The USDA initially
proposed closing the loophole in January 2012, and both the organic
community and corporate food manufacturers supported their proposed
rule. But that was before the NOSB voted on the petitions for synthetic
nutrients. Food manufacturers, such as Nestle, likely supported the
initial proposed rule because they expected that the NOSB would approve
the synthetic nutrients that they are currently putting in organic food
(in the past, the NOSB has all too often sided with corporate lobbyists
in a desire to "grow" the organic market).
When the NOSB rejected
Nestle’s and other corporate petitions, the USDA tabled its initial
proposed rule and came out with a weakened rule that keeps the loophole
and the illegal policy on nutrients in place.
The organic community must
make clear that synthetic nutrients should be individually reviewed by
the National Organic Standards Board, and if approved, should be
individually listed on the National List of allowed materials. All
loopholes and incorrect interpretations of the organic standards must
end now.
The NOSB, after
considering extensive public comment, has made clear that synthetic
nutrients have no place in organic foods. The USDA must take immediate
enforcement against any and all synthetic nutrients that are not on the
National List of allowed materials and that have been rejected by the
National Organic Standards Board.
Not strictly following the
law passed by Congress to regulate organics (the Organic Foods
Production Act of 1990), in this regard, will likely lead to a messy and
expensive legal battle for both the USDA (US citizens) and The
Cornucopia Institute. Together, we must demand that the spirit and
letter of the law be followed.
For the full story and complete background, please click here to read Cornucopia’s position paper.
The Cornucopia Institute,
a Wisconsin-based nonprofit farm policy research group, is dedicated to
the fight for economic justice for the family-scale farming community.
Its Organic Integrity Project
acts as a corporate and governmental watchdog assuring that no
compromises to the credibility of organic farming methods and the food
it produces are made in the pursuit of profit.
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