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Berkshire Eagle, December 4, 2005
Editorial

Art Ames was on his way to Colorado recently for a conference of co-op
market managers and members when the U.S. Senate went into the back room to
draw up rules compromising the integrity of organically labeled products. It
would be a stretch to suggest that senators used the moment when Mr. Ames
and his group, the National Cooperative Grocers Association, were away from
their desks to pull a fast one, but when the organically conscious grocers
heard about the impending congressional action to lessen organic standards
an uproar ensued.

Within days thousands of calls went out to senators. Senator Kennedy's
office was shocked by the spontaneous grass-roots response to the small rule
change that didn't even appear on the congressional docket, according to Mr.
Ames, who also was impressed by how fast and furious members of the
Berkshire Co-op Market that he manages were to shout their disapproval
alongside co-op members nationwide.

The grocers association won a short-lived victory in postponing Senate
action on rules that have been hotly debated this past year, since a small
farmer in Maine drew national attention for challenging USDA organic
standards. Organic blueberry farmer Arthur Harvey sued the United States
Department of Agriculture in federal court over allowing synthetics into
organically labeled products, the court sided with the farmer and ordered
the USDA to comply. Instead of instituting the most rigorous standards for
organic food, the USDA and organic industry special interests, more
concerned with profits than integrity, predictably set out to rewrite the
laws on what is and what is not organic.

The debate has caused a rift in the organic community. The Organic Trade
Association is one of the leading voices in the industry, and actually wrote
the rule change that loosens organic standards. The grocers association is
on the leadership council of the trade association, but Mr. Ames has called
for the co-op grocers to withdraw from the leadership circle out of protest
for these new rules.

Many within the organic community are losing faith in the Organic Trade
Association because it has become more interested in profits than standards
and has become corrupted by big business representatives who sit on its
board. The organic brand is a growth market, raking in almost $15 billion in
the last year and expected to grow 20 percent a year. Forty percent of
Americans buy organic products, so it should be no surprise that the
nation's largest corporations are looking to get involved in the market for
healthy foods. Wal-Mart sells soy milk, which says plenty.

After the co-op grocers' minor victory with the Senate, the Organic Trade
Association, stubbornly refusing to renegotiate standards with other groups
vested in the organic label as the Senate had recommended, handed its bill
of goods to the House, which passed it stealthily within an agriculture
spending bill last month. Regrettably, this bill was also passed by the
Senate, which didn't want to hold up the entire agriculture bill over the
organic issue, and became law upon the president's signature. The new laws
regulating organic products make it easier for corporations to get in the
game by basically allowing synthetically tainted products to be called
organic, which is a case of government-sanctioned false advertising. Organic
is basically a brand name and consumers are being misled.

One new rule allows cows raised on conventional farms â€¹ fed with
genetically-modified food and injected by hormones â€¹ to move to an organic
farm where their milk can be called organic. The law also lessens the
restrictions on conventional farmers who want to change to organic. Also, it
allows synthetic ingredients to go into organic products under the claim
that no organic alternative was available, which is often a phony argument.
So now when a consumer looks for a purely organic product there will be less
certainty, because the rules of organics, which should be as strict as
kosher labeling, have been changed. Government is infamous for abusing
terminology, altering definitions and deceptive labeling to trick the public
and obscure the truth. The trickery is one of the greatest threats to an
informed public and sound policy. The USDA seal of approval should stand for
something, but now that is questionable. It should be simple - organic
products are organic and synthetic ones are not. How did this truth get
lost? Mr. Ames put it this way: "If someone buys certified organic, damn it,
it should be certified organic."

But there is still hope and people like Mr. Ames and members of the
Berkshire Co-op are still fighting for the purity of the organic trade, and
further debate is certain in Washington. Lawmakers should fight for what's
right in this case, truth in advertising of organic products.