Organic Standards

As a consumer, I feel abandoned by both the USDA and the organic movement. I'm saving most of my ire for the USDA, but I'm still annoyed at organic producers.

The USDA started this process about ten years ago to give consumers a choice about food. The proposed rules they put forth last year would not have allowed consumers a choice between organic and chemically produced food. The rules allowed irradiation, genetically engineered products, sewage sludge, and widespread use of antibiotics. Current organic practices don't include these products, so the USDA had no business proposing them. After a massive campaign by organic supporters, the USDA has withdrawn most of these ideas for the time being. There is a consensus on major issues in the organic field today, and the USDA needs to heed that consensus, if it wants to truly offer consumers a choice of organic produce.

Most importantly, the USDA must listen to the National Organics Standards Board (NOSB). This board is made up of people familiar with organic procedures. They know what organic means. The government needs to use their knowledge and expertise to create a high quality organic standard consumers can trust. Overruling the NOSB's recommendations will only lead to an organic standard that consumers cannot trust.

The USDA should not charge producers the costs of regulations. These costs can be prohibitive and will lead to fewer organic farmers. If the government were truly interested in fairness, choice, and public safety, they would charge farmers who use synthetic pesticides the cost of testing and regulating these chemicals, enforcing the rules, and repairing the environmental degradation they cause. I'm sure we'd see a fast conversion to organic methods if farmers had to pay for these costs themselves. Since the USDA refuses to charge synthetic farmers these costs, they should not charge organic farmers the costs of regulation.

In the long run, by encouraging organic farmers, the government will be saving money. There will be fewer Superfund sites, healthcare problems associated with synthetic chemicals, and lawsuits over damaged crops. As organic farmers repair damaged farmland, we can increase our farming yields, repair environmentally damaged waterways, and use our resources more efficiently. Small organic farms spread throughout the country will make our food supply less susceptible to regional weather disturbances. The money we as a society can save by encouraging organic farmers should more than pay for the cost of regulating these farms.