USDA BACKS OFF FROM DEGRADING ORGANIC STANDARDS
VICTORY! USDA BACKS OFF FROM DEGRADING ORGANIC STANDARDS
Stung by a nationwide backlash by Organic Consumers Association members and the entire organic community, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced May 26 that it would rescind controversial policies issued last month that would have undermined organic standards and violated federal law requiring public input. In April, the USDA announced that it would no longer monitor organic labels on non-food products, and added that pesticides, animal drugs, growth hormones, antibiotics, and tainted fishmeal would be allowed on organic farms. In response to this frontal assault on organic integrity, the OCA immediately sent out an Action Alert and launched a media campaign to pressure the USDA into reversing its controversial directives. Thanks to all of you in our network, within two days, over 5,000 petition signatures were gathered and a landslide of faxes, emails and phone calls hit the USDA and National Organic Program offices. Amplifying OCA efforts, other public interest groups such as the Consumers Union and the National Campaign for Sustainable Agriculture joined the fray, while the Organic Trade Association rallied industry support. Meanwhile a class action lawsuit against the USDA was being prepared by Dr. Bronners (an organic soap and hemp bar company), the OCA, and others. The USDA ultimately capitulated on May 26, when it became clear that America's 30 million organic consumers were not going to accept the agency's dictatorial practices.
Unfortunately, consumers are still being locked out of many important policy discussions at the USDA, and of course Congress is still subsidizing--with our tax dollars--genetically engineered crops, factory farms, and chemical-intensive agriculture to the tune of $20-30 billion a year, while giving crumbs (less than $5 million annually) to organic programs for research, promotion, and monitoring. But the OCA, with your support, will continue to safeguard organic standards and move organic agriculture from a $15 billion dollar industry to becoming the dominant force in America's $800 billion food and fiber market.
http://www.organicconsumers.org/sos.cfm
Stung by a nationwide backlash by Organic Consumers Association members and the entire organic community, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced May 26 that it would rescind controversial policies issued last month that would have undermined organic standards and violated federal law requiring public input. In April, the USDA announced that it would no longer monitor organic labels on non-food products, and added that pesticides, animal drugs, growth hormones, antibiotics, and tainted fishmeal would be allowed on organic farms. In response to this frontal assault on organic integrity, the OCA immediately sent out an Action Alert and launched a media campaign to pressure the USDA into reversing its controversial directives. Thanks to all of you in our network, within two days, over 5,000 petition signatures were gathered and a landslide of faxes, emails and phone calls hit the USDA and National Organic Program offices. Amplifying OCA efforts, other public interest groups such as the Consumers Union and the National Campaign for Sustainable Agriculture joined the fray, while the Organic Trade Association rallied industry support. Meanwhile a class action lawsuit against the USDA was being prepared by Dr. Bronners (an organic soap and hemp bar company), the OCA, and others. The USDA ultimately capitulated on May 26, when it became clear that America's 30 million organic consumers were not going to accept the agency's dictatorial practices.
Unfortunately, consumers are still being locked out of many important policy discussions at the USDA, and of course Congress is still subsidizing--with our tax dollars--genetically engineered crops, factory farms, and chemical-intensive agriculture to the tune of $20-30 billion a year, while giving crumbs (less than $5 million annually) to organic programs for research, promotion, and monitoring. But the OCA, with your support, will continue to safeguard organic standards and move organic agriculture from a $15 billion dollar industry to becoming the dominant force in America's $800 billion food and fiber market.
http://www.organicconsumers.org/sos.cfm
Starmail - 29. Mai, 10:24
