Brothers and sisters, this issue is extremely important to many of the members of the family. Some of our family work at and operate the leading organic farm organizations listed in this article. Congress is screwing up organic food. Here is the article: The Organic Consumers Association (OCA) needs your immediate help to stop Congress and the Bush administration from seriously degrading organic standards. After 35 years of hard work, the U.S. organic community has built up a multi-billion dollar alternative to industrial agriculture, based upon strict organic standards and organic community control over modification to these standards. Now, large corporations such as Kraft & Dean Foods--aided and abetted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), are moving to lower organic standards by allowing a Bush appointee to create a list of synthetic ingredients that would be allowed in organic production. Even worse these proposed regulatory changes will reduce future public discussion and input and take away the National Organic Standards Board's (NOSB) traditional lead jurisdiction in setting standards. What this means, in blunt terms. is that USDA bureaucrats and industry lobbyists, not consumers, will now have more control over what can go into organic foods and products. This week, acting in haste and near-total secrecy, the U.S. Senate will vote on a "rider" to the 2006 Agriculture Appropriations Bill that will reduce control over organic standards from the National Standards Board and put this control in the hands of federal bureaucrats in the USDA (remember the USDA proposal in 1997-98 that said that genetic engineering, toxic sludge, and food irradiation would be OK on organic farms, or USDA suggestions in 2004 that heretofore banned pesticides, hormones, tainted feeds, and animal drugs would be OK?). For the past week in Washington, OCA has been urging members of the Senate not to reopen and subvert the federal statute that governs U.S. Organic standards (the Organic Food Production Act - OFPA), but rather to let the organic community and the National Organic Standards resolve our differences over issues like synthetics and animal feed internally, and then proceed to a open public comment period. Unfortunately most Senators seem to be listening to industry lobbyists more closely than to us. We need to raise our voices. In the past, grassroots mobilization and mass pressure by organic consumers have been able to stop the USDA and Congress from degrading organic standards. This time Washington insiders tell us that the "fix is is already in." So we must take decisive action now. We need you to call your U.S. Senators today. We need you to sign the following petition and send it to everyone you know. We also desperately need funds to head off this attack in the weeks and months to come. Thank you for your support. Together we will take back citizen control over organic standards and preserve organic integrity. ______________________________________________________ Another Article: Call Congress Tell Them Not to Weaken the Organic Food Law! Call the Following Offices to Say No to Dangerous Organic Amendment Backed by the Organic Trade Association! At 4 p.m today, Oct. 25 Congress will consider an amendment to the Agricultural Appropriations Bill sponsored by the Organic Trade Association (OTA) that would weaken the organic food law. The amendment would allow: numerous synthetic processing aids to be used in organic food without any public review; could allow young dairy cows to be treated with antibiotics and fed genetically engineered feed prior to being converted to organic production; create a loophole in which organic ingredients could be substituted with non-organic ingredients without any consumer notice based upon “emergency decrees.” The amendment was stopped in the Senate by consumer pressure two weeks ago but industry pressure has brought in back! We need your help again!!! Call the following offices now and tell to reject the OTA Organic Amendment from Agricultural Appropriation Bill. U.S. House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, FDA, and Related Agencies Member State District Phone (202) Republicans Henry Bonilla (Chair) TX 23d 225-4511 Ray LaHood (Vice chair) IL 18th 225-6201 Jack Kingston GA 1st 225-5831 Tom Latham IA 5th 225-5476 Jo Ann Emerson MO 8th 225-4404 Virgil Goode VA 5th 225-4711 John Doolittle CA 4th 225-2511 Rodney Alexander LA 5th 225-8490 *Jerry Lewis CA 41st 225-5861 Democrats Rosa DeLauro CT 3d 225-3661 Marcy Kaptur OH 9th 225-4146 Maurice Hinchey NY 26th 225-6335 Sam Farr CA 17th 225-2861 Allen Boyd FL 2nd 225-5235 *David Obey WI 7th 225-3365 U.S. Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development and Related Agencies Switchboard: 224-3121 Member State Phone (202) Republicans Bob Bennett (Chair) UT 224-5444 Thad Cochran MS 224-5054 Arlen Specter PA 224-4254 Kit Bond MO 224-5721 Mitch McConnell KY 224-2541 Conrad Burns MT 224-2644 Larry Craig ID 224-2752 Sam Brownback KS 224-6521 Democrats Herb Kohl (Ranking) WI 224-5653 Tom Harkin IA 224-3254 Richard Durbin IL 224-2152 Byron Dorgan ND 224-2551 Dianne Feinstein CA 224-3841 Tim Johnson SD 224-5842 Mary Landrieu LA 224-5824 *Robert Byrd WV 224-3954 *ex officio From: http://www.organicconsumers.org/organic/102505.cfm ___________________________________________ This is really important, Please make some calls if you can.
First, there is no TRADITION of a US national standards. That came aboout in 02-03. Before that states had organic standards, such as Texas, Oregon, Cali and Colorado. Certifications I trusted more than what we have now. second what is meant by "production?" Growing of product manufacture? I need more info, such as bill text. Do you know the bill number?
