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ORGANIC FOODS REVISITED
Article by herbalist
Dave
Hawkins, MH, CNC
I have written about organic
foods before and wanted to update the reader on the latest
developments in the organic movement. In the month of
March 2000 the USDA released its final guidelines for
Certified Organic Foods. Organic foods represent
approximately 1% of all food produced in the United States.
This equates to a
$6 billion industry that is increasing
annually. The demand by consumers for chemical free foods
is having an impact, and this article will give you some
details of the current situation.
Organic agriculture
is an ecological production management system
that promotes and enhances biodiversity, biological cycles,
and soil biological activity. It is based on minimal use
of off-farm inputs and on management practices
that restore, maintain, and enhance ecological
harmony. "Organic" is a labeling term that denotes products
produced under the authority of the Organic Food Production
Act. The principal guidelines for organic production are
the use of materials and practices that enhance
the ecological balance of natural systems and
that integrate the parts of the farming system into an
ecological whole.
Organic agriculture
practices cannot ensure that products are
completely free of residues;
however, methods are used to minimize pollution from air,
soil, and water. Organic food handlers, processors and
retailers adhere to standards that maintain integrity of
agricultural products. The primary goal of organic
agriculture is to optimize the health and
productivity of interdependent communities of soil life,
plants, animals, and people.
The phrase
"certified organic" needs to be understood from
its point of origin. Organic practices require a
different mindset from conventional modern
agriculture. In organics the focus is not so much on
pushing the resources to produce tremendous yields and
profits. Instead, organic fosters the ecological
processes that produce resources and add value
to resulting products and make profits.
The market for organics has
been growing rapidly with over 40 states with regulations
and annual sales of organic products reaching over $6
billion a year.
The Organic Foods
Production Act of 1990 was first introduced as
part of the 1990 Farm Bill. I find it interesting that it
has taken 10 years for anything to come out of the
government regarding this issue. With the recent release
of the guidelines by the USDA, which have to go through a
90-day review period, it looks like we have a
national standard for organic food.
Once adopted the USDA will
issue a certified organic stamp that will mean
food grown organically will not be genetically modified,
have no sewage sludge used on fields, and not be
irradiated. This seal will look a lot like what one sees
on a package of meat stating, "prime"
or "choice".
There will be four classes
of organics:
100% Organic” is just what it says
Organic" foods must be 95% organic material.
“Made With
Organics" (name of ingredients) applies to products
containing between 50-95 percent organic content.
Products with less than 50% organic will not
be allowed to use the word organic anywhere on the front
panel but can specify which ingredients are organic on the
ingredients list.
Secretary of Agriculture,
Dan Glickman also proposed
three expenditures not directly related to the rule but to
the growth of organics. They are:
·
Spending an additional $5 million for research and
development to improve organic production and
processing methods, evaluate economic benefits to the
farmers, and develop new organic markets.
·
Establish a pilot organic crop insurance program
to help organic farmers.
·
Conduct research in conjunction with the
University of California at Davis on organic
production and ways to enhance farmers' ability to market
their products.
Since I have been an organic
gardener for many years, it is exciting to see the many
changes in the organic food industry. As consumers of
organic foods, these positive changes let us know that we
have a voice and our support is being felt. I urge you to
request organic foods wherever you shop.
One issue I want to address
is the fact that we have many organic farmers in
our local region. It is important to support
these folks. They are small producers, and they need
outlets to be able to maintain their productivity. It all
comes down to supply and demand.
West Virginia is actively involved in the organic
movement with the WVU Extension Office in Morgantown, the State
Dept of Agriculture, Dept of Natural Resources, the
Department for Economic Development, and our own statewide
organic association called MSOGBA (Mountain State Organic
Growers and Buyers Association). If you are considering
growing organics, these resources can help.
I have also noticed that
there are many more companies offering organic
supplies – products that meet the organic
standards for fertilizers and for insect control. Of
course, the deer are a hard problem for all farmers, and I
have seen some innovative methods to help control that
problem.
The West Virginia
Herb Association has made a commitment to help farmers
and landowners to begin to learn how to propagate many of
our indigenous species of herbs.
Due to the
increased usage over the last five years, many
plants that are common to our area are becoming
endangered. We need to learn how to grow these
for future use or else we will lose these valuable
medicinals. We already know
that ginseng is endangered but we forget about goldenseal,
black cohosh, blue
cohosh, Echinacea, wild yam,
and many others.
Another resource in our
region is the Frontier Herb Cooperative Ecological Preserve
located close to
Rutland, Ohio, along with the United Plant Savers
Preserve, both of which can be visited.
I know I have strayed a bit
from the organic issue, but these preserves are also
promoting organic herbs. Listed below are the resources
and addresses if you are interested in joining with your
support or want to be active in growing food or herbs.
Let’s work together to see organics become a bigger part of
our food production.
United Plant Savers
P.O. Box
98
East
Barre, VT
05649
West
Virginia
Herb Association (WVHA)
Route 1,
Box 222
Lost
Creek,
WV
26385
Mountain
State
Organic Growers And Buyers
Association (Attention: Sue Cosgrove)
Route 1,
Box 145
Chloe,
WV
25235
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