Cash Cow
While I am on the subject of confined feeding operations, be sure to check out the New York Times piece, Organic Cash Cow, that came out this past Wednesday. In the piece, Kim Severson notes that, under current USDA guidelines, milk grown in under what are essentially confinement type conditions can be marketed as “organic,” thanks primarily to the lobbying done by the big dairies (who now occupy the majority of the organic milk market, think Horizon).
Through the article, I learned of the Cornucopia Institute of Wisconsin, which is a non-profit devoted to maintaining traditional “organic” standards under USDA enforcement of federal organic standards:
Organic food has become a very big business, with a 20 percent annual growth rate in sales in recent years. But popularity has come at a price. Ever since 2002, when the Department of Agriculture began its program of national organic certification, there has been a steady lobbying effort to weaken standards in a way that makes it easier for the giant food companies, which often use synthetic substances in processing, to enter the organic market.
That’s exactly why many organic farmers greeted the U.S.D.A.’s organic seal with real trepidation. They know that the one thing the department has always done especially well is to capitulate to the lobbying pressure of big food and big agriculture.
Check out the difference between 2 “organic” farms:
March 9th, 2007 10:48
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April 21st, 2007 03:57
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