Organic Standards in Danger—Unless You Make Your Voice Heard
March 5, 2013
It’s like they’re saying, “Ssh! If we keep quiet enough, nobody will
complain!” Let’s not let them get away with it.
Action Alert!
The National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) will hold its spring board
meeting in April. As you probably know, NOSB is the governing board
created by Congress that reviews all synthetic and non-organic materials
proposed by Big Farma before they can be used in organic farming or food
production.
For thirty days before each meeting, the public is supposed to be
invited to scrutinize and comment on the topics that will come up at the
NOSB meetings—a wide range of issues that significantly affect organic
standards—and the USDA’s National Organic Program (NOP) is supposed to
announce it. This time, however, the NOP failed to send out any public
announcement about the thirty-day comment period, not even in their own
e-newsletter, before the comment period began. The Cornucopia Institute
discovered information about the April meeting, buried deep in the
NOP website, after the comment period had already begun. Two days after
the Cornucopia article appeared, NOP made the public announcement
through their Organic Insider newsletter, costing stakeholders valuable
time. Had this information been buried by mistake or on purpose? We
don’t know.
Thank goodness Cornucopia discovered it, because public comment is vital
to keep the NOSB accountable in the face of an increasingly cozy
relationship between NOSB and Big Farma, and a serious dilution of
organic standards. For example, the list of synthetic ingredients that
are allowed in Certified Organic products is growing.
As we reported
previously, in 2002, the NOSB allowed only 72 chemicals. Since then,
over 250 more chemicals have been added.
The majority of organic brands are owned by the biggest food
manufacturers, and
some them have seats on the NOSB. In 2011, a General Mills executive
was on the board, and this year an exec from Driscoll’s, which markets
both conventional and organic berries, held a seat on the board that was
supposed to be filled by a farmer. After public outcry she
resigned—but rejoined the NOSB in a different capacity.
Issues discussed in the NOSB meeting ahead could seriously undermine
organic standards—unless you and other grassroots activists are willing
to voice your strong objections:
How to control GMO contamination of organic seeds? Seed purity is
especially important to prevent “creeping contamination.” Not only
should there be stricter protocols to ensure pure organic seeds, there
should be systematic testing of organic seeds for GMO contamination as
part of the certification process. And biotechnology companies should be
held accountable for any GMO contamination of organic seeds—even if it
was unintentional. Under current organic rules,
there are no strict practices ensuring that organic seeds are not
contaminated with GMO. GMOs are considered an excluded “method” that
should be prevented by best practices, but the actual organic product
itself is not tested for GMOs. Testing usually occurs when there is
“reason to believe” that organic food is contaminated with GMOs.
How to deal with GMOs in vaccines? Under current organic regulations,
animal vaccines using GMOs are not allowed, unless specifically approved
by the NOP. However,
the
NOP hasn’t identified which vaccines contain GMOs in the first place,
resulting in GMO vaccine use and weak enforcement. The NOSB will discuss
how to identify GMO vaccines; we believe it should it be defined as any
technology that creates a targeted change or mutation in the genome; it
certainly shouldn’t be something that is evaluated on a case-by case
basis, another option that is being considered. We strongly oppose any
GMO vaccines in organic livestock.
Should “confidential business information” (CBI) be allowed in a
petitioner’s request for a synthetic chemical to be added to the organic
“allowed” list? Currently, CBI is not disclosed in the technical
evaluation report of a chemical, and it’s not available to the NOSB,
much less to the public. But such CBI could include important
information regarding environmental and health effects of a chemical. We
strongly support prohibiting CBI in petitions to ensure transparency in
the process—especially if the CBI pertains to serious environmental and
adverse health effects. This may also have the positive effect of
deterring companies that have something to hide.
Should a fruit antibiotic that adds to the “superbug” problem be allowed
for two more years? The NOSB is considering whether to extend the
withdrawal date for the antibiotic oxytetracycline, which is used in
apple and pear production to prevent fire blight. It’s sprayed on trees,
which exposes bacteria in the orchard and especially the soil to the
antibiotic, and directly contributes to the “superbug” issue
we’ve told you about—the creation of drug-resistant bacteria. There
was a lot of public push-back against
placing this on the allowed list in the first place. The board wants
to extend the withdrawal date to 2016 and add a phase-out plan, even
though organic standards require that practices and inputs must maintain
or improve the natural resources of the operation,
including soil and water quality. We do not support extending sunset
date of oxytetracycline.
Should sugar beet fiber be allowed in organic food to increase overall
fiber content? Most sugar beets are GE, so we oppose such a proposal,
and would insist that the final product be tested for GMO. We’re also
concerned that the process for adding sugar beet fiber to organic food
doesn’t follow organic processes.
At the last NOSB meeting, ANH-USA strongly opposed allowing dangerous
synthetic chemicals in organic food, including organic baby formula.
And the board rejected most of these chemicals.
It’s important that we all participate in this process to uphold organic
standards and prevent corporate interests from destroying truly organic
food. Organic certification is often the only thing consumers can use to
distinguish between healthy, sustainable food and industrial farmed
foods, most of which contain GMOs.
Action Alert! Send your comments to the NOSB and tell them your stance
on each of the agenda items above. Please send them your message today!
The Alliance for Natural Health USA
1350 Connecticut Ave NW, 5th Floor, Washington, DC 20036 Ph: 800.230.2762
www.anh-usa.org
http://www.anh-usa.org/organic-standards-in-danger-unless-you-make-your-voice-heard/
|