USDA, headed by an appointed corporate stooge dismantles organic standards!
Another set of ex-Industry leaders that have been appointed to position that directly conflict with their previous post as corporate-stooges
(think about all of the Science-consultants, the head of the Fish, game and wild life in Oregon tht was once a Logging Co CEO! and is rewriting the rules for counting salmon to make it safer for destructive logging etc etc etc
!!!) are rewriting the standards for what qualifies as Organic Food.
Now the Big agribusiness feed farms can place a label on anything and you can no longer trust what you get!!!
These are the people:
What have they done:
1 PDF which: "Under the new guidelines, sickly dairy cows can be treated not just with antibiotics but with numerous other drugs and still have their milk qualify as organic, so long as 12 months pass between the time the treatments are administered and the time the milk is sold."
--which means that they don't have to worry about how they raise their cows, just pack-em in, let them get sick, but keep em pumped up with antibios and they never get sick . . . they just never are healthy either . . . and they're filled with shit and making new strains of resistance and on and on . . . its bad!
and
2 PDF another new guideline "would allow cattle farmers to feed their heifers non-organic fishmeal that could be riddled with synthetic preservatives, mercury and PCBs, and still sell their beef as organic." remember how we came up with MAD COW DESEASE?!?! feeding vegetarian animals ofal and low-end animal products!!! and these are not ORGANIC!!!! its direct and flagrant!
3 PDF ANd now a new Legal Directive . . . and this is a kicker: it basically makes it in the interests for pesticide companies to hide the ingredients of their product (which they sometimes do)
This new directive: "opens the door for use of some synthetic pesticides on organic farms.
Previously, organic farmers were only allowed to use natural, nontoxic pesticides on their crops, which effectively prohibited use of pesticides with hidden ingredients (pesticide manufacturers often don't list certain ingredients, claiming the information is proprietary).
According to the new guidelines, however, organic farmers and certifiers are only required to make a "reasonable effort" to find out what is in the pesticides being applied to crops. "If they can't come up with the info on toxic inert ingredients that may be in their pesticides, they're off the hook" said Liana Hoodes, organic policy coordinator for the National Campaign for Sustainable Agriculture. "This takes all the pressure off of pesticide manufacturers to reveal their ingredients and develop nontoxic products. In fact, it creates a disincentive."
This is all par for the course and it makes me sick!!!!
The big, profit motivated agribusiness corporations are shafting the people and paving the road to make it easier for them to LIE TO US!!!
I don't want my daughter to be drinking some 'hidden' pesticide from antibiotic-sickcows when I give her Organic milk! Now how can I tell?!?!
Then there is also this bit about what's caled CAFOs
can you believe these things exist: it stands for "concentrated animal feeding operations" . . . these things are giant concentration camps for antibiotic soaked mutant hormone-sweating animals where the whole purpose is to feed them and feed them good and plenty.
These things generate so much pollution that air from some has directly killed workers in the recent past and given hich percentages chronic persistent brinchitus, not to mention that one of them alone releases more sewage sludge than the whole city of St Louis!
Well, guess what, the new USDA regulations are allowing them to "self-monitor' their waste!
Boy, now we can rest assured that they, who really know about what's good for us, and the water and ar, are keeping vigilant watch . .
its all so offal!!!
(think about all of the Science-consultants, the head of the Fish, game and wild life in Oregon tht was once a Logging Co CEO! and is rewriting the rules for counting salmon to make it safer for destructive logging etc etc etc
!!!) are rewriting the standards for what qualifies as Organic Food.Now the Big agribusiness feed farms can place a label on anything and you can no longer trust what you get!!!
These are the people:
Quote:
the USDA leadership has longstanding industry sympathies: Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman served on the board of directors of a biotech company, and both her chief of staff and her director of communications were plucked right out of the National Cattlemen's Beef Association.
the USDA leadership has longstanding industry sympathies: Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman served on the board of directors of a biotech company, and both her chief of staff and her director of communications were plucked right out of the National Cattlemen's Beef Association.
What have they done:
1 PDF which: "Under the new guidelines, sickly dairy cows can be treated not just with antibiotics but with numerous other drugs and still have their milk qualify as organic, so long as 12 months pass between the time the treatments are administered and the time the milk is sold."
--which means that they don't have to worry about how they raise their cows, just pack-em in, let them get sick, but keep em pumped up with antibios and they never get sick . . . they just never are healthy either . . . and they're filled with shit and making new strains of resistance and on and on . . . its bad!
and
2 PDF another new guideline "would allow cattle farmers to feed their heifers non-organic fishmeal that could be riddled with synthetic preservatives, mercury and PCBs, and still sell their beef as organic." remember how we came up with MAD COW DESEASE?!?! feeding vegetarian animals ofal and low-end animal products!!! and these are not ORGANIC!!!! its direct and flagrant!
3 PDF ANd now a new Legal Directive . . . and this is a kicker: it basically makes it in the interests for pesticide companies to hide the ingredients of their product (which they sometimes do)
This new directive: "opens the door for use of some synthetic pesticides on organic farms.
Previously, organic farmers were only allowed to use natural, nontoxic pesticides on their crops, which effectively prohibited use of pesticides with hidden ingredients (pesticide manufacturers often don't list certain ingredients, claiming the information is proprietary).
According to the new guidelines, however, organic farmers and certifiers are only required to make a "reasonable effort" to find out what is in the pesticides being applied to crops. "If they can't come up with the info on toxic inert ingredients that may be in their pesticides, they're off the hook" said Liana Hoodes, organic policy coordinator for the National Campaign for Sustainable Agriculture. "This takes all the pressure off of pesticide manufacturers to reveal their ingredients and develop nontoxic products. In fact, it creates a disincentive."
This is all par for the course and it makes me sick!!!!
The big, profit motivated agribusiness corporations are shafting the people and paving the road to make it easier for them to LIE TO US!!!
I don't want my daughter to be drinking some 'hidden' pesticide from antibiotic-sickcows when I give her Organic milk! Now how can I tell?!?!
Then there is also this bit about what's caled CAFOs
can you believe these things exist: it stands for "concentrated animal feeding operations" . . . these things are giant concentration camps for antibiotic soaked mutant hormone-sweating animals where the whole purpose is to feed them and feed them good and plenty.
These things generate so much pollution that air from some has directly killed workers in the recent past and given hich percentages chronic persistent brinchitus, not to mention that one of them alone releases more sewage sludge than the whole city of St Louis!
Well, guess what, the new USDA regulations are allowing them to "self-monitor' their waste!
Boy, now we can rest assured that they, who really know about what's good for us, and the water and ar, are keeping vigilant watch . .
its all so offal!!!
Comments
forgot to post the fourth new guidline PDF which: "Narrows the scope of the federal organic certification program to crops and livestock, critics say, meaning that national organic standards will not be developed for fish, nutritional supplements, pet food, fertilizers, cosmetics and personal-care products.
"Consumers beware: This basically allows any opportunistic company to put fraudulent 'organic' labels on products outside of the regulated domain, without any liability concerns,""
all quotes from this article
On a personal note, I react to antibiotics in food so I am forced to purchase poultry, beef, milk, and other products that may have antibiotic residue from places that sell organic versions of these products. If I can no longer trust the organic labels, I suppose I will have no choice but to eat as a vegetarian. (Not that eating in that way is inherently a bad thing, I'd just prefer not to be forced in that position)
Gah. Thanks for the heads up, Pfflam.
That sucks.
Yeeehaw!!
Tycin CAFO chickens ("concentrated animal feeding operations") might pretend they are Orarganic but they are NOT getting my money!
Something good has actually happened: ARTICLE
Due to pressure from consumer groups and farmers teh new guidelines have been rescinded!!!!!!
YYYYEEEEEEEHAW!!
Originally posted by pfflam
YYYYYEEEEAAAYYY!!!!!
Something good has actually happened: ARTICLE
Due to pressure from consumer groups and farmers teh new guidelines have been rescinded!!!!!!
YYYYEEEEEEEHAW!!
Awesome!
Seriously, though, the movement of ex-industry leaders to heads of organizations regulating that very industry is absolutely a form of corruption. It is sad to see a developed nation suffer from so much corruption as a result of the corporation.
I remember back when calling plants that were grown without the use synthetic chemicals first started to became popular: I thought it was dumb then, and it has only gotten worse with the government compounding the stupidity. It is a terrible misuse of the word organic.
Originally posted by Res
There should be no restrictions on labeling food organic, unless it is made out of rocks! All food is derived from formally living organisms and hence organic .
I remember back when calling plants that were grown without the use synthetic chemicals first started to became popular: I thought it was dumb then, and it has only gotten worse with the government compounding the stupidity. It is a terrible misuse of the word organic.
That's cute
but wrong.
Originally posted by pfflam
That's cute
but wrong.
The food we eat is not made up of organic materials???
While we do ingest some inorganic materials like water, salt and other minerals, all the food we eat is organic, no matter what method of farming was used.
Even when you go back to when it all first started and people would say "organically grown" instead of just "organic" it was a silly statement.
Organically grown instead of what? Chemically grown? (Works for crystals, not food items.) Mechanically grown? (I guess, maybe if you had robots farmers...) All our food is organically grown, and all of it is organic -- there is just no way around it.
This is a pet peeve of mine. I few idiots started calling food grown without the use of pesticides and factory processed fertilizers "Organic" and it caught on. And there is nothing that can be done about it now, it is too ingrained into the tiny little minds of ignorant masses... Damn, I'm becoming a grumpy old man...
"Hi, I'm so fucking smart because I know the literal meaning of the word organic and it differs from the common usage of the word so I must annoy everyone around me by pointing this out uh hyuk!!"
Get bent.
From dictionary.com:
or·gan·ic ( P ) Pronunciation Key (ôr-gnk)
adj.
1. Of, relating to, or derived from living organisms: organic matter.
2. Of, relating to, or affecting a bodily organ: an organic disease.
3.
1. Of, marked by, or involving the use of fertilizers or pesticides that are strictly of animal or vegetable origin: organic vegetables; an organic farm.
2. Raised or conducted without the use of drugs, hormones, or synthetic chemicals: organic chicken; organic cattle farming.
3. Serving organic food: an organic restaurant.
4. Simple, healthful, and close to nature: an organic lifestyle.
4.
1. Having properties associated with living organisms.
2. Resembling a living organism in organization or development; interconnected: society as an organic whole.
5. Constituting an integral part of a whole; fundamental.
6. Law. Denoting or relating to the fundamental or constitutional laws and precepts of a government or an organization.
7. Chemistry. Of or designating carbon compounds.
n.
1. A substance, especially a fertilizer or pesticide, of animal or vegetable origin.
2. Chemistry. An organic compound.
Just kidding. But I love Winston Smith's collage work.
Good to hear that someone noticed what these science(sic)consultants and corporate(verysic)lackeys were doing.
Originally posted by pfflam
That's cute
but wrong.
technically no.
Plants are organic, and so are animals.. thus, you are eating organic.
Originally posted by Wrong Robot
I know 'organic' isn't the best word, but what would you prefer?
How about "pre-tested by bugs and other critters for safe eating"
Originally posted by talksense101
From dictionary.com:
or·gan·ic ( P ) Pronunciation Key (ôr-gnk) adj.
- snip-
1. Of, marked by, or involving the use of fertilizers or pesticides that are strictly of animal or vegetable origin: organic vegetables; an organic farm.
2. Raised or conducted without the use of drugs, hormones, or synthetic chemicals: organic chicken; organic cattle farming.
3. Serving organic food: an organic restaurant.
-snip
This is why I said it was too late to change the it, once a new meaning of a word becomes common usage it is added to the dictionaries- no matter how silly. If you take a look at dictionaries printed in the 70s the above meaning is not included.
Originally posted by BR
I had some guy in line behind me at Trader Joe's today make the same stupid ass organic comment when he saw the organic tofu in my basket. I'm so fucking sick of these retards.
"Hi, I'm so fucking smart because I know the literal meaning of the word organic and it differs from the common usage of the word so I must annoy everyone around me by pointing this out uh hyuk!!"
Get bent. [/B]
I've been railing against the use "organic food" as a term meaning "food grown without synthetic chemicals and pesticides" long before it became common usage. I've watched in growing horror as that intolerable usage spread like a cancer throughout our society -- so get bent yourself.
[b]Originally posted by Wrong Robot [b]
I know 'organic' isn't the best word, but what would you prefer?
Ah, that's' the rub of the situation -- there is no one word that can describe "grown without using any synthetic additives/chemicals." We could make up something new, like Synthfree, (humm, Grown Synthfree, Synthfree Foods... not bad -- I should trade mark it). Some form of acronym could also be used.
What I'd really like to see would be a labeling system that would tell us exactly what is was used in the farming process. That way we could make truly informed decisions about what we eat.
Why is the use of the term 'Organic' 'intolerable'?
Not only is it an appropriate term, it is incorrect that foods grown with pesticides are 'Organic':
Simply put, Pesticides are 'SYNTHETIC', they come from chemical compounds that have been synthesized . . . they are no longer 'organic' if the distinction one wants to make is Synthetic vs untouched(by synthesized compounds)-unprocessed-growth . . . which we will, out of brilliant choice of wordage, and lack of a decent replacement term, and, due to the accretion of understanding which comes from common usage, use the term 'ORGANIC' to name the difference of said growth process from 'Synthetic' -which, again, means grown with the aid of 'synthesized chemical compounds or processes!!
It is like the terms a priori -(prior to human experience) and a posteriori -(synthetic -derived from experience)
It is like the terms Analytic -(untouched by human experience -tautological) and Synthetic (-(grounded in the processes and catagories of human experience)
Organic: (without the use of human synthesized chemical compounds and fertalizers and anti-biotics and hormones)
and Synthetic: (processed chemical compounds such as; fertilizers, that are not naturally found; pesticides, which are synthesized; hormones, which are synthesized or extracted through artificial means (or however they miraculaously come up with them), or Anti-biotics, which are synthesized or grown and processed in a lab and corporate HQs, or genetic manipulation, which is the process of synthetically manipulating the organic nature of the organism itself)
This is simple and it is clear, and it is not wrong . . . as your notion of its missuse would have us believe.
And who in the hell would need to be "railing against the use "organic food"" as a term?!?
Why is it so important to you?
. . . and why can you not see the simple manner in which its usage indicates its meaning and hence its appropriateness?
That's the way language works, and that's the way language always has worked and always will.
Originally posted by pfflam
A dictionary is merely the describer of the way in which words are used.
Why is the use of the term 'Organic' 'intolerable'?
Not only is it an appropriate term, it is incorrect that foods grown with pesticides are 'Organic':
-snip-
You have just shown why i find the the term "organic" when used to mean "food grown without the use of synthetic chemicals and pesticides" intolerable: It will have people making the totally ludicrous statement that food grown that does not meet the criteria of "food grown without the use of synthetic chemicals and pesticides" is not organic. Which is idiocy. Pure and simple idiocy.
The primary meaning of the word organic is: "Of, relating to, or derived from living organisms: organic matter."
It doesn't matter whether you spray a carrot with nitrogen, Bug-b-gon, piss on it, or cover it with excrement, the carrot is still undeniably organic.
Originally posted by pfflam
And who in the hell would need to be "railing against the use "organic food"" as a term?!?
No one [b]needs[/b ] to be railing against the use of "organic food" as a term to mean food grown without the use of synthetic chemicals and pesticides -- but everyone should be!
Originally posted by pfflam
Why is it so important to you?
-snip-
I just find it annoying. It is a perversion of our language that is misleading, confusing, and causes people to make provably false statements.
It is just one of my many pet peeves. I have a rather large collection of them.
Either-way, wouldn't it solve your pet peeve to assume that organic refers to treatments done to the plant, not the actual plant itself? I.E organically grown, means not grown with *anything* that was synthetically produced.
btw, I like synthfree, I wouldn't mind seeing that(particularly if it got pet peevers to shut up