Washington Insider-- Tuesday

Non-Organic Organics

Here's a quick monitor of Washington farm and trade policy issues from DTN's well-placed observer.

Washington Insider: Non-organic Organics

In all the back and forth about "consumers' right to know" and the "just label it" folks, one thing seems clear, (you might think): the official USDA Organic label guarantees clearly defined, non-chemical foods. You would be wrong.

In fact, government rules are pretty elastic and actually allow "organic" food to be grown with the aid of scores of synthetic substances, as long as those chemicals have been deemed essential. USDA joins with the industry to do the "deeming."

Recently, the Washington Post described the industry's evaluation process and declared it largely invisible. A committee called the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) selects synthetic substances that organic farmers and processors may use. The process is somewhat arbitrary, critics say and extremely political. And, for a movement largely built around skepticism toward synthetic additives, the task of choosing the exceptions can be especially delicate.

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The 15-member board includes farmers, processors and other organic experts selected by USDA. Its purpose is to balance the ideal of chemical-free food against the practical requirements of farming, even though many in the organic industry would prefer to exclude all synthetic chemicals. In fact, there are some substances –– including herbicides, fungicides, emulsifiers and other additives — that even some organic farmers say they cannot do without.

At its most recent meeting, the NOSB weighed the merits of more than 200 substances that at least some farmers say are necessary. The Post found that the pleadings unfold in a blur of chemistry and agronomy and the paper described some examples. A potato grower from Oregon asked for approval of a chemical to keep his stored potatoes from sprouting, although a maker of organic lecithin, an emulsifier common in many foods, wanted the board to close the loophole that allows synthetic lecithin. Another case was an organic advocate from Vermont who, speaking for some strawberry farms, wanted the board to preserve the exception for ferric phosphate, a chemical used as a slug and snail bait.

It also noted that a potato grower acknowledged that a natural substance, clove oil, can be used to keep potatoes from sprouting. But a chemical known as "3-decene-2-one" or "3D2," works much better, he said. He even showed pictures to prove his point. "Clove oil has been a wonderful product," he said. But "we don't feel it is effective enough. It's hurting our business."

Still, some critics say the NSOB process raises questions about the value of the organic label, the foundation of a growing $32 billion industry. While organic farms typically use few of the synthetic chemicals allowed, there are many industry "watchdog" groups that argue that the board must forcefully act to minimize the risk of degrading the label's integrity.

The USDA organic label "may have been in the lead 10 or 15 years ago, but they're not anymore," said Urvashi Rangan, executive director of food safety and sustainability at Consumer Reports. "This is something they need to focus on."

Others, however, defend the process. Jean Richardson, a maple syrup producer and professor emerita from the University of Vermont, is the chairperson of the NSOB. She notes that the decisions they make must balance the livelihoods of farmers against the consumer demand for purity.

"We're romantic realists," Richardson said. "Our values are really strong: we want the world to be a better place in every way. But we're realistic.... We recognize that there is not a perfect answer."

So, the NOSB process inserts yet another dose of practicality into a "brand" that advocates claim protects them from exposure to practices and products they see as threatening. Inevitably, though, this "rational" process raises questions about the federally managed organic certifications and their role in promoting the image ascribed to organic foods.

The Post has done the industry a service by pointing out the arbitrary dimension of ongoing efforts to increase "practicality" in the way organics are produced. The process also should be welcomed by consumers who gravitate toward the "organic" sections of the nation's supermarkets, Washington Insider believes.


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(GH/CZ)

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