Interesting News Item--Irradiation/..I dont think so-------------------
Monday December 15 6:18 PM EST
U.S. Rules for Organic Food Ban Pesticides
By Julie Vorman
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Federal regulators issued long-awaited rules for U.S. organic food
production Monday but sidestepped the thorny issues of biotechnology, irradiation and the use of
human waste as fertilizer.
The proposed rules would ban the use of chemicals and pesticides on crops, prohibit any drugs for
livestock except vaccinations and require any processed product to be made up of at least 95
percent organic ingredients in order to be labeled "organic."
Violation of the rules by organic farmers, processors or retailers could result in a civil fine of up to
$10,000.
"If you ask people to sit down and actually define what 'organic' is, you get all kinds of answers...
that's why this rulemaking has been extraordinarily lengthy," Agriculture Secretary Dan
Glickman said. "National standards are a way of making sure consumers get what they pay for."
The U.S. Agriculture Department (USDA) chose not to weigh in on some of the most contentious
issues such as the use of genetically-modified crops, irradiation to preserve foods and sewage
sludge as fertilizer.
Those practices are adamantly opposed by current U.S. organic farmers but are used by large
agribusinesses, which are beginning to take an interest in the booming organic food niche
expected to ring up $4 billion in sales this year.
Biotechnology is another sticky issue for the USDA it has aggressively promoted the use of
genetically-modified crops to expand the yield and quality of commodities such as soybeans and
corn, even over the objections of some trading partners.
"I have deliberately left open some of the more divisive questions, not the least among them being
how we handle biotechnology and irradiation," Glickman said.
The proposed rules for production and processing of organic foods will be open for comment from
consumer, agricultural and business groups over the next 90 days. The public may submit
suggestions via the USDA's Internet site at ams.usda.gov as well as by letter and
fax.
Groups representing current organic farmers, retailers, processors and consumers vowed to flood
the USDA with demands that controversial practices be outlawed for organic production.
"I'm not confident that dioxin really is taken out of all urban sewage sludge used as fertilizer," said
Bob Anderson, an organic farmer who grows wheat, corn and soybeans that are made into baked
goods and products. "When it comes to production methods, we're actually pretty conservative.
We want to wait until these things have been scientifically proven safe."
Glickman emphasized that the proposed rules were not intended to create a safer category of food
for well-heeled consumers willing to pay premium prices for organic foods.
"These rules are not about creating a category of agriculture that is safer than any other. We have
one high standard for food safety in this country, period," Glickman said.
That assurance came after this year's series of U.S. hamburger recalls for E. coli contamination
and various food-borne illnesses linked to fresh fruit and vegetables. The USDA and the Food and
Drug Administration are working together to toughen safety standards for domestic and imported
produce as part of a Clinton administration initiative on food safety.
The proposed rules are intended to end a patchwork of more than three dozen state and private
sector certification standards for organic foods. The USDA rules should also make it easier for
U.S. organic food companies to increase exports to the major buyers such as the European Union
and Japan.
"My belief is that this industry in 10 years could be 10 times as big as right now," Glickman said.
Organic farming groups said they welcomed ways to help eliminate fraud in organic labeling, but
insisted the USDA must maintain high standards for purity demanded by consumers.
^REUTERS@ |
