Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Microcap & Penny Stocks : THE OZONE COMPANY! (OZON) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: R.C.L. who wrote (1941)	12/16/1997 5:28:00 AM
From: R.C.L.	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 4356

And fron the Organic Farmers------------------------------------ USDA, organic board: who has last word? By ELIZABETH MANNING UPI Science News WASHINGTON, Dec. 15 (UPI) _ Organic-food producers say they want no part of genetically modified organisms, food irradiation, and sewage fertilizer _ all would be permitted under new standards for organic food proposed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Joe Smillie (''smile-y'') of the Organic Trade Association told United Press International that consumers should have a clear choice in the market. He says, ''We're not trying to ban these practices. We just don't think they have any place in organic farming.'' The Organic Trade Association, based in Greenfield, Mass., is a group of 600 farmers, producers, distributors and certifiers who adhere to an organic yardstick established by the National Organic Standards Board, or NOSB. Congress instituted the NOSB in 1990 when it passed the Organic Foods Production Act in 1990. The 14-member industry board was intended to work with the USDA to establish national standards and certification for organic products. Now the question is who has the last word. Kathleen Merrigan of the NOSB says the board has already voted against including sewage fertilizer, food irradiation, and genetically engineered plants and animals as acceptable practices in organic farming. The USDA, on the other hand, maintains Congress set up the NOSB to advise, not oversee, the USDA National Organic Program. USDA spokesman Tom O'Brien says the agency is seeking ''broader input'' before finalizing guidelines for these controversial practices. The proposal also uses U.S. Food and Drug Administration timetables regarding antibiotic treatment of sick dairy cows. The FDA withdrawal periods are now as short as a few days before a cow's milk can re-enter the market. The NOSB calls for a 90-day withdrawal period for all antibiotics. Smillie summarizes, ''We're the ones doing the organic farming, so we should be the ones to define what it is. We're willing to have the public accept or reject us in the marketplace.''