Organic standards

[Guest guest]

Hello everyone-

Please take action this week to ensure certified organic standards support

the repeal of legislation that will compromise the feeding of organic

livestock. Just cut and paste the letter at the bottom. Thank you for your

support!

Sen Levin: Fax 202-224-1388 e-mail senator@...

<mailto:senator@...>

Sen Stabenow e-mail senator@...

<mailto:senator@...> (couldn't find fax #, phone in Wash.

DC is 202-224-1388)

for contact with Rep. go to www.house.gov/house/MemberWWW_by_State.html

<http://www.house.gov/house/MemberWWW_by_State.html>

Congress Undermines Organic Label!

A last minute, behind-closed-doors provision was added to the 2003 federal

spending bill that would permit livestock producers to label their meat as

" organic " even if the animals are fed partly or entirely on conventional

feed rather than organic grains. Although the bill was passed on February

13th, we have a short window of opportunity to raise our voices in support

of those in Congress who are trying to repeal the provision. Follow the

links below to learn more and act by February 24th!

The Facts of the Matter

What You Can Do to Help

Sample Telephone Script

Sample Letter/Email Text

The Facts of the Matter

Under the provision included within the Omnibus Appropriations bill, if the

USDA certifies that organic feed is commercially available only at more than

twice the price of conventional feed, then the department cannot enforce

regulations requiring that livestock labeled organically raised be fed only

organic feed.

This is in direct contradiction to the National Organic Standards,

implemented in October 2002, which clearly stipulates that any meat or

poultry product labeled as organic must be fed a 100% organic ration. While

the National Organic Standards were developed over a twelve-year public

process, this provision was added in response to a private request the night

before the vote on the federal spending bill.

As reported by the New York Times, Speaker of the House J. Dennis Hastert

added the last minute provision at the behest of Representative Deal

at a closed door session on behalf of a Georgia poultry producer who has

been trying to get an exemption from the USDA that would allow it to feed

its chickens a mix of conventional and organic feed and still call it

organic.

The Georgia company claims there is not enough organic feed available,

despite the fact that producers who are already labeling their meat and

poultry as organic claim they have had no problem finding organic grains and

legumes to provide their livestock with 100% organic feed.

What You Can Do To Help

We need to act fast! First, forward a link to this page to all of your

concerned friends and family members so we can get as many people as

possible to contact Washington by February 24th. Then join Whole Foods

Market in our action campaign by making your own calls, faxes or emails

demanding that our Congressional representatives repeal the language

inserted into Section 771 of the Omnibus Appropriations Bill that undermines

the integrity of the organic label for meat and poultry. Tell them you want

the 100% livestock feed regulations retained, as included in the National

Organic Standards implemented in October 2002. Tell them the National

Organic Standards must not be undermined by special interest groups and

private companies who do not want to comply with the rules that were

developed over many years in a public process.

Senator Leahy (D-VT) and Representative Sam Farr (D-CA), strong

supporters of the national organic program, plan to introduce legislation to

repeal the provision. The New York Times quoted Senator Leahy saying, " This

whole thing is absolutely outrageous. After years and years and years of

work, to have someone sneak it in in the dark of night and wipe it out makes

no sense. It's a poke in the eye of a lot of very hard-working organic

farmers. "

Since Congress is on a break next week, this gives us time to flood their

offices with calls, faxes and emails supporting the legislators working to

repeal the provision. (Sending a letter via U.S. Post will not be effective

in this short amount of time.) The following links will provide you with

phone and fax numbers and email addresses for your Congressional

Representatives.

Contact

<http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm>

Information For Senators

Contact information <http://www.house.gov/house/MemberWWW_by_State.html>

For House Reps If you are unsure of your Congressional district, click on

the " write my representative " link on the left hand navigation bar, choose

your state and type in your zip code.

Sample Email Text

Dear Senator/Representative ____________,

I am appalled to learn of the back door provision added in Section 771 of

the Omnibus Appropriations Bill that undermines the integrity of the organic

label for meat and poultry. The 100% livestock feed regulations, as included

in the National Organic Standards implemented in October 2002, must be

reinstated. These regulations came about through many years of a truly

democratic public development process and must not be undermined by special

interest groups and private companies. Many reputable large and small scale

organic livestock producers are already in compliance with the 100%

livestock feed regulations and are not experiencing any difficulty in

locating enough fairly priced organic feed to meet their needs. In fact, the

National Organic Program has a report in the process of being published

right now that confirms the availability of organically produced feed for

livestock and poultry. The 2002 Farm Bill requested this report but Congress

did not wait to review it before inserting this unnecessary provision

weakening the requirements for 100% organic feed.

I urge you to work with Senator Leahy and Representative Farr in their

efforts to repeal this provision. Research shows that over 55% of American

consumers purchased an organic product last year and a weakening of the

National Organic Standards will definitely be noticed by many of your

constituents. More than 275,000 comments were sent to the USDA when the

draft of the organic standards was watered down; expect a similar outrage if

action is not taken to repeal this provision.

Sincerely,

Name

Address