FW: Save the Organic Standards

[Guest guest]

http://www.horizonorganic.com/moosalert.html

Here's What Happened:

While most of us were sleeping during the late hours of February 13, a last

minute, seemingly " small and insignificant " provision was added to the huge

$397 Billion Federal spending bill. This provision would permit livestock

producers, depending on cost and availability of feed, to label their

products as " organic " even if the animals' diets consist partly or entirely

of conventional feed rather than organic feed.

This directly jeopardizes the integrity of the National Organic Standards,

implemented in October of 2002, which clearly states that any meat or

poultry product labeled organic must be fed certified organic feed. The New

York Times reported that this new, contradictory provision was added at the

request of a Georgia poultry producer, who has previously attempted, and

failed, to get an exemption from the USDA to feed his chickens non-organic

grains and still label them organic.