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Posted to PlanPutnam on Monday, June 11, 2007 at 12:42 PM
Remember Store Wars
<http://www.treehugger.com/files/2005/05/store_wars.php>, the dramatic
battle between the organic forces of good and the dark side, Darth Tater
and the forces of industrialized agriculture? The dark side is back, and
this time they are infiltrating, co-opting and corrupting from within.
The New York Times adds coverage to a story John broke here last month
<http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/05/peak_food_its_a.php>: It seems
that to get approval as organic, Department of Agriculture rules state
that 95% of a product must be organic and the balance need not be if
there is no organic ingredients available, as long as they are on their
approved list. Modest little organic breweries like Anheuser-Busch can't
find organic hops with " unique flavor and aroma characteristics due to
variation in essential oils" for their fine organic brews and wants an
exemption. Others are appalled. "Hops are a crucial ingredient for beer.
Why can't they use organic hops?" said James A. Riddle, an organic
consultant and a former chairman of the organic advisory board.
According to the New York Times, purists say that this list of
ingredients is the latest example of big business trying to water down
organic standards in an effort to cash in on the increased demand for
organic products. They argue that allowing the nonorganic ingredients
will weaken the integrity of the organic label.
"More than 90 percent of the food/agricultural items on the proposed
list of materials in this rule are items that can easily be grown
organically," said Merrill A. Clark, an organic farmer from Michigan and
a former member of the organic advisory board, in comments to the
Agriculture Department.
She said that allowing such nonorganic ingredients are "totally
unhealthy for the organic industry down the road," and are "opening the
organic rules to ridicule and unflattering public exposure." ::New York
Times
<http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/11/business/11organic.html?_r=2&oref=s...>
Read the rest of the story here
<http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/11/business/11organic.html?_r=2&oref=s...>
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"Your hard work and dedication to the county is impressive. Thank you
for taking on this leadership role in our community."/ Jeremy Giordano/
Two generations of decentralized growth have drastically increased the
Region's urban land---by 60% in 30 years despite only a 13% increase in
population while draining people and jobs out of the Region's cities.
This development pattern threatens both large areas of open land and
critical environmental resources at the Region's outer edge as well as
the vitality of our cities and mature suburbs. - /Regional Plan
Association/
"...the number one fiscal tool a municipality could implement to keep
taxes down was to protect open space." /- Robert McKeon, chair of the
Red Hook Agriculture and Open Space Advisory Committee/
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If we treat every drop of water as drinking water we'll start making the
right decisions for our communities and our futures.
[www.planputnam.org]
