I agree with Jim and Linda, this is almost like starting over. Those of us who worked hard to promote a good organic law with protection for consumers and growers, do not want to start over with an arbitrary set of standards that do not mean anything to the consumer, or add to the confusion. There are things wrong with the organic law and its promulgation, but working to make it better seems to me a better way to spend my time. Susan ----- Original Message ----- From: Jim Moses To: [log in to unmask] Sent: 3/14/2007 9:57:41 AM Subject: Re: FW: [SANET-MG] organic vs. local... Regarding Certified Naturally Grown-- I checked this label out two years ago and was not impressed. They claimed that their "standards" were the same as NOP. But at that time you could access application forms of certified growers and many listed violations of NOP standards like prohibited inputs, commercial transplants, treated seed etc. It is time to deal seriously with nostalgia for the "good old days" of organic agriculture, that never really existed. The fraud and ignorance that existed when everyone had their own standard is nothing we should want to return. There is a cost involved in offering the public third-party certified organic products. Anyone who wants to make these claims should be willing to contribute. If you want to identify who is getting the short end of the stick, ask yourself this. What about the growers who pay their dues and receive no protection from the state and federal agencies who are pledged to eliminate fraud? What about the increasing number of questionable labels backed by foundation money that undermine certified organic? What about the whole phony "Local" verses "Organic" campaign that clearly has some BIG money behind it? Divide and conqueror, it is an old story, but it still works. Jim Moses Vicki Morrone <[log in to unmask]> wrote: Hey folks This is an interesting alternative to certified organic and probably would do well at small markets and farmers markets, at this time. But then a farmer could combine organic certification with the farmer pledge that MOFFA is promoting and cover all the bases and be able to sell foods labeled organic. Have you looked into Certified Naturally Grown? It's a great alternative and self governing as it was in the old days of Organic. You rely on other local farmers, customers or the County Extension to inpect your farm. It's a non profit organization. They do ask for donations and they also sell stickers with the CNG logo. You can download brochures online for hand outs explaining the program. The website address is www.naturallygrown.org They have a questionaire to cover all aspects of Naturally Grown so inspection is easy and informative to the consumer, too. I wonder if this program is catching on yet in California? -----Original Message----- >From: Douglas Hinds >Sent: Mar 10, 2007 3:03 PM >To: [log in to unmask] >Subject: Re: [SANET-MG] organic vs. local... > most left because of the State and USDA take over of the >> word organic, we were the volunteers of America now we are forced >> slaves to the USDA the certifier and the inspector and the state. >> On years like this one with the freeze they make their money even >> when I loose money. hehe . My customers that I had for years >> forced me to be certified after the USDA takeover if I wanted to >> keep selling to them so if I want to tell my customer I'm organic >> I have to pay the organic police. > >We knew this would happen, ahead of time, of course (and there >weren't that many of us that knew what to expect). > >> I pay a organic tax because I don't use anything. > >You pay the penalty for the OFPA's having the wrong focus. (And third >party certification became a big industry, with greater authority >than the farmers themselves, thanks to OFPA). > >> I have to fill out reports and pay the USDA saying I don't use >> anything while the USDA will not label GMOs, pesticides, >> herbicides, fertilizers that kill life on the earth. Its all >> backwards. https://finerworks.com/mgallery/artists.asp?U_ID=goldpearl ________________________________________ PeoplePC Online A better way to Internet http://www.peoplepc.com ******************************************************** To unsubscribe from SANET-MG: 1- Visit http://lists.sare.org/archives/sanet-mg.html to unsubscribe or; 2- Send a message to from the address subscribed to the list. Type "unsubscribe sanet-mg" in the body of the message. Visit the SANET-MG archives at: http://lists.sare.org/archives/sanet-mg.html. Questions? Visit http://www.sare.org/about/sanetFAQ.htm. For more information on grants and other resources available through the SARE program, please visit http://www.sare.org. If you would like to access previous postings to the Mich-Organic listserv you can copy and paste the following URL into your browser address bar http://list.msu.edu/archives/mich-organic.html 8:00? 8:25? 8:40? Find a flick in no time with theYahoo! 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