<bigger><bigger>WE Californians who grow and/or sell organic have already
lost some of our Constitutional rights !
</bigger></bigger>In the state of Ca. organic farmers,organic restaurant
owners ,organic wholesalers-distributors, organic stores, organic
processors have already lost some of their Constitutional rights. The
rights that all other citizens still have and just because we sell
organic stuff. First off we have lost our right to farm organic and sell
our product freely (Now we are forced to payoff too many people too much
money all for the same darn thing ). We lost our right to freedom of
speech (you can not tell your consumer even face to face at a farmers
market that you are organic or natural or anything close to that unless
you pay the State of Ca.( even if it is true) We lost the right of
unreasonable search (they call them spot checks) of your
farm,store,factory or restaurant or any place of business that sells
organic stuff, at any time and the only reason they have to give you is
that you sell organic ,the right to life,liberty and the pursuit of
happiness just to name of few . If you cannot pay them off, they will
not let you play. It has been pointed out to me that this is the way for
the folks in control of the production system to keep you and I from
becoming a threat to their power base and to kill off the small organic
farmer with taxes and regulations and paper work . Can they really do
this in the U.S.A. What happen to voluntary certification, were the
certifiers that dishonest that the gov doesn't not trust them. Why can't
the organic folks regulate themselves like they have been . What did
organic farmers do that was so wrong .People have been farming organic
for over 6000 years .Why do you think they have single out organic
growers and sellers for persecution and let the real polluters skate.=20
And the Organic trade in Ca. only ask them to enforce the laws that where
on the books they did not tell them to charge us money because we farm
organic and in fact the organic trade have ask the state of Ca. to stop
charging us and get the money to enforce their state law from somewhere
else. Like the Pesticide mil tax but the state of Ca. said no !
At 09:58 PM 11/20/96 -0800, Bill Blake wrote:
>At 6:52 PM 11/18/96, Steve Moore wrote:
>>The organic trade ASKED
>>(Congress and) USDA to get involved and establish the label!
>
>I think this brings up an interesting question. WHO EXACTLY asked that
this
>be done and why? I do understand the importance of standards, etc.,=20
but
>these are largely important only when there is not direct contact
between
>the organic grower and the consumer. When there is a fairly direct
>relationship (farmer-store, farmer-restaurant, farmer-consumer), the
grower
>an explain what they do and why. When the relationship is indirect
>(farmer-wholesaler-distributer(US)-distributer(foreign)-store(foreign)-cons=
u
>mer(foreign)), that's not possible.
>
>I used to work for minimum wage in a crunchy-granola hole-in-the-wall
food
>co-op. Last year, I heard a talk by a rep from an organic beans and
grains
>company. I was for all the world like a talk from any ag wholesaler.
The
>organics made a difference from a marketing standpoint, but not from any
of
>the ways that "sustainable" ag is important: farmers, farmworkers,
ecology,
>community, etc.
>
>Maybe the question is, Who benefits from standardization?
>
>ciao
>bill
>
>
>
>
An Organic farming homepage
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