Wither the USDA organic certification? The Washington Post runs a must-read summary of the pressure on the Department of Agriculture to toughen its organic standards, lest the label becomes a useless joke.
“It will unravel everything we’ve done if the standards can no longer be trusted,” said Senator Patrick J. Leahy (D-VT), who sponsored the federal organics legislation. “If we don’t protect the brand, the organic label, the program is finished. It could disappear overnight.”
Thank you for this post, James. Great article. For me the USDA certified organic label started degrading from the day of its inception.
I do not buy organic unless I know the farmer. The label on the giant corporate stuff I view simply as a license to steal granted to corporate concerns by politicians willing to trade integrity for corporate campaign contributions.