Are Organic Standards Being Diluted?
In the comments on the article “Organic isn’t All It’s Cracked Up to Be: Try Going Local,” a question was directed to me on whether or not the government was actually weakening organic standards.
The answer to that is more complicated than a simple yes, as evidenced by Meredith’s great post on pros and cons of organic. Because the standards are set by a government agency, that agency comes under much political pressure from lobbyists to relax the standards or alter them in such a way to benefit industry and special interests. The bigger the lobbyist, the more the pressure, in many cases. Plus. the organic label nets a higher price, making it a prime target for the food industry.
One such attack on standards nearly went through. Public response and pressure by Organic Consumers Association stepped in to pressure the USDA not to pursue the relaxation of regulations for non-food items, use of antibiotics in dairy cows, and synthetic pesticides.
