Green Options

Consumers in Europe are likely to increasingly see fruit and vegetables with less than perfect appearance (the so called “wonky” produce) on their supermarket shelves from July 2009 as the EU tries to reduce its bureaucracy

Attractive and wholesome fruit and vegetables like these feed the world but have, over the last few decades, lost their place in the “First World’s“ supermarkets to perfectly shaped and coloured specimens. Through the supermarket pushing “quality” and bureaucrats busying themselves, visual standards gained a status that has had negative impacts for the consumer, the farmer and the environment.

The European Union is well known for the banana standard which, after a year of study, stated that a banana should be “5.5 inches long and 1.1 inches wide, and could not be abnormally bent”. This allowed the EU to advantage bananas from the Caribbean (mainly its former colonies) that met the standard to the disadvantage of Latin American producers who were backed by USA based multinationals. Rulings by the World Trade Organisation and the threats of the US lead to a truce with the tariffs being removed progressively.

But now regulations on 26 fruits and vegetables have been repealed while member states can allow the sale of 10 other products which do not meet the standards, so long as appropriate labeling is used.

Mixed emotions here about the new standard for recycled textiles. Thanks to Control Union Certifications and demand claims from brands and retailers in The Netherlands, the first Global Recycling Standard (GRS) for fabrics, apparel and accessories is now active to ensure sourcing clarity through the production supply chain.

Now I understand certification needs for organic fibers, dyes, and rather recently for leather and fur, – but recycled? Talk about cover your bum!

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.

(Image source: www.treehugger.com)

Ecolabelling.org — looking behind the labels
What’s green? And who says so?

Ecolabels are everywhere from Wal-Mart’s “seafood aisle” to my local grocery store. But, at the end of day, what do these labels really mean? Who’s behind them?

And, most importantly, can I rely on them to make my certified no-rainforests-were-destroyed-in-the-making-of-this-latte latte?

Ecolabelling.org – your source on the background of over 285 ecolabels around the world – makes it easier to [...]