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Organic standards remain under fire Tuesday, June 29, 2004
Agri News staff writer
WINONA, Minn. -- The vice chairman of the National Organic Standards Board says it's an ongoing challenge to protect the integrity of the national organic standards.
The 16-member board offers recommendations to strengthen and interpret standards. The board wants high standards, said Jim Riddle of Wiscoy Township, Winona County, while USDA strives for the lowest standard that is legally defensible.
"It's pretty unusual that an industry comes to government and asks to be regulated in the first place and then asks to be regulated tougher," said Riddle, an organic inspector who also chairs the State Organic Advisory Task Force.
The rift between the two schools of thought emerged in April when media reports surfaced that USDA was issuing legally binding interpretations of law that allowed the use of antibiotics on dairy cows, the use of synthetic pesticide on crops and feeding non-organic feed to beef cattle.
"It's not the first time significant changes were made to the program without consultation of the NOSB," Riddle said.
But this time, political pressure forced Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman to step in and rescind the interpretations, he said.
"The secretary ordered they be rescinded, but that doesn't mean they changed their minds," Riddle said. He learned in a conference call last week that USDA program managers are sticking to their interpretations of the law. In essence, the changes announced in April stand. They have only vanished from public view.
"It was political window dressing to calm everybody down," Riddle said of Veneman's announcement and pledge to work with the advisory board.
He doesn't blame Veneman for the changes, saying she probably was unaware of them. |
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