>FUNDAMENTAL CHANGES IN REVISED PROPOSED RULE ON ORGANIC STANDARDS
Twittman (Twittman@aol.com)
Fri, 8 May 1998 11:42:33 EDT
>FUNDAMENTAL CHANGES IN REVISED PROPOSED RULE ON ORGANIC STANDARDS
>
> Release No. 0205.98
> Andy Solomon (202) 720-4623
> andy.solomon@usda.gov
> Brad Marman (202) 720-8998
> l_brad.marman@usda.gov
>USDA TO MAKE FUNDAMENTAL CHANGES IN REVISED PROPOSED RULE ON ORGANIC
STANDARDS
> WASHINGTON, May 8, 1998--Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman announced
>today that the U.S. Department of Agriculture will make fundamental revisions
>to its proposed national organic standards as a result of the 200,000
comments
>USDA received on the initial proposal.
> "USDA is committed to developing national organic standards that organic
>farmers and consumers will embrace," Glickman said. "Thousands of commenters
>requested that USDA issue revised proposed standards, and we intend to do so.
>Most importantly, the revised proposal will contain fundamental changes from
>our initial draft."
> The earlier draft, published on December 16, 1997, proposed standards
>for growing, processing, labeling, importing, and certifying organically
grown
>food. But it did not take a position on certain controversial issues;
>instead, the proposal asked for public comment on these items. The bulk of
>the extraordinary number of comments opposed including the products of
>biotechnology, the use of irradiation in food processing, and the application
>of biosolids (municipal sludge) in organic food production.
> "Biotechnology, irradiation, and biosolids are safe and have important
>roles to play in agriculture, but they neither fit current organic practices
>nor meet current consumer expectations about organics, as the comments made
>clear," said Glickman. "Therefore, these products and practices will not be
>included in our revised proposal, and food produced with these products and
>practices will not be allowed to bear the organic label."
> Similarly, many of the comments asserted that national organic standards
>must be rigorous and credible. Otherwise, commenters expressed concern that
>consumers will lose faith in the organic label.
> "If organic farmers and consumers reject our national standards, we have
>failed," Glickman said. "Our task is to stimulate the growth of organic
>agriculture, ensure that consumers have confidence in the products that bear
>the organic label, and develop export markets for this growing industry."
> Before publishing the revised proposal, USDA will evaluate the comments
>submitted in response to the December 1997 proposal. This record will guide
>the drafting of the revised proposal, which USDA will issue for public
comment
>later this year.
> "This additional opportunity for public comment will assist us in
>crafting rigorous, credible national standards for organic farming and
>handling that organic farmers and consumers can support," said Glickman.
> #
>NOTE: USDA news releases and media advisories are available on the Internet.
>Access the USDA Home Page on the World Wide Web at http://www.usda.gov
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