With new organic labels, each purchase equals a vote

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Op/Ed - USA TODAY

Mon Oct 21, 7:33 AM ET

Maria Rodale

I can't do it all. I compost, I recycle and, above all, I buy the food my grocer calls organic. But I admit that I slip my 5-year-old (and myself) a pacifying pizza slice now and again. And no matter what I do for the environment, the carbon dioxide still spews from my tailpipe, and Freon leaks from my air-conditioner, even on treks to the local farmers market.

The government can't do it all, either. It has to regulate all of the chemicals in every breath you take and every gulp you swallow -- a lot like a mom's job on a national scale. But it has finally come up with a way to let you know whether what you feed your child is definitely, certifiably good for you.

Notice I didn't say ''absolutely'' or ''irrefutably.'' After all, the government won't even say ''organic'' equals ''good,'' but at least purity is no longer in the eye of the beholder. What the Agriculture Department has handed down, effective today, are the first rules for what deserves its ''USDA certified organic'' label. Any produce provider -- from chain store to green-market stall -- has to submit to these rules. So must processed-food producers that use organic-only ingredients in their cookies, taco shells or pudding cups.

USDA's requirements

What the government's labs and laws and threats of major punishment will guarantee for American consumers is peace of mind. If you buy anything with the new organic label, you are promised:

* No grower messed with the food's DNA, zapped it with radiation or grew it in sewage sludge.

* The label will be only on produce that wasn't directly sprayed with pesticides and has no more than 5% of the pesticide dosage the Environmental Protection Agency (news - web sites) already declares safe (0% isn't possible, because bug killers sprayed elsewhere land on other crops).

* If ''organic materials'' are in the mix of some prefab goodie, no less than 70% of the ingredients will have been organically grown.

* No labeled livestock or fowl will have been cloned or pumped up with hormones or jolted with preventive antibiotics.

There are other arcane rules that regulators, growers and consumer groups hashed out endlessly. Despite the eye-crossing drudgery, I took some delight in every laborious minute; after all, my family had waited 60 years for organic foods to be thoroughly recognized here.

My grandfather, J.I. Rodale, nurtured a publishing company that was devoted to the ''organic'' way of life. Led by his vision, many of us planted organic Victory gardens, championed local growers and paid a few extra pennies for purity. We knew this was too important to be just a fad. During the past 10 years, the market for organic food has grown more than 500%, with no signs of slowing.

Grumbles, bumbles likely

I'm delighted by all of the delicious options the organic movement has invented and proud that the government is pointing them out on the shelves. Sure, the growers might grumble and the grocers might bumble and the food processors might have to find new processes. Conventional growers still complain that organic won't work, that it's too labor intensive, not as productive and not practical on a large global scale. But thousands of organic farmers are proving them false, raising reliable crops in huge quantities over massive acreage. Because of them, we have a new chance to treat each purchase as a civic message sent to manufacturers, like casting a vote for a little organic candidate.

That's why I like the whole cause: You can think of yourself as powerless, but when you go into the supermarket, you control the world. Your purchases can literally change the economy, farmers' lives, the environment. With these new federal rules, you can judge companies' products more clearly and know just whom to reward.

Organic-minded consumers hungrily await healthy new bounties -- foods that are not just clean and pure, but also quick and easy. Companies will find ready mouths awaiting their organic innovations. Personally, I want to thank the movement for organic, individually wrapped American cheese, which often keeps my child sated (and makes a great grilled cheese). But where's the organic Miracle Whip -- light version, please.

We still have a long way to go. Today, I'm just happy we're this far.

Maria Rodale is vice chairman of Rodale Inc., founding editor of Organic Style magazine and the author of two organic gardening books.

-- Anonymous, October 22, 2002


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