[MPWG] Transparency?

[Michael Schenk]

Hello, 

The only thing opaque about this discussion is just what is meant by "transparency"  :) .  Could someone define this?

My $0.02 worth:  I plan to be a very small scale producer of forest herbs (I'm in a learning stage now).  I do intend to make some retirement money from it -- perhaps enough to cover the cost of the land.  It's difficult enough to find time to do the planting and maintenance after my day job.  I'm not sure when I'll find time to read a hefty document, which I assume is in legalese, which may or may not correspond to what I've always considered to mean "organic".   I agree that such a task is trivial for the corporate farm, onerous for the small holder.

In any case, I'd like to thank all the people who have chimed in on this issue.  It's been educational.

Michael Schenk


"I was not suggesting the organic certification process as the transparency 
solution for herbal products i.e.  all herbal product should be "organic". I was 
suggesting that organic certification-the document, the process- be used as a 
model for developing an herbal certification and/or the beginnings of full 
disclosure labeling of herbal products.

Agreed that transparency isn't the only issue, but I feel it is paramount. I 
believe in the power of the consumer. I believe in the intellect and decision 
making if the consumer. If we have full disclosure on the label for the 
contents of the product, then the consumer is faced with a decision i.e. Certified 
Organic Ginseng vs. Wild Crafted Ginseng vs. Standardized Ginseng---the 
consumer now has three choices and must become educated in order to make the 
purchase. Somewhere in that process the consumer might discover CITIES and a host of 
other information. Of course there are those who simply make a purchase based 
upon price. But others, many others, want to know the difference and will 
investigate. Education begins with the label. Labels are on every bottle. The label 
is a powerful tool for raising consciousness."