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<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS">I am a "lurker" on this list, but had to jump in. </FONT><FONT face="Comic Sans MS">Many good comments and thoughts re: organic. But i</FONT><FONT face="Comic Sans MS">sn't the issue transparency?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS">The USDA created a lengthy definition of, and then trademarked the word "organic." The "rule" is contained in 7 CFR (Federal Register) part 205 and reads for 136 pages if you include what I call the pre-ramble and the post scripts. The actual definition is contained in 25 pages. The National Organic Program is administered by the Agricultural <U><STRONG>Marketing </STRONG></U>Service which is an agency of the USDA. If I CHOSE to label my product with the word "organic" I must purchase the use of the word from the USDA according to the NOP definition and have my product inspected and my label approved. Hence the cost and the paperwork. The discussion re: farming/subsidies/poverty, fair trade, organic vs. conventional, standardized vs. whole plant, wildcrafted vs. cultivated, etc. etc. is all important, but I think missing the value of the NOP for the issues facing the herbal products industry. The document is a model for ensuring transparency, in this case to the "organic" standard. But any standard could be applied. </FONT></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS">Certified Organic products by NOP definition carry transparency from seed to shelf. All points in the growing, production, transport, processing, and labeling are inspected. Certified Organic on the label is the only single certification/seal to my knowledge which affords this level of transparency. As a consumer, I tend towards the Certified Organic label because it affords me that transparency, regardless of whether I feel I want "organic" or not.</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS">Certified Organic herbal products may be from cultivated and/or wild crafted raw materials. Either way the certification dictates that the raw material is not genetically modified, and is grown and processed organically. If the raw material is wild harvested, the stand must be "sustainably harvested". The official definition reads <EM>not destructive to the environment and will sustain the growth and production of the wild crop.</EM> OK, much room here for refinement. I can hear all the comments re: the NOP sustainable definition-clearly the inspector must know something about the wild crop, and do we even really KNOW how much <EM>C. racemosa</EM>, for example, can be harvested in a single stand and meet the definition? But remember that the wild crafting standards are within the guidelines of the larger rule. All other definitions apply re: seed, soil, production, processing, labeling, transport etc. AND record keeping. If I was inspecting a wild crafter I would have to see........actually touch and smell and inspect........each specific area where the raw material was taken. And the associated permission/permits from the landowner, and then have to verify that the soil was free of prohibited substances for 3 years etc. etc. It is quite a probe!!</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS">I have been inspecting organics for three years now. Everything from wild harvested NTFP's to salsa to baby food to soybeans. I meet yuppies, hippies, profiteers, off-the-grid barefoot folks in poverty, Quality Control Managers in suits, split operations growing organic and conventional side by side, and everything in between. What I ALWAYS find, or rather demand, is transparency. If I don't find it, the producer is cited for noncompliance and is unlikely to be certified. The system works, and I think it is a GREAT model for ensuring transparency.</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS">And it is voluntary. Remember you are paying for the use of the word, with it's USDA regulated definition. Anyone can grow food for themselves and others in any way they chose. Much the same as you can make moccasins for yourself and others. You just can't label them NIKE if NIKE doesn't say it's OK.</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT lang=0 face="Comic Sans MS" size=2 FAMILY="SCRIPT" PTSIZE="10">Diane Don Carlos<BR>Herbalist, Organic Inspector<BR>Sweet Farm<BR>33735 Beech Grove Road<BR>Rutland, OH 45775<BR>740-742-1714</FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>