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Certified Organic
What the USDA Standards Mean to Consumers
By Lyn Mettler
Consumer Kirstan Ryan, 27, of Austin, Texas, agrees. "My hope is that as more people try organic or partly organic products, [they will] realize how much better they taste and begin to drive down prices ...," she says.
It also will discourage false advertisement of products that claim to be organic and are not. "I won't get trapped into paying too much for things that unjustly claim to be 'all natural'," says 26-year-old Brooke Abernethy of Washington, D.C.
But others are not so quick to jump on the certification bandwagon. Harry Maddox, 60, of Roswell, Ga., includes some organic food in his diet, but is unhappy with how the government chooses to define "organic." In his view, products should be organically grown from beginning to end, but USDA regulations in some cases, for example, allow farmers to use non-organic seeds and some synthetic pesticides.
Such opinions on what is and is not organic is one reason why Consumer Alert, a nonprofit consumer group, believes the government should not be in the business of certifying organic food. "If you look at the organic food industry, it's really based on values," says Frances Smith, the group's executive director, pointing out that organic means different things to different people. "We don't think the government should be involved in endorsing values."
They also feel consumers will view the label as a stamp of approval, when no scientific studies to date have found that organic food is healthier.
If you enjoy organic foods, perhaps the best thing to do is to educate yourself about the new standards and decide if they meet your personal requirements. If not, try seeking out locally-grown foods or growing your own.
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