Truth in organic foods

Huntsville Times (Alabama) editorial 9mar00

Consumers have every right to expect growers and producers to disclose the ingredients of the food we eat.

Choice has become a politically charged and divisive word in modern America. But no one denies that we all want and deserve it when it comes to basic things like the foods we eat.

Many folks have chosen to purchase and eat foods grown organically, foods grown without the aid of the various artificial treatments designed to maximize the foods' development. They want their tomatoes free of pesticides, their fertilizers not made with industrial sludge and fruits and vegetables not genetically engineered. They want their beef free of antibiotics, hormonal enhancements and nonorganic feed.

They have a right to eat as they choose. They also have a right to expect that food labeled as organic is truly organic, and that the standards are the same no matter where they shop.

New federal guidelines will require just that. Foods labeled organic will no longer include genetically engineered crops, irradiated foods or food that has been fertilized with industrial sludge. Additionally, food products grown according to the guidelines and those that contain at least 95 percent organic ingredients will be certified as organic.

It's long accepted in this country that consumers have a right to know what they are eating. They have a right to discriminate between products based on their health needs and personal preferences.

It keeps the marketplace honest and competitive. Organic food producers will know that their competitors are having to make the same efforts they are to sell their product. No one will have an unfair advantage. Success will rise or fall on the product.

None of this means, of course, that organic food is healthier than nonorganic food. The essential nutrients we need to keep healthy are in both forms of food.

But it does mean that consumers will have the benefit of knowing more about what they are eating and how that food was grown and produced. That's a step forward.

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