OCA debates OTA on Organic Standards

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Beyond Organic Radio: OCA Debates the OTA on the Sneak Attack on Organic Standards

Posted 11/14/05

This Week at a Glance!

Now Playing: Organics Under Attack?

If you eat organic food, you’ll want to listen to this week’s show.

The question: are organic standards - and the process which guides their evolution - being undermined by corporate greed, or are those same standards being protected to promote booming growth that benefits farmers and consumers?

It’s a complex issue, with organizations that are traditionally allied now battling in a heated “Us v. Them” argument.

The debate stems from a single lawsuit and subsequent legal actions primarily over the use of synthetic ingredients – such as baking soda and carbon dioxide - in food processing.

“Synthetics are really a proxy for a bigger question about the future of the organic food industry,” says Samuel Fromartz, journalist and author of the upcoming book, Organic, Inc. “For if you ban synthetics, you ban big food and organic remains a pristine, pure niche.”

On this week’s show, host Jerry Kay facilitates a conversation between the Organic Consumers Association and the Organic Trade Association, two leading organic advocates who are taking very different stances in this contentious debate.

This week's featured guests:

Katherine DiMatteo - Executive Director, Organic Trade Association Ronnie Cummins - National Director, Organic Consumers Association Steve Sprinkel - Owner, The Farmer and The Cook Phil Margolis - CEO, Neshaminy Valley Natural Foods Distributor

Listen Now -- Click Here! http://www.beyondorganic.com/