Honestly Organic

Honestly Organic

David Sparks Ph.D.
David Sparks Ph.D.
Stores that specialize in organic foods are booming, and according to some scientists, the boom can be based on a false premise. The vast number of people who seek out organic foods at places like the Boise Co-Op, Whole Foods in Boise or any of the dozens of farmers markets throughout Idaho may not want to hear this, but you cannot ignore both sides of the story. When consumers buy organic foods, they are making the assumption that these foods are produced without herbicides, pesticides, hormones or antibiotics. Further, the demand for organic foods is growing faster than any other segment of the grocery industry.. Here's the problem. If I, as a consumer, buy these products, I am trusting that they are truly organic. Now who verifies that assumption? There is no agency in the USDA that tests for organic authenticity, according to Mischa Popoff who is the author of the book, Is it Organic? A former organic farmer, he realized there was no appetite in the industry to eliminate fraud and gross negligence, nor to improve the quality of organic food. Popoff says that testing for organic production is all too often not even conducted by organic producers. "Your standard is being run as an honor system but the verbiage is in there that does explain how you would do a test if you did one. Now a lot of people in the organic industry are quick to say... 'Oh we test when we are suspicious'... that is not how any other industry works.
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