Hi group!. We have a new action alert from Bill Sanda at WAPF.
See below.



WESTON A. PRICE FOUNDATION
ACTION ALERT
February 28, 2005

SIGN PETITION TO THE NATIONAL ORGANIC STANDARDS BOARD
TO STOP FACTORY FARM ORGANICS
http://en.groundspring.org/EmailNow/pub.php?
module=URLTracker&cmd=track&j=22026072&u=200918

Now that organic agriculture is a $15 billion industry and growing,
it is squarely in the crosshairs of multinational corporations.
Major food manufacturers are entering organic production, cutting
corners, inflating prices, and endangering the integrity of organic
agriculture (factory farms, nonorganic inputs, and imported
ingredients with questionable certification).

Some large corporations, along with a complacent USDA, have become
masters at creating loopholes for corporate organic farming, such as:

* Importing vegetables or feed grains from Third World countries
without USDA site certification visits.
* Raising chickens without access to the outdoors.
* Including unapproved preservatives in products.
* Buying replacement dairy heifers shot-up with antibiotics and from
nonorganic sources.
* Operating a factory farm with 70,000 chickens or 5000 cows.

"Organic" Factory Farms?
After years of inaction, the USDA's National Organic Program has
recently been forced to address a number of large, industrial dairy
farms-without adequate pasture that are producing "organic" milk.
These factory farms range in size from approximately 3,000 to 4,000
cows and are basically confinement feedlots without legitimate
access to pasture for feed and exercise, as required by the federal
organic regulations. Milk from most of these mega-farms is being
distributed by Dean/Horizon, the largest milk bottler in the United
States, and under a number of private-label brands that are
available at natural food and conventional grocers.

These corporate farms and their wealthy investors are jeopardizing
the livelihoods of organic family-scale dairy farmers throughout the
United States, along with the more modest-sized companies and
cooperatives that market their milk.

Turf War
Recently, The Cornucopia Institute, a Wisconsin-based advocacy group
that supports family farmers, filed formal complaints against three
of these farms operating in Idaho, California, and Colorado. This
issue will come to a head at the semiannual meeting of the National
Organic Standards Board (NOSB) in Washington, D.C., March 1-3.

Farmers and consumers will make their voice heard at this meeting.
Many farmers in the Northeast, and others as far away as California,
will be coming to testify in support of enacting strong rules
requiring access to pasture for dairy cows, sheep, goats, and beef
cattle. They will also call for enforcement of the requirement for
access to the outdoors for other species such as poultry.

Make Your Voice Heard
1. Please share this action alert with your circle of friends and
colleagues.

2. E-mail, fax, or mail a letter to the USDA. If you email all your
comments to The Cornucopia Institute by February 28, we will hand
carry your message and deliver it formally at the Washington, D.C.,
NOSB meeting.

3. Please consider coming to the meeting in person. This is
especially important if you are an organic livestock producer. For
meeting information, directions, and accommodation options contact
organic@....

4. If you are an organic livestock producer or processor and cannot
make it to the meeting, we will do our best to partner you with
another farmer/rancher or a consumer from the Washington area who
will read your three-minute written testimony. Again, please contact
The Cornucopia Institute, preferably via e-mail, for full
instructions on preparing your (proxy) testimony.

You Have the Power
Whether it is livestock raised in industrial conditions, imported
organic soybeans from Brazil, or name-brand organic vegetables from
China (burning down rain forests and shipping food around the world
in not sustainable!), a lot is on the line right now for family-
scale farmers. All the hope that organic agriculture has offered is
at risk. If successful, this first action concerning organic
livestock production will demonstrate to the agribusiness lobbyists,
USDA bureaucrats, and members of Congress that the organic farming
community is going to fight to maintain the ethical reputation we
have earned in the eyes of the consumer. Please join us!

SIGN PETITION TO THE NATIONAL ORGANIC STANDARDS BOARD TO STOP
FACTORY FARM ORGANICS

It will be hand delivered at the National Organic Standards Board
meeting in Washington D.C., March 1-3, 2005.

http://en.groundspring.org/EmailNow/pub.php?
module=URLTracker&cmd=track&j=22026072&u=200919

*******************************************************

Bill Sanda
Executive Director
Weston A. Price Foundation
westonaprice_bill@...