Truth and Honesty and Labels

Yesterday someone asked me why I was so angry with the organic movement.  It really caught me off guard.  I thought I was just frustrated, frustrated by the seeming double standard.  "Organic is chemical free.  Organic is better for you."  I have heard it for far too long.

When I went to the Farm Science Review, an "organic" company tried to sell me some pesticides certified for organic use.  And, I was confused.  Had I misunderstood what it meant to raise organic food?  Believe me when I say I am now totally baffled by the organic movement.

Hank Campbell wrote an interesting article entitled, Food Awareness Should Include Disclosing Pesticides on Organic Food, in January of 2014.  So, organic foods containing pesticides is not a new discovery.  But, wouldn't some of the GMO crops on the market today help further the work of the Organic Movement?  Crops that are more resistant to pests or weeds, wouldn't this mean less chemicals being sprayed on our food?

Many agvocates have tried to dispel myths that exist regarding GMOs.  Greg Peterson, of the Peterson Farm Brothers, explains GMOs and the use of technology in agriculture in his blog, Greg Peterson - Advocate for Truth: GMOs:

What are GMOs?

GMOs, or genetically modified organisms, will also be referred to in this blog as GM Food, GM Crops, GM Products, Genetic Engineering, and Biotechnology. Biotechnology in plant agriculture is the process of intentionally making a copy of a gene for a desired trait from one plant or organism and using it in another plant. Humans have been intentionally changing the genetics of crops since the beginning of their existence. In fact, every single fruit, vegetable, and grain that is grown by farmers today has been genetically altered (through hybrids and selective breeding) to produce better taste, yield, or disease/drought/insect resistance. While GMOs are slightly different than hybrids, they are simply the newest form of this type of technology and have been around since the early 1990s.  

Greg has even addressed the issue of Christian Ethics in regard to the use of GMOs and other similar technologies in his blog post, My Perspective as a Christian on GMOs.

Here I pause to mention that I have a good friend who is a pastor of two local United Methodist Church congregations.  She is originally from Canada, where her family still lives and farms around 1800 acres of land.  Most of their crops are lentils and beans, which are exported to third world countries.  I asked my friend if her farm was a GMO or a non-GMO farm, and she emphatically declared that ethically her family could not raise non-GMO crops.  She stated that just for world sustainability, her family felt called to plant crops that could help feed the world.  And that GMO crops were allowing her family to raise more food using the same amount of effort as previous non-GMO crops had required.  This in turn allowed her family to ship more staple food items to third world countries.  It truly is an ethical dilemma, should her family continue to produce non-GMO crops, with a lower yield to ship at a higher price to the consumers OR, should the family choose to raise higher yielding GMO crops at a lower cost to the consumer?  I have to question whether those in the organic movement have truly considered this issue.

Another problem I have is in inaccurate or confusing labels.  Do you believe that your organic egg that you ate for breakfast is "chemical free?"  Please think again. . .  Check out this graphic to discover the "chemical make-up" of your "organic eggs."  Or consider the banana. . .  Science has taught us that every thing has an chemical make-up.  When someone says that they will never consume something they cannot pronounce, I wish they would please read the chemical label for a banana.  

So, now that I have mentioned labels, let us look at another label.  This one is in a processed food item that comes from Lifeway, a company that produces kefir, the self proclaimed "champaign of dairy products."  I have borrowed this photo from the website of agvocate and dairy blogger, Dairy Carrie.  She is a dairy producer in Wisconsin that ships milk to the plant that processes kefir for

Lifeway.  She has written in her blog that her cows are fed both grass(hay) and grain.  Her cows are not fed an exclusive grass diet.  And, the grain that her cattle are fed are not GMO free.  She believes that Lifeway is being deceptive on the label.  After contacting her cooperative and Lifeway, she noticed that Lifeway had changed the label on their kefir line.  The new label still makes the claim of being from milk of grass-fed GMO free cows.  But, the saga does not end there.  Lifeway goes to great length on their website to explain exactly what cows are producing the milk used exclusively in their kefir.  Lifeway also claims that their kefir is made using just Guernsey milk.  However, Dairy Carrie disputes this because her herd is a mixed herd with many Holstein and Norwegian Red cattle.

Maybe I am angry. . . Maybe my acquaintance is right.  But, if I am angry, it is because companies are playing on consumer fears of technology and GMOs to sell commodities.  And, at the end of the day, I do not believe most farmers oppose labeling products because of what the products might contain.  I believe that they are resistant to labeling products because of the misinformation that is already out in the public.  If you do not believe me, check out this post from the Organic Consumers Association.  Farmers are asked to feed the world a safe product at an affordable cost to consumers.  And, when they successfully use science to produce more food, using less chemicals, at a lower cost, the farmers are criticized.  They are asked to label whether their products utilize technology.  And, when they appropriately label their products, they are attacked by the public "for attempting to poison people."  Yes, I am angry at the double standard.