"In terms of our American and European equivalents the garden was a vegetable garden, an orchard, a medicinal plant garden, a rubbish heap, a compost heap, and a bee yard. There was no problem of erosion though it was at the top of a steep slope; the soil surface was pracically all covered and apparently would be during most of the year. Humidity would be kept up during the dry season and plants of the same sort were so isolated frome one another by intervening vegetation that pests and diseases could not readily spread from plant to plant."

US and transnational agricultrual corporations and food processors, and their employees in the US government tell us how benevolent and efficient they are. They are efficient because they lie to the american consumers. By this deception, corporate agriculture cheated the american farmers, who ironically had genocidally eliminated their more efficient predecessors the american indians, out of the land.

Now you know how. We blindly trusted them. We let them reap their profits as a natural progression of capitalism. They cared only about money and power, and not about health and safety, unless it threatened their profits. Now because we dare to control them they are pulling out and poisoning other countries at a much cheaper labor cost.  That is OUR chief export. This was massivley enabled by NAFTA and CAFTA.

some years back some of the farmer's I yak with talked about ... usda ? watering down the definition of 'organic' so ...

ADM and Monsanto could continue dumping barrels of their high priced crap on our food?

pardon the hyperbole and the imprecision, but

where I shop in happy happy nicey nice seattle I ain't worried that the organic stuff is fed 'organic monsanto glow-in-the-dark-goo', or whatever fancy name liars want to put on their toxic crap.

I don't have confidence in the Safeway / Kroger big company claims of organic, but, my distrust of them stems from a LOT more than some random conversations I had in a Seattle farmer's market somewhere between 5 or 10 years ago.

I should run for office, the "i don't recall' thing is true for me!

good luck, ;)

What do the national organic regulations include?

As promised by USDA, the regulations:
prohibit the use of irradiation, sewage sludge, or genetically modified organisms in organic production;
reflect NOSB recommendations concerning items on the national list of allowed synthetic and prohibited natural substances;
prohibit antibiotics in organic meat and poultry; and
require 100% organic feed for organic livestock.

link

I doubt the chicken would sicken you, but the only thing you'll lose is some chicken, if you are too worried.

To me ostrich tastes a lot better, anyway. :)

For a definition of "organic poultry," look at this page (search for the second occurence of "poultry").  If your chicken was certified USDA Organic, chances are pretty good it didn't get any of the tainted food, because "organic chicken" must be fed organic feed, which in turn must be made from organic ingredients.  "Imported Chinese wheat gluten" should not meet any definition of "organic," and therefore shouldn't make it into organic feed or organic livestock (including poultry).

1. even though all I write is bombast, I do read stuff other than bombast.
   
2. I can link to good stuff.

rmm.

http://www.washblog.com/story/2006/10/2/14041/6121

"Walmart Inflicts its Unfair Market Practice on Organics
By noemie maxwell
Mon Oct 02, 2006 at 11:00:41 AM PST
Section: Diary Topic: Labor issues

We've seen it before.  A new industry that involves high risk is pioneered by small-scale entreprenuers and/or through public investment (taxes, subsidy programs, etc.)  When the risk is gone, then the huge corporations step in, push aside the small investors and the public interest, and reap the ongoing profits without a care for the welfare of small businesses and communities.

Although they sometimes go hand in hand, they are two entirely different things. Free range animals aren't necessarily pesticide and antibiotic free, and organic animals aren't necessarily allowed free reign.

You buy organic because it's healthier, and you buy free range because it's more humane. Obviously, both together is best for you and the animals.

1. Organic pet food can be made with concentrates of the sort which were contaminated, including "organic rice protein concentrate".

2. None of the pet foods which have been recalled are organic.  

Its really pretty east. Either grow your own food ar build relationships with people who grow their own and a surplus. Know how they treat their animals and what they feed them. It takes a little time, but once you have build these relationships, you can get food at prices that are reasonable and you can learn a lot in the process.

Certified Organic is a good thing and so is free range, but ambiguity in what exactly falls under these headings should cause you concern. Obviously, I will choose organic over nonorganic, if given the choice, but when you can buy all of your organic food from Walmart, you should realize that something isn't adding up. Who is doing the certification and writing the rules that determine what is what?

You can spend a lot of time trying to determine what the hell "Certified Organic" and "Free Range" means, or you can take a drive into your surrounding rural communities and start talking to farmers and Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) coops and find out where exactly your food comes from. Its a nice drive, for one. And, you can learn a lot in the process.