Oregon wants to forcibly spray organic farm with pesticides

Azure Standard is an organic farm that has been running for 18 years. Oregon state law requires farmers to control "noxious weeds". The weed of concern is Canadian Thistle. Sherman County, Oregon does not think Azure Standard has done enough to control this thistle. From the article:

Sherman County may be issuing a Court Order on May 22, 2017, to quarantine Azure Farms and possibly to spray the whole farm with poisonous herbicides, contaminating them with Milestone, Escort and Roundup herbicides.

And then the state will charge them for the service. Like the Chinese government charge the family of the dead after a criminal has been executed.

Links
Article: https://www.theorganicprepper.ca/an-oregon-county-govt-plans-to-douse-azure-standards-organic-farm-in-pesticide-05122017

USDA "organic" vs Non-GMO Project verified

Loopholes and notes about the USDA NOP and Non-GMO-Project. The USDA organic label does not mean all products in the item, or all products used to produce the item have an organic origin.

USDA "organic"

USDA organic notes

1. USDA National Organic Program site. 
2. Only farmers that sell more than $5000 in organic products need an Organic System Plan. Sect 205.101.a.1. But they must still follow USDA organic procedures.
3. 3 years must have passed since the land had non-organic crops on it, in order for the land to be used for organic crops.  
4. Items using the organic label must contain at least 95% certified organic ingredients.

USDA Allowable items

1. If one step in a company process has been certified as "organic", the certification remains even if they change their process to a non-organic process. And the company could get fined. Section 2015.100b.
2. Only allows natural flavors. Sect. 205.605a.
3. Allowed when commercial organic products are not available: non-organic casings, like for sausage; celery powder; chia; konjac (which I see more and more in sausage); corn start and sweet potato starch; and many other vegetable colors and products. Sect 205.606.
4. Synthetic products allowed when producing crops: copper sulfate can be used in rice fields once per 24 month period; soap-based herbicides; plastic mulch and covers (which could contain BPA and other phthalates); sucrose octanoate esters; ethylene gas to affect pineapple flowering;  Sect 205.601. 
5. Synthetic items allowed when producing organic livestock: atropine; vaccines; butorphanal;  flunixin; furosemide; fenbendazole; ivermectin; moxidectin; poloxalene; tolazoline; xylazine; lidocaine; Sect 205.603.
6. Non-organic seeds may be used if organic seeds are not available. 

USDA Not Allowed

1. Non-organic yeast, when the end product is for human consumption, can be used if organic yeast is not available. Sect. 205.605a.
3. Ethylene can be used to ripen tomatoes or other items. Synthetic vitamins are allowed as are tocopherols. Sect. 205.605b.
4. Ionizing radiation and sewage sludge not allowed. Sect 205.105 f and g. 
5. Strychnine. Sect 205.604.
6. Synthetic fertilizers.  
7. Growth hormones. 
8. GMOs not allowed. GMO seed cannot be used and cows cannot eat GMO feed. Source.

Sources
USDA NOP organic and production standards. Link to PDF.



Non-GMO Project Verified (NGPV)

Non-GMO Verified is not the same as USDA Organic. Taken from version 13 (Feb 2016) of the Non-GMO Project standars. PDF here, 37 pages.

NGPV = Non-GMO Project Verified

Definitions:

1. Major ingredient: Any ingredient that composes 5% or more of a product, or which defines the product. Ex: a "quinoa chip" that contains 55% quinoa and 20% corn, both quinoa and corn are "major ingredients". 

What must be tested and comply with their standards:

1. All animal feed. 
2. All microbials including those for fermentation (like yeast for wine) and for silage. 
3. Both processed and unprocessed (raw) plant products. 
4. All animal products including meat, eggs, dairy, etc. 
5. Dietary supplements, vitamins, etc. 
6. Personal care products like lotions, makeup, etc. 
7. Packaging that is immersed or combined with liquids for human consumption. Like tea bags and coffee filters. 
8. Activities: farm production, harvest, post-harvest, handling, storage, distribution, processing, packaging.  
9. Baccillus thuringiensis (Bt) that is used must not be genetically engineered.(Bt is a known poison to many insects and mammals, including humans.)

Notes:

1. NGPV products must be genetically tested before the producer gets to claim NGPV. 
2. Each farm must be inspected annually as much each restaurant claiming NGPV. 
3. Honey: The bee forage area must be "sufficiently free" or GMOs within 4 miles of the hives. (Wow, that's a tough one!)
4. Third-party processors do not have to be NGPV but do have to have a system in place which avoids GMO contamination.  
5. Absence of all GMO items in a product is the final goal. Less than 0.25% of seed used must be non-GMO. But if the seed is listed in Appendix B, 0% of the seed can be GMO. App B are very high risk crops like soy and corn. Less than 0.9% of items in food, makeup, supplements, or anything used on the human skin must be non-GMO. See table in section V.A.1.

European vs US organic food laws

A comparison of US GMO and organic food standards and laws. Note: Standards are usually voluntary in the US, like the USDA National Organic Program of the Non-GMO Project Verified program.

This information is from publicly available sources on the WWW. The name of EU directives are taken from the format of the web page on which they are displayed, thus they might appear to have inconsistent formatting. I don't claim to understand the reason behind the inconsistent formatting. Directives appear to take the format YYYY/nnnn and regulations the format nnn/YYYY where YYYY is the year.


European Union

Quote: "The European Union (EU) has in place a comprehensive and strict legal regime on genetically modified organisms (GMOs), food and feed made from GMOs, and food/feed consisting or containing GMOs.  The EU’s legislation and policy on GMOs, based on the precautionary principle enshrined in EU and international legislation, is designed to prevent any adverse effects on the environment and the health and safety of humans and animals, and it reflects concerns expressed by skeptical consumers, farmers, and environmentalists."

1. The European Food and Safety Authority (EFSA) conducts testing. EFSA Home page. EFSA page on GMO Science. (The EFSA sometimes things GMOs are safe despite the independent studies.)
2. Marketing and importing GMO foods is regulated by the EU, but growing GMO is regulated at the EU country level. 
3. "Regulation No. 1829/2003 prohibits placing on the EU market a GMO for food use, or a food containing or consisting of GMOs or food products produced “from” GMOs, unless an authorization is granted.  Food and feed produced “with” a GMO are excluded from the scope of this Regulation."
4. GMO labeling required except where an ingredient is less than 0.9% of the total (VI.b): "Labeling requirements apply to foods delivered to the final consumers or mass caterers in the EU that either contain or consist of GMOs, or are produced from or contain ingredients produced from GMOs.  Regulation No. 1829/2003 requires that the phrase “genetically modified” or “produced from genetically modified [name of the organism]” must appear clearly next to the ingredient list." 
5. The EU requires traceability for GMO substances. 
6. Directive 2001/18/EC addresses GMO releases into the environment.
7. 1830/2003 addresses more GMO labeling. Labeling of all GMO ingredients is required, even for ornamental things like cut flowers.

Sources
Restrictions on Genetically Modified Organisms: European Union. loc.gov. Last accessed Apr 17, 2016.


US

1. Roundup can be sprayed onto Roundup Ready crops to kill them, and harvested in 2 days thus leading to Roundup in the food chair.
2. Plants that product Bt CRY toxin are allowed in the food system. 
3. Labeling products that contain GMOs are not required except in Vermont, which recently passed a law requiring products containing GMOs to be labeled. Several manufacturers have already indicated they will use the same GMO label for Vermont as for the rest of the country.
4. "Free range" chickens does not mean sunlight ever touched their back. It means chickens are packed into a large, crowded barn together.  

   

   "Free range" chickens collapsing under their own weight.

5. The US uses the "it's safe until proven otherwise" philosophy regarding GMOs. 
6. Non-Organic seeds and other items can be used if  organic seeds are not available, and the "organic" label can still be used. 
7. US companies, like Monsanto, are well-known for lobbying for GMOs, and lobbying against third-party studies.Monsanto job titles even included "influencing the EPA".

Sources

USDA National Organic Program. Link to website.

What does "organic" really mean?

"Organic" means using less pesticides, or no artificial pesticides, and little or no GMOs. But standards vary widely across the world. Organic food product is, for the most part, a self-regulated industry with government guidance in some countries.

US Standards

The USDA National Organic Program creates standards for the US organic farming industry. But since the USDA is part of the FDA, and the FDA is well-known to be soft on GMOs and pesticides, the US "standard" is questionable at best. (March 2016: There is currently a lawsuit against the FDA for violating it's own regulations.)

The USDA NOP has the following areas of responsibility:

1. Manage organic operations. The NOP Intro to Organic Practices PDF is here.
2. Develop regulations and guidance on organic farming. CFR Regulations are here. The NOP organic handbook is here.
3. Manage the national list of allowed and prohibited substances. 
4. Investigate regulatory violation complaints. 
5. Accredit certifying agents. 
6. And a few more items. 
7. Here is a list of certified organic companies in the US and which products are certified organic. There are several fields to search on including company name, city, state, country, and certified products. 
8. Conform to regulations when exporting or importing organic foods.

How USDA NOP defines "organic" practices

1. Practices PDF here. 
2. Avoid use of synthetic use of fertilizers. Note that the US regulations do not ban synthetic fertilizers. But, nitrogen is nitrogen unless it's contaminated with something dangerous. 
3. Avoid sewage sludge* and biosolids. Sewage sludge can contain many toxic chemicals including heavy metals. 
4. Avoid irradiation and GMOs.
5. Use cover crops to reduce erosion.  
6. Use organic seeds unless that variety is not available as an organic product. In this case they can use non-GMO seeds.
7. Use crop rotation to reduce pests and diseases. 
8. Manage pests using Prevention, Avoidance, Monitoring, and Suppression (PAMS). Predatory insects are allowed. As a last resort the growing can use organic pesticides. I assume Bt is allowed in this case as it's a "naturally occurring organism" allowed by the NOP.
9. Organic crops must not receive overspray from non-organic crops if the farm grows both. 
10. Land that has had conventional pesticides applied cannot be used for organic crops for 36 months. 
11. More guidelines on animals are in the PDF.

* Sewage sludge is the sludge left over from sewage processing. Due to poor US regulations and interference from industry, sewage sludge can contain heavy metals and other toxic chemicals, some of which are absorbed by certain crops. From Wikipedia:

Class A sludge is typically dried and pasteurized, and is also known as "exceptional" quality. Class B includes all sludge not classified as Class A. Class B sludge is typically "undigested" and is volatile. Both classes of sludge may still contain radioactive or pharmaceutical wastes.

Now you know the basics of organic food farming.

Fracking wastewater used to irrigate California organic crops

WTF people?? How is this is legal?

Apparently it's legal to use fracking wastewater to water organic crops in rather dry California. This water is so toxic, companies won't release what's in it because of liability issues.

This practice certainly must violate the USDA National Organic Program rules here.

The USDA organic regulations describe organic agriculture as the application of a set of cultural, biological, and mechanical practices that support the cycling of on-farm resources, promote ecological balance, and conserve biodiversity. These include maintaining or enhancing soil and water quality; conserving wetlands, woodlands, and wildlife; and avoiding use of synthetic fertilizers, sewage sludge, irradiation, and genetic engineering.

And more from the NOP PDF...

Organic crop producers are responsible for preventing contact between organic and conventionally-grown crops, as well as contact with prohibited pesticides or fertilizers. Split operations (farms that raise both organic and conventional crops) must make sure that organic crops don’t contact prohibited substances through accidental sprays of conventional agrochemicals, spray drift, or residues on equipment from non-organic fields.

Source
Source: Mar 23, 2016.
Summary of US organic practices. Link to PDF.
This group says US regulations allow fracking wastewater to be used on organic crops.