Page 55 - Summer2009

Although more and more consumers are XS²HYHQ GXULQJ WKH EHJLQQLQJ RI WKH UHFHVVLRQ²PRUH WKDQ SHUFHQW
making connections with local farmers we still last year and totaling in excess of $23 billion. But some serious pruning
need to buy a fair percentage of our (organic) RI WKH RUJDQLF VHFWRU LV QHHGHG WR ZHHG RXW VFRIÀDZV LQGXVWULDO VFDOH
food supply through normal commercial chan- livestock facilities, and others bent on shortchanging organic standards.
nels. If you care about the integrity of organic So, is Obama bringing the mantle of change to the USDA? Make no
food and farming, the USDA’s management mistake about it that Michelle Obama’s White House vegetable garden, and
of the National Organic Program has been an D FHUWL¿HG RUJDQLF JDUGHQ SODQWHG E\ WKH 6HFUHWDU\ RI $JULFXOWXUH DW WKHLU
abomination. It’s not just mismanagement—the headquarters, are meant to be strongly symbolic. Those of us old enough
track record has been one of intentional mon- WR UHPHPEHU ZLOO QRWH WKDW WKH ¿UVW WKLQJ SUHVLGHQW 5HDJDQ GLG V\PEROL-
keywrenching of the department’s industry cally, was to rip the solar collectors off the roof of the White House, which
oversight. This includes ignoring and watering had been installed by Jimmy Carter.
down enforcement actions, failing to ensure
that the nation’s organic certifying agencies are NEW MANAGEMENT AT THE USDA
properly performing their jobs with competent ,W¶V EHHQ D VORZ VORJ ¿OOLQJ RXW WKH UDIW RI SROLWLFDO DSSRLQWHHV ZKR ZLOO
VWDII DQG QRW SURYLGLQJ VXI¿FLHQW UHVRXUFHV IRU direct the agency. But here’s a look at who’s been appointed and a quick
WKH UHYLHZ DQG HYDOXDWLRQ RI VSHFL¿F PDWHULDOV assessment of their perspectives.
and ingredients used in organic food and agri- Former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack was tapped by Obama to lead the
culture. USDA. Vilsack has a reputation as a pragmatist and seasoned politician.
Just as with the conventional food produc- During his tenure as governor, he helped Iowa become an early state leader
tion system, these actions have resulted in a shift investing in an organic program at their department of agriculture. Iowa’s
to factory farm production and cheap imports, land grant university also began addressing the needs of organic farmers.
predominantly from China. But his administration also supported increased genetic engineering and
It’s an extremely unfortunate situation be- had close ties to corporate agribusiness.
cause the overwhelming majority of domestic This track record raised concerns for some at the grassroots in the
family farmers engaged in organic agriculture RUJDQLF FRPPXQLW\ 2WKHUV LQFOXGLQJ D QXPEHU RI RI¿FHUV DW VRPH RI WKH
are practicing it with ethics and integrity, meet- largest organic corporate entities strongly welcomed the Vilsack selection.
ing the expectations of consumers. And consum- 6KRUWO\ DIWHU KLV FRQ¿UPDWLRQ 9LOVDFN VHQW D PHVVDJH E\ EUHDNLQJ XS
er interest in organic food is surging, with sales pavement and planting a “people’s garden” at the USDA. The symbolism

ORGANIC DECEPTION

Burt’s Bees lip balm was originally sold at independently owned health food stores. But more recently, Burt’s Bees
products have appeared everywhere—in grocery stores, drug stores and big-box stores like Target and Wal-Mart. That’s
because Burt’s Bees is now owned by Clorox, a massive corporation that has historically cared very little about the envi-
ronment.
Tom’s of Maine is owned by Colgate-Palmolive, a massive company with a revenue of approximately $11.4 billion.
Danone, the French conglomerate which also owns Brown Cow, has acquired a majority holding in Stoneyfield; this is the
same Danone that had to recall large quantities of its yogurt in 2007 after it was found to contain unsafe levels of dioxins.
Horizon Organic milk was bought out by the largest dairy company in the U.S., Dean Foods, in 2005. Odwalla is now
owned by Coca-Cola. Almost as soon as Coca-Cola bought the company, it stopped selling the fresh-squeezed orange
juice that had made Odwalla famous and popular—fresh squeezed can’t last the days and weeks the juices are now in
transit or on the shelf. Pepsi bought Naked Juice in 2006, in order to compete with Odwalla. Smuckers grabbed several
juice mainstays from the health food store shelves: After The Fall, R.W. Knudsen and Santa Cruz Organic.
Kashi cereals was bought in July, 2000 by Kellogg’s, the twelfth-largest company in North American food sales (but if
you look at a box of Kashi’s “Go Lean Crunch,” for example, you will find not one mention of the fact that Kellogg’s owns
them). Kraft Foods bought the natural cereal maker Back to Nature. Kraft is a subsidiary of Altria, which also owns Philip
Morris, one of the world’s largest producers of cigarettes.
General Mills owns Cascadian Farm. Barbara’s Bakery is owned by Weetabix, the leading British cereal company.
Health Valley and Arrowhead Mills are owned by Hain Celestial Group, a natural food company traded on the NASDAQ,
with H.J. Heinz owning sixteen percent of the company.
(Source: Your Favorite ‘Natural’ Brands May Not Be What They Seem, www.Mercola.com.)

SUMMER 2009 Wise Traditions 53