Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
Growing Concern Over Truth in the Organic Food Industry
Photo by kthread via Flickr
()
Photo by kthread via Flickr
Farmers know that for the most part the word ‘organic’ sells.
The problem occurs when the food is not really organic. With the $1.1 billion industry growing quickly and exponentially, enforcement and regulation seems to lag behind.
For years organic farmers have complained, not only about the fraud in the industry, but also about the lack of punishment. Organic growers are required by law to be certified and pay a percentage of their sales to fund the State Organic Program as well as comply with regulations that credit them as organic. Needless to say the process gets pricey. Organic growers truly take a hit then, when farmers who are not credited or paying the fees get the benefits of claiming organic.
Support for LAist comes from
The growing complaints of such activity in the organic food industry have led the California Department of Food and Agriculture to begin to crack down on regulation efforts. The Department has proposed new regulations that will increase enforcement and provide protection to true organic farmers, according to the Associated Press.
The proposed regulations will hopefully more clearly define how the Department will investigate complaints submitted by organic growers; how, when, and where they will collect samples to check for unauthorized pesticides; as well as creating a spot inspection program that will check the authenticity of the food labeled ‘organic’.
Sellers, for example, will have to report changes in their registration of what they are selling 14 days prior to the sale.
The Department has already begun to prove they are serious about the change after they reported a case of penalizing a farmer in Santa Rosa for falsely labeling her products as organic and charged her with a $15,000 fine.
The public hearing over the proposed regulations will be on August 10, 2010 starting at 10 a.m. at the California Department of Food and Agriculture in Sacramento. The Department will accept written submissions until August 9th at (916) 445-2427 or by emails to spatton@cdfa.ca.gov
As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.
Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.
We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.
No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.
Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.
Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.
Chip in now to fund your local journalism
(
LAist
)
Trending on LAist
-
With less to prove than LA, the city is becoming a center of impressive culinary creativity. -
Nearly 470 sections of guardrailing were stolen in the last fiscal year in L.A. and Ventura counties.
-
Monarch butterflies are on a path to extinction, but there is a way to support them — and maybe see them in your own yard — by planting milkweed.
-
With California voters facing a decision on redistricting this November, Surf City is poised to join the brewing battle over Congressional voting districts.
-
The drug dealer, the last of five defendants to plead guilty to federal charges linked to the 'Friends' actor’s death, will face a maximum sentence of 65 years in prison.
-
The weather’s been a little different lately, with humidity, isolated rain and wind gusts throughout much of Southern California. What’s causing the late-summer bout of gray?
Best of LAist