Save Organic Coffee
Target:
Mark Bradley, Associate Deputy Administrator, USDA-AMS-TMP-NOP
Sponsored by:
There has been a change at the U.S. Department of Agriculture that could affect the cost and availability of organic products from developing countries, including bananas, spices, sugar, and coffee. Normally, a farm must undergo an annual inspection to get certified. But for years, co-ops and large growers' groups in the global south have been allowed to largely police themselves, with USDA inspectors visiting 20 percent of each group per year. Now, the agency says every farm needs an annual inspection, an expensive process that may make some small farmers quit the organic biz.
There has been a change at the U.S. Department of Agriculture that could affect the cost and availability of organic products from developing countries, including bananas, spices, sugar, and coffee. Normally, a farm must undergo an annual inspection to get certified. But for years, co-ops and large growers' groups in the global south have been allowed to largely police themselves, with USDA inspectors visiting 20 percent of each group per year. Now, the agency says every farm needs an annual inspection, an expensive process that may make some small farmers quit the organic biz.
Mr. Bradley,We urge you to reconsider the policy change affecting organically-grown foods from developing countries. As many of these foods are staples of the American diet, the financial impact of removing the organic label from growers, based upon this change, will not only inconvenience American shoppers, but will devastate the economies of these developing nations.Revisiting the current inspection process, and working a little closer with the growers, the co-ops, and the inspectors to ensure integrity is the right thing to do. Mandating a global change to the inspection process is not. Small, family-owned coffee, cocoa, and banana plantations that are using traditional, sustainable, and organic methods of production should not be penalized by applying US standards of inspections which they cannot afford.Investigate instances of violations, do not penalize an entire industry.Thank you,Respectfully, the undersigned
We signed the "Save Organic Coffee" petition!
# 487:
10:40 am PDT, Apr 28,
JAMES SULLIVAN, Illinois
# 486:
10:21 am PDT, Apr 28,
Judyta Dymkowska, Poland
# 485:
1:51 am PDT, Apr 19,
Julia Tawyea, Pennsylvania
# 484:
2:21 pm PDT, Apr 9,
Natalie Swaim, Iowa
# 483:
7:33 pm PDT, Apr 2,
Emily Barre, Arkansas
# 482:
9:46 am PDT, Mar 26,
Suzanne Flury, Oregon
# 481:
8:35 am PDT, Mar 26,
Erin Giusto, Oregon
Let's help these small farmers from going out of business. Most of the coffee plantations are organic anyway, since they can't afford chemical treatments. Don't let the "big" plantations knock out the small farms because of money. Please consider all the people and communities affected by this.
Let's help these small farmers from going out of business. Most of the coffee plantations are organic anyway, since they can't afford chemical treatments. Don't let the "big" plantations knock out the small farms because of money. Please consider all the people and communities affected by this.
# 480:
6:27 am PST, Mar 4,
Josef Neumueller, Austria
Dont burden small scale farmers with expensive additional charges for inspections.
Dont burden small scale farmers with expensive additional charges for inspections.
# 478:
1:58 am PST, Feb 17,
Terry L. west, West Virginia
# 477:
11:07 pm PST, Feb 10,
Laurel Watson, Arizona
# 476:
5:42 pm PST, Feb 1,
Gale Weaner, Texas
# 475:
11:26 am PST, Feb 1,
Mario Furtado, New Jersey
# 474:
7:04 am PST, Jan 30,
Kyna Crain, Montana
# 473:
7:15 am PST, Jan 29,
Kosovka Arsic, Serbia And Montenegro
# 472:
4:09 am PST, Jan 27,
Cristina Mociran, Romania
# 471:
7:44 am PST, Jan 19,
John Edwards, Texas
# 470:
6:07 pm PST, Jan 18,
Karen Gray, Indiana
# 469:
5:10 am PST, Dec 28,
Simos Tarabatzis, Greece
# 468:
1:39 pm PST, Dec 16,
Ines Seidel, Germany
# 467:
7:58 am PST, Dec 12,
Cassie Toner, Washington
# 466:
4:59 pm PST, Nov 29,
Michael Salmon, New Zealand
Cut bureaucracy - save the Planet
Cut bureaucracy - save the Planet
# 465:
9:26 pm PST, Nov 9,
Aleasha Casaretto, Texas
# 464:
11:51 am PST, Nov 6,
Anne Seidel, Germany
# 463:
10:24 am PST, Nov 4,
Angel Harris, Tennessee
# 462:
11:21 pm PDT, Nov 1,
Tiffany Meininger, Nebraska
Why would you want to make it hard for people to obtain healthy food??? Organic is so much better to eat & don/t have to worry about chemicals.
Why would you want to make it hard for people to obtain healthy food??? Organic is so much better to eat & don/t have to worry about chemicals.
# 461:
12:37 pm PDT, Oct 11,
Jack Sheng, California
# 460:
12:24 pm PDT, Oct 6,
Jennifer Lewis, California
# 459:
11:19 am PDT, Oct 2,
Name not displayed, California
# 458:
11:41 am PDT, Sep 29,
Name not displayed, Pennsylvania
These farmers are green minded growers, doing things that will better the Earth while they better their lives and produce a high quality product. They deserve to have a special place in the market that sets them apart. To force them to essentially incorporate with regard to inspections is unfair and will drive the price of their goods so high it may force them out of the marketplace entirely.
These farmers are green minded growers, doing things that will better the Earth while they better their lives and produce a high quality product. They deserve to have a special place in the market that sets them apart. To force them to essentially incorporate with regard to inspections is unfair and will drive the price of their goods so high it may force them out of the marketplace entirely.
# 457:
4:44 am PDT, Sep 28,
Laurel Burns, Maine
# 456:
3:17 pm PDT, Sep 25,
Polly Odyssey, Missouri
# 455:
5:11 am PDT, Sep 24,
Holly Swint, Florida
# 454:
7:02 pm PDT, Sep 16,
Jennifer Chambers, California
# 453:
8:23 pm PDT, Sep 15,
Elaine Yearley, Arizona
# 452:
9:52 pm PDT, Sep 7,
Ned Overton, New York
# 451:
8:12 pm PDT, Aug 31,
Melissa Boyce, South Carolina
