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Don't Gut the "Organic" Label for Fish!

Target: USDA & Obama Administration
Sponsored by: Consumers Union

There's something fishy going on in Washington.

While you may expect the highest standards for food bearing the organic label, in November bureaucrats at the National Organics Standards Board in Washington decided to gut the organic label for fish.

On November 20, the board issued recommendations to the USDA stating that fish can be labeled 'organic' even if they've been fed wild fish, which come from polluted environments and are high in mercury and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Toxic organic fish? That's outrageous!

And the board recommends fish raised in open ocean net pens be eligible for the organic label. This type of fish farming is highly polluting, as large amounts of toxins, disease and parasites are flushed directly into the ocean – harming the wild fish supply, sustainability and the health of the oceans.

Sign our petition to tell the USDA and the Obama Administration that you're disappointed in this decision to gut the organic label for fish. Let's make sure consumers' voices are heard on organic standards!

deadline: 2-9-2009
goal: 10,000

8,912
signatures!

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I am extremely disappointed in the November 20 decision by the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) to accept the recommendations for "organic" fish production that will allow fish to carry the USDA organic label -- despite being raised under conditions that fail to meet fundamental USDA organic principles.

As a consumer who puts value and faith in the organic label, I expect fish labeled as organic to meet the same high standards as all other organic products and livestock. Anything less is a disservice to the organic label and American consumers.

These terrible NOSB recommendations allow:
- Fish to be fed food other than 100% organic feed -- the gold standard that must be met by other USDA-certified organic livestock;
- Fishmeal used to feed farmed fish from wild fish -- which has the potential to carry mercury and PCBs; and
- Open net cages to be used -- which flush pollution, disease and parasites from open net fish farms directly into the ocean, adversely impacting wild fish supply, sustainability and the health of the oceans.

We signed the “Don't Gut the "Organic" Label for Fish!” petition!

# 8,916:

2:01 pm PST, Feb 9, Name not displayed, Washington

# 8,915:

7:20 am PST, Feb 9, Pat Croisier, New Jersey

# 8,914:

5:06 am PST, Feb 9, Earnest Reeves, South Carolina

# 8,913:

12:46 pm PST, Feb 8, Stephanie Boring, Indiana

# 8,912:

8:34 pm PST, Feb 7, Lynn Lanzon, Michigan

# 8,911:

8:08 pm PST, Feb 7, Taylor Paul, Arizona

# 8,910:

3:41 pm PST, Feb 7, Susan Dandridge, Washington
fish that eat other fish should not be labeled organic, that's not organic!

# 8,909:

1:55 pm PST, Feb 7, John Thompson, Texas
I do not want harmful chemicals in my food.

# 8,908:

11:58 am PST, Feb 7, Amber Seber, Hawaii

# 8,907:

7:34 am PST, Feb 7, Mary Brooks, Kentucky

# 8,906:

10:05 pm PST, Feb 6, Molly Kaulitz, Texas

# 8,905:

8:19 am PST, Feb 6, Name not displayed, North Carolina

# 8,904:

10:37 pm PST, Feb 5, Name not displayed, California
These terrible NOSB recommendations are like putting poison in the water and calling it pure. People are sick and tired, literally, of having other more powerful people without morality or conscience deciding it is OK to contaminate the food, water, land, and air and call it healthy. Strong organic standards for fish and all other foods protect the health of everyone, including those sociopaths who fight against them.

# 8,903:

8:17 pm PST, Feb 5, Hazel Seymour, Canada

# 8,902:

3:00 pm PST, Feb 5, Regina Knapp, California

# 8,901:

11:19 am PST, Feb 5, Name not displayed, Michigan

# 8,900:

7:13 pm PST, Feb 4, Kendra Rodriguez, Florida

# 8,899:

9:23 am PST, Feb 4, Courtney Decker, Kentucky

# 8,898:

6:37 pm PST, Feb 3, Devin Leiva, New York

# 8,897:

5:13 pm PST, Feb 3, Name not displayed, Connecticut

# 8,896:

11:52 am PST, Feb 3, Shersti Edwards, Texas

# 8,895:

10:27 am PST, Feb 3, Gail Randall, Illinois
I want to know what I'm eating

# 8,894:

9:26 am PST, Feb 3, Wanda Bogacka Plucinski, New Jersey
For my health and that of my family.

# 8,893:

3:32 pm PST, Feb 2, Name not displayed, California
Effectively removing the meaning of the organic label also removes freedom of choice for consumers who want to choose in favor of their own health and that of the environment. Shame on those who would gut the organic label.

# 8,892:

12:04 pm PST, Feb 2, Name not displayed, Colorado

# 8,891:

11:10 am PST, Feb 2, Ralph Xx, Germany

# 8,890:

8:38 pm PST, Feb 1, Holly Smith, Vermont
I worried about the health of people who eat fish based on the info on the labels.

# 8,889:

6:59 pm PST, Feb 1, Stacie Haselberger, Maryland

# 8,888:

9:34 am PST, Feb 1, Emily Ewing, Colorado

# 8,887:

2:16 pm PST, Jan 31, Christiana Reed, California
It's the only "flesh food" I eat, and I have a strong need to avoid mercury in my diet due to some hereditary health concerns.

# 8,886:

1:02 pm PST, Jan 31, Deborah Fexis, New Hampshire

# 8,885:

12:21 pm PST, Jan 31, Shannon Bartlett, Virginia

# 8,884:

11:27 am PST, Jan 31, Margaret Cook, Georgia

# 8,883:

10:30 am PST, Jan 31, Solange Castillo, Florida
if yall need help or anything just message me n ill reply as soon as i can

# 8,882:

9:49 am PST, Jan 31, Cayla Boezi, Pennsylvania

# 8,881:

11:57 am PST, Jan 30, Donna Kirkpatrick, Canada

# 8,880:

11:41 am PST, Jan 30, Margaret Ochs, Kansas
Because anything else is just a lie!

# 8,879:

5:10 pm PST, Jan 29, Carole Chowen, Colorado

# 8,878:

4:10 pm PST, Jan 29, Corinne Langer, Michigan

# 8,877:

2:15 pm PST, Jan 29, Angelina Derbane, Latvia

# 8,876:

8:06 am PST, Jan 29, Andrea Collins, Ohio

# 8,875:

4:12 am PST, Jan 29, Denis m. Pelkey, Tennessee
If it says organic then thats what it should be.

# 8,874:

8:01 pm PST, Jan 28, Bruce Williams, California

# 8,873:

3:25 pm PST, Jan 28, D. LEON RAGSDALE, Oklahoma

# 8,872:

2:00 pm PST, Jan 27, Rajneekorn Pongsugree, West Virginia
The NOSB has brought a plate of mistrust to the organic table. There is little reason to buy organic fish until the decision is reversed.

# 8,871:

1:09 pm PST, Jan 27, Henry Maski, New Jersey
The organic label should be respected as a high standard which is representative of not only a person's choice in food, but their religion and sustenance as well.

# 8,870:

6:51 am PST, Jan 27, Janet Altman, Virginia

# 8,869:

11:41 pm PST, Jan 26, Jordan Cinq-Mars, Arkansas

# 8,868:

9:48 pm PST, Jan 26, Elle Smith Fagan, Connecticut
We must be able to trust that labels will report truth. There is an "ocean" of product on the shelves, if you can forgive my pun....if we cannot trust the label, what CAN we trust? Please keep the standards and the safety of such food items, as high as it goes.

# 8,867:

9:04 pm PST, Jan 26, Wanda Perry, Wyoming
USDA must be honest with us, and label the truth, not lies.

# 8,866:

5:24 pm PST, Jan 26, Kim Scott, Maryland

# 8,865:

10:18 am PST, Jan 26, Sarah Spaulding, California

# 8,864:

8:22 am PST, Jan 26, David Westerlund, California

# 8,863:

8:25 pm PST, Jan 25, Name not displayed, Texas
The labels need to be truthful!

# 8,862:

8:14 pm PST, Jan 25, Katherine Hughes, Oregon

# 8,861:

8:07 pm PST, Jan 25, Pamela Romero, Illinois

# 8,860:

6:48 pm PST, Jan 25, Kristen Smith, North Carolina

# 8,859:

4:12 pm PST, Jan 25, Ashley Fontaine, Texas

# 8,858:

12:15 pm PST, Jan 25, Patricia Lefebvre, Colorado

# 8,857:

12:15 pm PST, Jan 25, Kellie Smith, New Hampshire

# 8,856:

11:58 am PST, Jan 25, Linda Conway, New Jersey
Because I want to know what I'm eating is healthy.

# 8,855:

11:16 am PST, Jan 25, Marcin Florek, Poland

# 8,854:

11:40 pm PST, Jan 24, Name not displayed, California
I want to know what I am eating.I buy only wild,safely caught,fish.I do not support farm fish as it adversely affects the health of real organic fish and the oceans.

# 8,853:

10:26 pm PST, Jan 24, Rachel Guffin, California

# 8,852:

5:39 pm PST, Jan 24, Sara Bassler, California
Fish are an important part of a healthy diet, but "farmed" fish are not as healthy as "wild" fish because they don't carry the same ratio of fatty acids. Moreover if the fish are fed fishmeal containing toxic chemicals then this defeats the purpose of eating fish. Finally I eat organic foods because I want to promote sustainability and the health of the environment. Open net cages do the exact opposite of this. I do not want my dollars spent on "organic" fish which are full of toxins and are damaging the environment.

# 8,851:

4:45 pm PST, Jan 24, Jerry Button, Florida

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Don't Gut the "Organic" Label for Fish!

This petition has been closed.