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Oppose the Weakening of Organic Labeling Laws
Target: U.S. Senate & House Appropriations, Agriculture SubcommitteesSponsored by: Consumers Union
A recent court decision ruled that only natural ingredients should be allowed in foods labeled as "organic." This ruling reinforces our current organic labeling law by keeping chemically-derived synthetic substances from being used in foods labeled as “organic.”
But industry groups are lobbying Congress to change the law so that artificial ingredients can be included in foods labeled “organic”! Specifically, food producers such as the Organic Trade Association, Kraft Foods and others seek to amend the Organic Foods Production Act (passed in 1990) so that synthetic substances can be used in food products labeled as "organic." They claim that consumers do not care about their use in "organic" food and are trying to slip this change into the law without any public input.
U.S. consumers clearly do care! The nonpartisan watchdog group Consumers Union recently conducted a nationwide survey of 1,200 adults and found that 85% of respondents said they do not expect food labeled as "organic" to contain artificial ingredients.
Send a letter telling Congress that you don’t want to buy “organic” food made with artificial ingredients!
But industry groups are lobbying Congress to change the law so that artificial ingredients can be included in foods labeled “organic”! Specifically, food producers such as the Organic Trade Association, Kraft Foods and others seek to amend the Organic Foods Production Act (passed in 1990) so that synthetic substances can be used in food products labeled as "organic." They claim that consumers do not care about their use in "organic" food and are trying to slip this change into the law without any public input.
U.S. consumers clearly do care! The nonpartisan watchdog group Consumers Union recently conducted a nationwide survey of 1,200 adults and found that 85% of respondents said they do not expect food labeled as "organic" to contain artificial ingredients.
Send a letter telling Congress that you don’t want to buy “organic” food made with artificial ingredients!
Sign Petition! see who signed this
We signed the “Oppose the Weakening of Organic Labeling Laws” petition!
# 28,530:
I value the honesty of labeling. Due not allow for non-organic products to be labeled as organic.
# 28,529:
# 28,528:
Everyone has a right to know exactly what is in anything bought for human consumption. For example, labeling MSG as "spices" is not only untruthful, but causes serious harm to unsuspecting and uninformed consumers. No more chemical additives in our food under the guise of harmless ingredients! Laws that allow manufactuors to essentially poison the public and lie about it makes a mockery of the government allowing such behaviour. We the people must expect better out of the agencies supposedly on our side, working for us.
# 28,527:
There's a good reason why so many of us are choosing organic food. If agribusiness wants our patronage, they must earn it with standard organic practices. DO NOT allow anyone to erode the definition of organic.
# 28,526:
Please don't confuse people about what is really organic. It's hard enough as it is.
# 28,525:
buying organic foods is very important to me. I want to buy a product that says exactly what is in it. another words, no artificial ingredients hidden or listed! Please support organic products and preserving a natural way to live with integrity to the earth!
# 28,524:
# 28,523:
Leave our organic food alone. The very idea of labeling foods with ingredients that are pure versus artificially manufactured is very importantto people who discern what the eat and should remain in tact. Artificial ingredients need to be delineated from pure, organic, non-genetically modified foods.period. Give us a break, please!!
# 28,522:
# 28,521:
# 28,520:
# 28,519:
# 28,518:
The label "organic" must exceed in its importance of accurate labeling, letting the consumer be assured that what they are recieving is worth every extra penny for the security that it is natural, wholesome, and every other guideline previously set for the term "organic." The foods my family and I eat are extremely important to us and especially as we realize what many manufactures put in to the foods. I count on food label information being truthful and accurate as a source of information and ingredients.
# 28,517:
# 28,516:
# 28,515:
# 28,514:
My parents have been organic farmers since 1972 to allow weaken label requirements would be a terrible injustice to all those growing and eating organic foods. We do this for our health and I believe we should have the choice don't take that away.
# 28,513:
I FOR ONE WANT TO KNOW WHAT IS BEING PUT IN FOOD THAT I PURCHASE. I DO NOT WANT TO FIND OUT LATER THAT SOME FOOD ADETIVE OR CHEMICAL THAT CAUSES HARM TO MY BODY WAS NOT ON THE LABEL--SO LEAVE WELL ENOUGH ALONE!!!!!!!
# 28,512:
# 28,511:
Synthetic chemicals are not organic whatsoever. As a biochemist, I am strongly aware of the fact that the word organic has a chemical meaning in itself.
# 28,510:
# 28,509:
I am very upset to learn that Congress is considering a motion to allow the addition of artificial ingredients and additives to food labeled "Organic"! I love being able to know that when I buy a product labeled "organic", it really IS something that was grown or produced without the use of chemicals, hormones, or gene-splicing, and WITHOUT the addition of artificial ingredients! As a person of the muslim faith, I value the environment, for we are all the custodians of the Earth, and I must watch what I eat because I must avoid products that contain pork and alcohol, and any product that contains the meat or derivatives from the meat, of animals that were slaughtered in a way that is unacceptable according to Muslim religious law. It is similar to the jewish kosher laws. Because muslims as an entity are relatively thin in America, having begun to be a presence here only since the 1960's, we have not yet made significant inroads in encouraging companies to produce food products that meet halal food requirements, or to at least mark which foods are halal and which are not, as the jews have succeeded in doing regarding kosher foods and labeling, since they have been here longer. As a result... I very seriously depend on organic labels on the food, to know what is safe for me and my family to eat, and what is not. I am not vegetarian but because of my dietary restrictions on meat, I find it very helpful to be able to safely identify foods as being truly and completely free of animal and animal-derived ingredients. PLEASE do not allow the organic food laws to be changed in any way, except to STRENGTHEN, not weaken, them!
# 28,508:
# 28,507:
Why would you want to contribute to a culture of lies and falsehoods? Organic must mean organic--as nature would provide w/o the insane influences of greedy, misguided, and extremely limited vision people. Please do all you can to strengthen organic food labeling laws. This matters very, very much to me and to others I know in our daily lives. Thank you very, very much and very sincerely, EV
# 28,506:
if this law is changed there would be no point of selling organic food because we would not be able to tell what was organic and whats not.
# 28,505:
I buy organic products because I care about what was put into the food I am eating. I do not want artificial additives in the food that I eat, therefore I will choose organic. We need to have a choice in this world full of health problems like food allergies, cancer, and autism...all can be linked to what we are feeding our bodies. Please don't take my choice away.
# 28,504:
How can a good person even think of allowing this kind of deception? America is about truth for the people, it is not about lies and tricky manners of large companies.
# 28,503:
# 28,502:
What?!?!?! Artifical ingredients in organic foods? No way! Don't let the lobbyists win on this one, please. We pay more to keep away from those additives. It would be 100% wrong to allow this to happen.