Questions and Answers
(ContinuiiUrom Pag* 22]
labeled “organically grown"
is what it claims to be can be
difficult. The taste and color
of produce, the advisor says,
March is
The Time To:
TOP DRESS SMALL GRAIN
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TOP DRESS PASTURES
• Liquid Nitrogen
or
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BROADCAST
• Corn Fertilizer for early plowing
BROADCAST -
P & K for Corn
• Where Anhydrous or Liquid
Nitrogen is to be used
A complete line of products and Services is
Available from Organic to give you a Program for
TrZ i ORGANIC
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2313 Norman Rd., Lancaster, Pa. Ph. 397-5152
Ephrata RD2
(Farmersville) PA 17522
is a question of freshness and
maturity, not gardening
method.
A layman cannot tell by
looking at an “organically
grown” tomato whether that
STORAGE TYPE FARM BUILDINGS DESIGNED TO FIT YOUR NEEDS.
claim is true. So he may turn
to the Government for help.
But unless he’s in Oregon at
the time, the help just won’t
be there.
Why Oregon? In the ab
sence of Federal guidelines
on organic food labeling, it’s
up to the States to act, and
thus far, Oregon is the only
one that has.
Oregon’s law, effective
since last October, protects
the consumer with
stipulations that food labeled
“organically grown” must
have been raised “without
synthetic pesticides, fer
tilizers, or chemicals; in soil
in which the humus content
is increased only by the
addition of natural matter
and in which the mineral
content is increased only by
the application of natural
mineral fertilizers or other
natural matter.”
The Oregon law also
controls labeling of
“organically processed
food,” which means no
ATTENTION
DAIRY FARMERS!
WE ARE EQUIPPED TO PAINT ALL YOUR BUILDINGS
INCLUDING SPECIAL COATING FOR YOUR MILK
PARLORS.
FREE ESTIMATES GIVEN
DAN HERSHEY
MILLERSVILLE, PENNA.
Phone Office 394-6111 or Home 394-3001
YOU NEEDED A
STORAGE BUILDING FOR YEARS.
WHY NOT DO IT NOW!
DESIGNERS & BUILDERS OF SYSTEMS
synthetic additives. On meat
and poultry products, a label
“produced in an organic
environment" implies that
there was no unnecessary
use of pesticides on the
animals or their feed, and no
exposure to antibiotics,
growth stimulants, or any
drug that wasn’t absolutely
necessary. No drug can be
administered within 30 days
of slaughter.
Other States that are
considering similar
legislation include
California, Maryland, New
York, and Pennsylvania.
Organic food farming has
been criticized as being
inefficient, and that
criticism becomes par
ticularly serious now that the
world is faced with food
shortages.
But organic growers are
arguing that their system
done on a larger scale would
be cheaper, more efficient,
and provide better food. One
study completed at Penn-
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, March 8,197&-
sylvanla State University
last year concluded that it
was 40 percent cheaper to
pesticlze an apple orchard
naturally than with
chemicals-and the cost of
chemical pesticides is
soaring now.
The future of health foods
in America is thus difficult to
forecast. It hinges on several
variables.
If more States adopt
labeling codes, public un
certainty about health foods
might dissipate-wkich could
lead to increased sales. And
if real incomes start rising
sharply again, consumers
may opt for health foods
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regardless of their price.
If organic fanners become
more efficient, the price gap
between health and regular
foods could narrow-and this
would certainly enhance the
market. Also, if the Nation's
food processors were to
relax their concern about
safety standards, that would
open the door to mer
chandisers of health foods.
But if these factors fail to
fall into place, criticisms like
those of inefficiency, high
costs, and questionable
nutritional value could
combine to keep the industry
small.
23