Posted on 04/18/2015 5:14:36 AM PDT by HomerBohn
There are three things driving a surge in organic imports:
1.U.S. farmers have been systematically pushed into growing mostly GMO crops; grown primarily for fuel, animal feed and cheap processed foods. Russia even used our food supply as an example for the EU to dump us and join them instead.
2.U.S. consumers are not only demanding fresh, organic produce as well as non-GMO convenience foods – but also want meat, dairy and eggs from animals that were fed non-GMO or organic feed.
3.Other countries primarily grow non-GE crops, and plenty of organic. They’ve got the goods and they reap the benefits of trade.
This is ridiculous, as the U.S. could not only use a valuable export, but could honestly use a supportive, in-house product. Yet again, we find ourselves outsourcing for staples. Shouldn’t our own farmers be benefiting from this rise in demand coming from their country? Yet again, farmers have been tricked and kicked by the very companies with which they sign agreements.
U.S. consumers are coming into awareness about how their food affects their health and want superior products, which sadly, aren’t always available here…yet.
An analysis of U.S. trade data released Wednesday by the Organic Trade Association and Pennsylvania State University shows a spike in corn from Romania and soybeans from India. The chief executive officer of OTA is prompting farmers that the market is open for converts. She called it a “help-wanted” sign for farmers and said, “There are market distortions that are pretty striking.” [Also see: Study Quantifies Market Value of Nature’s Farming Services]
Bloomberg Business reports the bulk of the imports are to feed U.S. cattle and poultry:
As a result, imports to the U.S. of Romanian corn rose to $11.6 million in 2014 from $545,000 the year before. Soybean imports from India more than doubled to $73.8 million.
Sales of foods certified by the U.S. as free of synthetic chemicals or genetic engineering reached $35.9 billion in 2014, an 11 percent increase over 2013 and about 5.1 percent of U.S. grocery spending. The organic sector’s average annual growth of about 10 percent is triple that of overall food sales, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture and trade association data.
[…]
The four years of records show rapidly growing trade relationships. In 2014, U.S. organic exports were $553 million, almost quadruple the 2011 total. Imports last year were $1.28 billion, led by $332.5 million of organic coffee.
Supply farms were forced to seek foreign sources with the rapid demand spikes, as 90 percent of U.S. corn and soy are genetically engineered, a definite no-go for organically raised animals, animal by-products and produce. Some organic feed companies have recently seen sales quadruple and sought supplies from Canada. Read Bloomberg for more figures and some tug-of-war about future markets and whether or not it’s worth it to grow organic in America.
And interesting turn of events since yesterday’s Bloomberg report: Tom Vilsack, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture announced that the government would offer support to boost the U.S. production of organic.
While expressing an interest to help small family farms and boost the rural economy, he told Reuters:
There’s been significant expansion and interest in organics. Both the number of producers expanding and the sales expanding are an indication that this is a fast-growing aspect of agriculture.
A peculiar announcement considering Vilsack’s past infatuation and staunch defense of biotech. I don’t buy those intentions at all. Not with Agenda 21 tactics, a crumbling food system and economy, corporations that drain and frack the daylights out of drought-stricken aquifers, states that only vote yes to label GMOs in the far-off future, and the DARK Act looming in Congress. Those things tell me to be vigilant and not to get too excited.
On a lighter and more productive note, we can keep up that consumer demand because, right now, it cannot be ignored. On the other hand, don’t forget to reach out to farmers, but also demand ways for them to make a living using better methods – there isn’t incentive to do so currently, in fact, quite the opposite. Let’s not let them fall behind the market curve. Maybe we could bring this news to Farm Aid’s attention so they can focus on helping their family farmers who wish to convert but without losing the farm.
Unfortunately, there are stifling obstacles that stand in the way of simply switching to an organic farm. More so if the “DARK Act” passes through Congress. (Hint: it punishes non-GMO farmers with fines and makes them produce labels!) For one thing, it’s not about simply switching seed, and farmers are in a sense, punished if they use natural methods. As one recent study pointed out, it would be economically better to use nature’s free services and organic methods but only if it were allowed to be economically feasible!
We have a bought and paid for government and the citizens of this country are prey for that government period!
This is Luddite
In addition, many companies buy from “organic” growers around the world, who simply wash the purchase or fake organic seed labels and sell it to us.
Happens especially to honey and most any other farm product that can carry the organic label. The higher cost is an invitation to food fraud.
Buy locally or ignore the labels.
Let the market decide. Organic demand is usually overstated.
Meanwhile, US corn is used to poison our bodies with high fructose corn syrup and our cars with ethanol.
The demand is often for whole foods and pure foods and trustworthy sources. "Organic" often covers all of those categories.
Personally, I don't insist on organic. But I do insist that there are no ingredients that don't belong, its source of growing and manufacture is as local as possible, identifiable and trustworthy and that it's not overprocessed.
> I deliberately avoid “organic” foods for a number of reasons...one being political/philosophical, another being economic.
That’s fine for you; and I used to share that opinion.
I thought I was allergic to tomatoes. if I ate tomatoes or tomato products I would be sick for a couple of days. I went about 5 or 6 years and did not eat a single tomato product not even catsup, because I thought I had a food allergy, then I read an article about how tomatoes had been engineered to resist something called white fly larva. I then skeptically sought out a source of non-GMO tomatoes and tried the experiment by eating some. Tomatoes are now back in my diet, as long as they are non-GMO. You have no idea how much I missed catsup.
If they engineered tomatoes to kill white fly larva, didn’t they consider that it might also be toxic to some humans?
I don’t go out of my way to eat organic, but I do seek out non-GMO now.
I don’t know, maybe I’m just getting older, but it seems like fruit and vegetables don’t have the flavor they used to have. Some have really thick peels, which aren’t easy to digest. Not sure if it has anything to do with the genetic engineering. Maybe it’s because of the storage. I’ve wondered if GM food is a contributing factor to nutritional deficiencies that we’re starting to see. You can’t trust the “data” anymore.
I wouldn't trust a Chinese food label even if it just said "ingredients: chicken".
And US consumers can be assured that the “organic” products from places like Turkey, Romania and India are truly organic because it is stamped right there on the manifest.
Organic in China means the stoop laborer pee’d on it instead of the musk ox.
Exactly!
If anyone wants REAL organic, they grow their own. Its too easy to game the system and especially the FDA/USDA with what ain’t really “organic”.
So now the rage is believing Romania, Argentina and Turkey claims??
As Granddad used to say “a fool and their money are soon parted”.
“If they engineered tomatoes to kill white fly larva, didn’t they consider that it might also be toxic to some humans?”
Soon, perhaps, if truth in labeling laws are enacted so that our food isn’t like some kind of Mexican piñata, where we don’t know what is inside of it, we may see some very interesting labels:
“This vegetable has been engineered to kill: White Fly Larvae, Black Fly Larvae (don’t want to be racist!), Grubs, Boll Weevils, Squash Bugs, Stink Bugs, Mexican Bean Beetles, Japanese Beetles, Thrips, Flea Beetles, Blister Beetles, Tomato Horned Worms, Gypsy Moths, Etc. But we assure you that this engineered ‘vegetable’ is absolutely safe for humans and even though it kills everything else, there are no long term or short term side effects to consuming this product.”
That's undeniably true.
Economic pressure is a dangerous force to ignore.
GMO isn't feeding more people, food, It's feeding Monsanto money.
Watch the film “GMO OMG”. Our family is almost totally Non GMO today.
American consumers are guinea pigs for Monsanto, which produces both the weed killer Round Up and the soy and corn seeds that can tolerate being sprayed with Round Up.
Think about everything in your diet that contains corn or soy. The European Union has a label law, requiring any foods with GMO contents to be displayed on the packaging. Of course Europeans overwhelmingly choose not to purchase the GMO foods. They have even banned Monsanto’s Round Up as studies have determined it has harming the bee population.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.