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Farmers turn their backs on 'organic crops' -
The Sunday Telegraph - UK ^ | August 24, 2003 | Fiona Govan

Posted on 08/24/2003 9:40:40 AM PDT by UnklGene

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1 posted on 08/24/2003 9:40:40 AM PDT by UnklGene
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To: UnklGene
"Five-year prison sentence!"
2 posted on 08/24/2003 9:43:07 AM PDT by UnklGene
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To: UnklGene
There is a reason why we are able to produce 10X the food on 1/10 the acreage compared with 100 years ago when all farmers used "organic" methods.
3 posted on 08/24/2003 9:50:15 AM PDT by Bubba_Leroy
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To: UnklGene
Proving once again that farmers are better off producing for a market than responding to government grants and incentives.

There is a reason why farming didn't develop in the direction of "organics": inefficient productivity (i.e., high cost, low return).

Farming would be more profitable and consumers better served if the government just stayed out of it.

4 posted on 08/24/2003 9:52:41 AM PDT by okie01 (The Mainstream Media: IGNORANCE ON PARADE.)
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To: UnklGene
Five years, huh? Must have been modeled on the famously bogus five-year plans that were all in vogue in the former Soviet Union...
5 posted on 08/24/2003 10:01:24 AM PDT by The Electrician
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To: UnklGene
"Organic farming" is nothing but another failed leftist pipe-dream. How many know that "organic" produce typically have a lower nutritional value than produce farmed with the help of modern technology?

Nutty environmentalism is the creationism of the left.

6 posted on 08/24/2003 10:08:05 AM PDT by Truthsayer20
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To: UnklGene
Dozens of organic farmers are returning to conventional methods, claiming that it is impossible to make a living producing organic food.

Isn't that the point of most liberal programs?

7 posted on 08/24/2003 10:14:23 AM PDT by Always Right
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To: UnklGene
Organic farming is a fraud in most cases and total BS anyway. We should admit it to ourselves, and cut the line item, tax dollar spending and the fabrications of the benifits..
8 posted on 08/24/2003 10:19:50 AM PDT by carlo3b (http://www.CookingWithCarlo.com)
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To: UnklGene
Forget, for the moment, opinions on 'organic' vs. whatever farming. The point is that getting the state/government involved in anything is guaranteed to screw it up. Just let the market decide.....jeeez.
9 posted on 08/24/2003 10:27:39 AM PDT by Buckwheats
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To: farmfriend
ping
10 posted on 08/24/2003 10:32:58 AM PDT by Libertarianize the GOP (Ideas have consequences)
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To: Buckwheats
Odd thing is, a significant chunk of the market here in the UK, pretty clearly seems to want to buy organic food. Where it's available, it sells well and commands a price premium.
11 posted on 08/24/2003 11:39:55 AM PDT by bernie_g
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To: UnklGene
This article is from the UK where the UK government (according to the article) tried to stimulate organic farming with grants and subsidies. The US has taken a domestic market approach and organic farming is thriving here. Our government’s intrusion into this area of agriculture was to only set guidelines to what can be legally advertised as organic.

From the alternative Farming Systems Information (for what it is worth)

"Organic farming is one of the fastest growing segments of U.S. agriculture during the 1990s. USDA estimates that the value of retail sales of organic foods in 1999 was approximately $6 billion. The number of organic farmers is increasing by about 12 percent per year and now stands at about 12,200 nationwide, most of them small-scale producers. According to a recent USDA study, certified organic cropland more than doubled from 1992 to 1997. Two organic livestock sectors, eggs and dairy, grew even faster." (USDA News Release, no. 0425.00, Dec. 20, 2000)

The Organic Foods Production Act (OFPA), enacted under Title 21 of the 1990 Farm Bill, served to establish uniform national standards for the production and handling of foods labeled as "organic." The Act authorized a new USDA National Organic Program (NOP) to set national standards for the production, handling, and processing of organically grown agricultural products. In addition, the Program oversees mandatory certification of organic production. The Act also established the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) which advised the Secretary of Agriculture in setting the standards upon which the NOP is based. Producers who meet standards set by the NOP may label their products as "USDA Certified Organic."

12 posted on 08/24/2003 11:48:57 AM PDT by thtr
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To: bernie_g
Same here. Just keep the state's nose out of it (like most anything else) and a happy balance will naturally result; i.e., the appropriate number of farmers will grow whatever amount of organic food comsumers are willing to pay for.
13 posted on 08/24/2003 11:58:50 AM PDT by Buckwheats
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To: UnklGene
It's not easy bein' green.
14 posted on 08/24/2003 12:22:28 PM PDT by witnesstothefall (tag lines are for wimps)
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To: UnklGene; AAABEST; Ace2U; Alamo-Girl; Alas; amom; AndreaZingg; Anonymous2; ApesForEvolution; ...
Rights, farms, environment ping.

Let me know if you wish to be added or removed from this list.

15 posted on 08/24/2003 1:11:18 PM PDT by farmfriend ( Isaiah 55:10,11)
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To: UnklGene
Stupidity punishes itself.
16 posted on 08/24/2003 1:15:11 PM PDT by MonroeDNA (No longshoremen were injured to produce this tagline.)
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To: farmfriend
One of our largest organic growers is now converting back. He told me it was a nightmare to do the paperwork and all the associations and certifications were too costly.
17 posted on 08/24/2003 1:18:52 PM PDT by marsh2
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To: UnklGene
mistake:gov't
18 posted on 08/24/2003 1:21:47 PM PDT by larryjohnson (USAF(Ret))
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To: marsh2
Dr. Wambugu laughs at the Euro Organic farmers. She gets angry when what she calls "rich white Europeans" come down and tell "us" Africans that we should be growing organic. Her answer, that is all we've been doing for thousands of years and we are starving. Dr. Wambugu developed the GM sweet potato.
19 posted on 08/24/2003 1:35:29 PM PDT by farmfriend ( Isaiah 55:10,11)
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To: farmfriend
BTTT!!!!!!
20 posted on 08/24/2003 1:40:51 PM PDT by E.G.C.
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