[Ngo-sanrm] Fwd: New labeling rules

Sustainable Agriculture and Natural Resources Management Working Group ngo-sanrm at ngocentre.org.vn
Mon Mar 23 02:40:23 GMT 2015


This new option for certification of non-GMO foods in America may be a good
way to get around the U.S. government's refusal to allow labeling of foods
containing GMOs, which means consumers cannot know through truthful
labeling that food products contain GMOs (and most of them do, nowadays).

Maybe this new "Certified Naturally Grown" standard is similar to the
Global GAP and Viet GAP certifications now in use in Vietnam?

CHUCK


*CHUCK SEARCY*

*Project RENEW / VFP Chapter 160*

*Agent Orange Working Group*
*71 Trần Quốc Toản, Hà Nội, Việt Nam*

*M    +8 490 342 0769*

*E     chuckusvn at gmail.com <chuckusvn at gmail.com>*

*Sk   chucksearcy*


*​ECO-WATCH*
<http://ecowatch.com/2015/03/20/certified-naturally-grown-usda/>​
​
Certified Naturally Grown: A New Way to Identify Pesticide-Free, Non-GMO
Food​
Radha McLean <http://ecowatch.com/author/radha-mclean/> | March 20, 2015
8:37 am | Comments
<http://ecowatch.com/2015/03/20/certified-naturally-grown-usda/#comments>

​E​
c
​​
o
​​
-conscious shoppers now have an alternative to organic food
<http://ecowatch.com/2014/04/22/organic-farming-reverse-climate-change/> that
has been certified
<http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdahome?contentidonly=true&contentid=organic-agriculture.html>
by
the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) as Certified Naturally Grown
<https://www.naturallygrown.org/> (CNG). The equally pesticide-free method
of farming is being used by a growing number of small farmers who cannot
afford the expense of getting an organic certification from the USDA.
[image: Photo credit: Shutterstock]“Certified Naturally Grown is like the
USDA’s National Organic Program in that
our certified producers must follow similar standards, farm without the use
of synthetic chemical inputs or GMOs, and farm to support biological
diversity and ecological balance,” says Alice Varon, CNG executive
director.Photo
credit: Shutterstock
<http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-171102788/stock-photo-fresh-carrots-in-her-bush-about-to-be-harvested.html?src=csl_recent_image-2>

Naturally grown farming, considered to be the grassroots alternative to
certified organic agriculture, requires a national certification by the
CNG. The CNG conducts rigorous oversight to assure that all food labeled
Certified Naturally Grown is grown without the use of synthetic chemicals
or GMOs
<http://ecowatch.com/news/food-agriculture/gmo-genetically-modified-organism/>
.

“Certified Naturally Grown is like the USDA’s National Organic Program in
that our certified producers must follow similar standards, farm without
the use of synthetic chemical inputs or GMOs, and farm to support
biological diversity and ecological balance,” Alice Varon, CNG executive
director, told Mother Earth News
<http://www.motherearthnews.com/real-food/food-policy/certified-naturally-grown-zmgz15amzsto.aspx>
.

Some benefits of the CNG certification include the facts that it costs less
and takes less time to get compared to the USDA’s certified organic
program. The CNG’s certification and inspection documentation is also
available online, thus simplifying the paperwork process for participating
farms.

“The cost of the new USDA program—both in terms of money and paperwork
requirements—is too much for many small farmers to afford,” according to
the CNG website. “This is even more true for farmers that grow a wide range
of crops all at once, typical of the diversified family farms we serve, but
not common among the large mono-crop farms typical of agribusiness
operations. This is a shame, because growing many different crops at once
is a safer and more ecologically sustainable practice. The soil is worked
in different ways, and disease and pest problems are significantly reduced.”

There are currently more than 700 CNG farms and apiaries in North America.

Awareness is growing among the public regarding the importance of eating
organic, naturally grown food. However, many people may not realize the
sheer quantity of toxic pesticides found in conventionally-grown produce.

In fact, a recent study <http://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/1408197/#tab1> conducted
by scientists at the University of Washington School of Public Health and
published in *Environmental Health Perspectives* shows just how much
pesticides conventional produce contains
<http://ecowatch.com/2015/02/16/lower-pesticide-levels-in-people-who-eat-organic-produce/>.
The government-funded report looked at individuals who ate similar amounts
of fruits and vegetables, and found that those who reported eating organic
produce had significantly lower levels of organophosphate (OP) pesticides
in their bodies compared with people who ate conventionally-grown produce.

“For most Americans, diet is the primary source of OP pesticide exposure,”
said lead author Dr. Cynthia Curl, who conducted the research while a PhD
student at the School of Public Health’s Department of Environmental and
Occupational Health Sciences. Dr. Curl is now an assistant professor at
Boise State University’s School of Allied Health Sciences. “The study
suggests that by eating organically grown versions of those foods high in
pesticide residues, we can make a measurable difference in the levels of
pesticides in our bodies.”
Organic or naturally grown food not only contributes to healthier people,
but it can help reverse climate change
<http://ecowatch.com/2014/04/22/organic-farming-reverse-climate-change/>.
According to the white paper, *Regenerative Organic Agriculture and Climate
Change: A Down-to-Earth Solution to Global Warming
<http://rodaleinstitute.org/regenerative-organic-agriculture-and-climate-change/>,
*“We
could sequester more than 100% of current annual CO2 emissions with a
switch to widely available and inexpensive organic management practices,
which we term ‘regenerative organic agriculture.’”​
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