<div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif"><div class="gmail_default">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).</div><div class="gmail_default"><br></div><div class="gmail_default">Maybe this new "Certified Naturally Grown" standard is similar to the Global GAP and Viet GAP certifications now in use in Vietnam? <br></div><div class="gmail_default"><br></div><div class="gmail_default">CHUCK</div><div class="gmail_default"><br></div></div><div><div class="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div><div><div><font size="1"><b><span style="color:rgb(116,27,71)"><i>CHUCK SEARCY<br></i></span></b></font></div><div><font size="1"><b><span style="color:rgb(116,27,71)"><i>Project RENEW / VFP Chapter 160<br></i></span></b></font></div><div><font size="1"><b><span style="color:rgb(116,27,71)"><i>Agent Orange Working Group<br></i></span></b></font></div><div><font size="1"><b><span style="color:rgb(116,27,71)"><i>71 Trần Quốc Toản, Hà Nội, Việt Nam</i></span></b></font></div><font size="1"><b><span style="color:rgb(116,27,71)"><i></i></span></b></font></div><font size="1"><b><span style="color:rgb(116,27,71)"><i>M +8 490 342 0769<br></i></span></b></font></div><font size="1"><b><span style="color:rgb(116,27,71)"><i>E <a href="mailto:chuckusvn@gmail.com" target="_blank">chuckusvn@gmail.com</a><br></i></span></b></font></div><i><font size="1"><b><span style="color:rgb(116,27,71)">Sk chucksearcy</span></b><br></font></i></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>
<div><br></div><div><br></div><div class="gmail_quote"></div><div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif"><a href="http://ecowatch.com/2015/03/20/certified-naturally-grown-usda/"><b>ECO-WATCH</b></a></div><div id="post-header" style="margin:0px;padding:0px 0px 0.75em;border-bottom-width:1px;border-bottom-style:solid;border-bottom-color:rgb(206,206,206)"><h1 itemprop="name" style="margin:0.67em 0px;padding:0px;line-height:40px"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;display:inline"></div><span style="font-size:xx-large;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Futura,'Trebuchet MS',Arial,sans-serif;font-weight:normal;line-height:1.3">Certified Naturally Grown: A New Way to Identify Pesticide-Free, Non-GMO Food</span><span style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;font-size:small;font-weight:normal"></span></h1><div class="" style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:1em;margin:0px 0px 0em;padding:0px 0px 0em;color:rgb(206,206,206)"><span class="" itemprop="author" style="margin:0px;padding:0px"><a href="http://ecowatch.com/author/radha-mclean/" title="Posts by Radha McLean" rel="author" style="margin:0px;padding:0px;text-decoration:none;color:rgb(78,146,65);background:transparent">Radha McLean</a></span><span class="" style="margin:0px;padding:0px"> | </span><span class="" style="margin:0px;padding:0px">March 20, 2015 8:37 am</span><span class="" style="margin:0px;padding:0px"> | </span><a class="" href="http://ecowatch.com/2015/03/20/certified-naturally-grown-usda/#comments" style="margin:0px;padding:0px;text-decoration:none;color:rgb(67,146,65);background:transparent">Comments</a></div><div class="" style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:1em;margin:0px 0px 0em;padding:0px 0px 0em;color:rgb(206,206,206)"><br></div></div><div class="" itemprop="text" style="margin:0px;padding:0px;line-height:1.4em"><div class="" style="margin:0px;padding:0px"><div class="" style="padding:0px;max-width:757px;height:130px;clear:both;background-image:initial;background-repeat:initial"><font face="georgia, serif"><span style="line-height:1.4em"><div class="gmail_default" style="display:inline">E</div>c<div class="gmail_default" style="display:inline"></div>o<div class="gmail_default" style="display:inline"></div>-conscious shoppers now have an alternative to </span><a href="http://ecowatch.com/2014/04/22/organic-farming-reverse-climate-change/" target="_blank" style="line-height:1.4em;margin:0px;padding:0px;text-decoration:none;color:rgb(67,146,65);background-image:initial;background-color:transparent;background-repeat:initial">organic food</a><span style="line-height:1.4em"> that has been </span><a href="http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdahome?contentidonly=true&contentid=organic-agriculture.html" target="_blank" style="line-height:1.4em;margin:0px;padding:0px;text-decoration:none;color:rgb(67,146,65);background-image:initial;background-color:transparent;background-repeat:initial">certified</a><span style="line-height:1.4em"> by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) as </span><a href="https://www.naturallygrown.org/" target="_blank" style="line-height:1.4em;margin:0px;padding:0px;text-decoration:none;color:rgb(67,146,65);background-image:initial;background-color:transparent;background-repeat:initial">Certified Naturally Grown</a><span style="line-height:1.4em"> (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.</span></font><br></div><span class="" style="font-family:Georgia,serif;font-size:1.125em;margin:0px;padding:0px;display:block;max-width:650px;max-height:390px"><img class="" src="http://ecowatch.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/carrot650.jpg" alt="Photo credit: Shutterstock" width="470" height="282" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; display: inline-block; vertical-align: middle;"></span><font face="trebuchet ms, sans-serif">“Certified Naturally Grown is like the USDA’s National Organic Program in that <br>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.<a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-171102788/stock-photo-fresh-carrots-in-her-bush-about-to-be-harvested.html?src=csl_recent_image-2" style="margin:0px;padding:0px;text-decoration:none;color:rgb(67,146,65);background-image:initial;background-color:transparent;background-repeat:initial">Photo credit: Shutterstock</a></font><p style="margin:1em 0px;padding:0px"><font face="georgia, serif">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 <a href="http://ecowatch.com/news/food-agriculture/gmo-genetically-modified-organism/" style="margin:0px;padding:0px;text-decoration:none;color:rgb(67,146,65);background-image:initial;background-color:transparent;background-repeat:initial">GMOs</a>.</font></p><p style="margin:1em 0px;padding:0px"><font face="georgia, serif">“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 <a href="http://www.motherearthnews.com/real-food/food-policy/certified-naturally-grown-zmgz15amzsto.aspx" target="_blank" style="margin:0px;padding:0px;text-decoration:none;color:rgb(67,146,65);background:transparent">Mother Earth News</a>.</font></p><p style="margin:1em 0px;padding:0px"><font face="georgia, serif">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.</font></p><p style="margin:1em 0px;padding:0px"><font face="georgia, serif">“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.”</font></p><p style="margin:1em 0px;padding:0px"><font face="georgia, serif">There are currently more than 700 CNG farms and apiaries in North America.</font></p><p style="margin:1em 0px;padding:0px"><font face="georgia, serif">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.</font></p><p style="margin:1em 0px;padding:0px"><font face="georgia, serif">In fact, a recent <a href="http://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/1408197/#tab1" target="_blank" style="margin:0px;padding:0px;text-decoration:none;color:rgb(67,146,65);background:transparent">study</a> conducted by scientists at the University of Washington School of Public Health and published in <em style="margin:0px;padding:0px">Environmental Health Perspectives</em> shows just <a href="http://ecowatch.com/2015/02/16/lower-pesticide-levels-in-people-who-eat-organic-produce/" style="margin:0px;padding:0px;text-decoration:none;color:rgb(67,146,65);background:transparent">how much pesticides conventional produce contains</a>. 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.</font></p><p style="margin:1em 0px;padding:0px"><font face="georgia, serif">“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.”</font></p></div></div><div class="gmail_default"><font face="georgia, serif"><span style="line-height:1.4em">Organic or naturally grown food not only contributes to healthier people, but it can</span><span style="line-height:1.4em"> </span><a href="http://ecowatch.com/2014/04/22/organic-farming-reverse-climate-change/" style="line-height:1.4em;margin:0px;padding:0px;text-decoration:none;color:rgb(67,146,65);background-image:initial;background-color:transparent;background-repeat:initial">help reverse climate change</a><span style="line-height:1.4em">. According to the white paper,</span><span style="line-height:1.4em"> </span><em style="line-height:1.4em;margin:0px;padding:0px"><a href="http://rodaleinstitute.org/regenerative-organic-agriculture-and-climate-change/" target="_blank" style="margin:0px;padding:0px;text-decoration:none;color:rgb(67,146,65);background:transparent">Regenerative Organic Agriculture and Climate Change: A Down-to-Earth Solution to Global Warming</a>, </em><span style="line-height:1.4em">“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.’”</span></font></div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div></div>