What is USDA Certified Organic? What Does The Label Look Like and Can We Trust It?

Very good point Green Republican. I'm a gun-toting, pro-life (in most cases) Democrat, so I feel some affinity with your user name in not wanting to be pigeon-holed into a certain stereotype.

I think the 5% is put in place because there are some things that they just can't verify. But they also have other regulations on top of that. For instance, "the growing area must be free of synthetic chemical pesticides, fertilizers and defoliants for at least three growing seasons."

As for percentage we should allow the Chinese, I'm not sure I understand the question. The Chinese imports should be held to the same standards as products made here in the US. In other words, NO MELAMINE, LEAD PAINT OR DEG!!! . Here is something else from the article "The USDA also has agents in several foreign countries, enabling imported agricultural products to be sold in the United States."

Nothing is perfect. I think my point is that we need to centralize the certification process and put it in the hands of a non-profit entity, whether that by government or an non-profit NGO. But if companies out there making a profit from "certifying" things as organic, we need to ask ourselves who their allegiance will go to. After all, their "customers" are the food companies, not the consumers. And if you want to make your customer happy, you make their life easy... by being relaxed on your regulations.

with all the companies jumping on the green bandwagon... and trying to cash in, consumers are going to have to be extremely discerning to find out what they're actually getting.

whatever, consumers are forcing companies to become "green". Sites - take care sites - are forced to add a "green" slant to their offerings (just see how green cardevotion is, or autobloggree) because there's a sizable market opportunity there. But what it comes down to is that what we care about is happening. Even if profits are their motives, the results still count.

I couldn't agree more. Us "tree huggers" have been moaning about the lack of attention being given to environmental issues for ages, and now consumers are leading the way by demanding "greener" products and services. It's starting to happen and all some people can say is that companies are "jumping on the bandwagon" as if that's a bad thing. Isn't that the point? Don't we want Green to be popular? Sure, the "fad" might die down, but not without permanently changing a lot of things and introducing a lot of people to a greener lifestyle.