Organic Egg Certification: Not Worth It

[9Catsz]

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Very well stated X2!

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Oh yes, I agree.
Lest we all forget, up until around the mid 70s our government swore that DDT was safe. Who remembers the propaganda video about DDT they showed us at school? It was about showing us that DDT was safe to be sprayed throughout entire cities to kill mosquitoes...the video showed children standing outside smiling while a cloud of DDT was being sprayed all over them. I'd love to find out what happened to each and every one of those kids.

Of course DDT nearly wiped out the bald eagle population in the U.S.

 

[Uncle Marc]

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What I learned from a visit to the USDA website is that some requirements such as filing a "plan" do not apply but any prducer who uses the term "organic" must still comply with most of the regs regarding things such as "land" and pasture conditions which do not allow any use of treated lumber.

 

[Clay Mudd]

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Sometimes I think that when the USDA and FDA are deciding what to allow and what to ban they use the same set of dice that the National Weather Service uses.

 

[Erica]

If a producer can't see the long term benefits of jumping through 'organic' hoops then perhaps it isn't their cup of tea?

Even if you can't get the certification, or don't want to, the recommendations in the requirements seem like good practice. Maybe you can be nearly-organic, and just know in your heart you're helping reduce toxins. Don't use cumulative poisons like arsenic around chickens if you can avoid it. Don't throw synthetic chemicals at problems unless there's no alternative (there usually are alternatives). Don't use antibiotics freely. Don't supply water from a questionable source. You can manage chickens and keep them healthy by husbandry alone; or you can also do it using a combination of husbandry and low-input commercial chemicals.

I guess it would be open to abuse if a label like 'near-organic' was allowed... But there's no reason why you couldn't do as others suggest and widen the scope of your labeling. A personal farm-ethos might go a long way.

Cheers,
Erica

 

[HHandbasket]

I tell people my eggs and chickens and the vegetables from my garden are "More-ganic"... more organic than not. I give my chickens a feed that is not 100% organic but is 100% good for them and is more organic than not. I don't use chemical pesticides or fertilizers in my garden, but if my garden was infested with something that I couldn't clear by more natural means (use of DE, picking off tomato bugs by hand, etc.), I'd sure consider it to save my crop! If the natural fertilizers I use were to not be enough for my garden, I would consider small amounts of chemical fertilizer such as Miracle Gro or something similar (which is made from ingredients that come from the earth anyway) to give my plants the best start possible.

I like the term "more-ganic." Seems to be a nicely fitting description for what we have/do here in our little corner of heaven.

I am very excited about next year's garden! We had to move this spring right in the midst of planting season, so we should have quite a bounty this next year. I'm hoping Santa brings me a pressure canner.

 

[Arcnadius]

I understand the need for the gov't to have standards to go with a "label", but when I saw the hoops I had to jump through in order to use the term "organic", I decided it wasn't worth the hassle. The documentation alone was enough to make me throw up my hands in disgust so I just call my eggs/girls "free-range". The girls are treated as organically as possible, but the posts to their run are treated as are the stringers used under the coop (they can't get under there, though). Their feed isn't "organic" but at least doesn't contain antibiotics or hormones. Best I can do with a clear conscience.

 

[chickened]

It was actually the Osprey but point taken.

Quote:
Very well stated X2!

Quote:
Oh yes, I agree.
Lest we all forget, up until around the mid 70s our government swore that DDT was safe. Who remembers the propaganda video about DDT they showed us at school? It was about showing us that DDT was safe to be sprayed throughout entire cities to kill mosquitoes...the video showed children standing outside smiling while a cloud of DDT was being sprayed all over them. I'd love to find out what happened to each and every one of those kids.

Of course DDT nearly wiped out the bald eagle population in the U.S.

 

[acy0029]

Quote:
Very well stated X2!

Quote:
Oh yes, I agree.
Lest we all forget, up until around the mid 70s our government swore that DDT was safe. Who remembers the propaganda video about DDT they showed us at school? It was about showing us that DDT was safe to be sprayed throughout entire cities to kill mosquitoes...the video showed children standing outside smiling while a cloud of DDT was being sprayed all over them. I'd love to find out what happened to each and every one of those kids.

Of course DDT nearly wiped out the bald eagle population in the U.S.


Wildlife experts believe there may have been 25,000 to as many as 75,000 nesting bald eagles in the lower 48 states when the bird was adopted as our national symbol in 1782. Since that time, the bald eagle has suffered from habitat destruction and degradation, illegal shooting, and contamination of its food source, most notably due to the pesticide DDT. By the early 1960s there were fewer than 450 bald eagle nesting pairs in the lower 48 states.

 

[Nonny]

Wow! I'm so glad I live where I live.

Here pretty much anyone can label anything organic... the only time you have to jump through hoops to prove it is if you want to use the label "certified organic". If you want to gain organic certification I guess it's much like the OP posted, but many eggs are sold at the farmers markets here as "uncertified organic" which, in their own words, is just like certified organic, only cheaper since they didn't have to add the cost of certification compliance to their egg pricing.

It can be tricky as a consumer because all and sundry try and fob their goods off as 'organic', but if you are serious about only buying fully organic foods and want to be able to trust the label then you just look for the certification logo.

 

[chickened]

I believe the harm from DDT was to the egg shells being to thin and damage to the eggs during incubation. Most bald eagle losses was from poisoning carcasses of livestock killed by wolves, cats and coyotes which the eagle scavenged on afterwards. They were in danger of extincion prior to WWII and DDT was not used until after WWII. Most of the diet of bald eagles is carrion. Sorry for the off-topic.
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Wildlife experts believe there may have been 25,000 to as many as 75,000 nesting bald eagles in the lower 48 states when the bird was adopted as our national symbol in 1782. Since that time, the bald eagle has suffered from habitat destruction and degradation, illegal shooting, and contamination of its food source, most notably due to the pesticide DDT. By the early 1960s there were fewer than 450 bald eagle nesting pairs in the lower 48 states.