Yup. This is true. But, again, as a group people aren’t very good at self-regulating. Sometimes it’s by accident. Sometimes not. However, the organic farmer who has not jumped through the govt hoops and paid the fees, can still use other terms to describe their foods and get the message across their target market that they are selling stuff like organic.
There was a post on BYC about eggs …. Something about “cruelty free” eggs. Whaaat? “Cruelty” to some on BYC is not free ranging your birds on 100 acres, to others it is not considering them pets, and others it’s not feeding uber- expensive organic whole grains. But in reality, cruelty would really be along the lines of limited food and water, kicking them across the chicken yard, etc. but, to some people I’m sure that “label” means something, but for 100 people that “label” means 100 different things.
Still, just because something is regulated isn’t perfect. Take “free-range”. I think that’s the term similar to “organic” where certain things need to be met. Most people would imagine a bucolic setting of chickens hunting bugs and scratching grass. But in reality, as long as certain things are met, they are free range. But those certain things are “access” to outside, or maybe just not in a cage…it’s been awhile since I’ve read this, so I can’t remember specifics, but certainly it’s not what most people imagine.
