Dear brothers and sisters,
On
Friday, March 30th, the California Almond Board passed a mandatory
almond pasteurization order. It requires that all almonds be
pasteurized beginning September 1, 2007. This is an affront to the live
food movement and an insult to organic farming.
It is all the more poignant that this is coming when an abundant new
crop of California almonds is expected to be harvested in September.
This, after several years of crop failures and a sharp increase in
price. Instead of rejoicing with the new crop of almonds, what does Big
Almond propose to do? It plans to fumigate them! The order requires
that all
almonds be treated either with steam or propylene oxide, a toxic
chemical. Almonds treated in this delightful way are permitted to be
labeled as “raw”.
To be understood properly, this must be seen in the perspective of a deep trend in the food industry:- Before
long, it seems, all the food sold in the United States will be
genetically modified, irradiated, pasteurized, homogenized, hydrolyzed
and packaged for a two-year shelf life and it will all be labeled as
“All Natural”. It’s no wonder, then that the United States population
demonstrates the lowest levels of mental and physical health of any
advanced nation. (Mike Adams, The Big Almond Atrocity, NewsTarget.com <http://newstarget.com/> )
The
most remarkable thing is that there is no distinction between
conventional grown and organic almonds. Both are subject to the same
pasteurization order. This, despite the fact that the standards of
sanitation and cleanliness are higher with organic. Not only is organic
thrown into the same boat, but the California Certified Organic Farmers
(CCOF), the largest body of organic almond growers was not invited to
participate in the hearings on before the mandate became law. Two weeks
ago when we heard of it, we phoned Peggy Miars, the Executive Director
of the CCOF. It was obvious that she had no prior knowledge. This
despite the fact that, by far and away, organic almonds bring in more
sales revenue than any other organic fruit or vegetable in California.
Seventy-six members of CCOF are either almond growers or handlers.
The
enlightened and progressive CCOF has the political clout and know how
to contest this. They are the oldest and most reputable organic
certification association. We suggest that you write to Peggy Miars,
Executive Director at peggy@ccof.org
and request that she mobilize in protest. At very least, they should
ask for a separate marketing order for organic almonds. Should CCOF
fail to act, they will be crushed. The same powerful forces that pushed
for the fumigation of almonds are constantly seeking to chip away and
erode organic standards. Moreover, just around the bend are yet more
sinister threats, e.g. food irradiation.
The
new regulation to sterilize almonds coincides with the recent
announcement by the Food and Drug Administration that it intends to
relax its labeling requirements for irradiated food. The FDA proposal
will also allow irradiation... to be called pasteurization... (Press Release,The Cornucopia Institute, 4/6/07)
Then there is the FDA’s long-standing refusal to require that genetically engineered food be labeled.
There
you have it:- fumigated almonds are to be labeled “raw”, irradiated
food is to be labeled “pasteurized” and that tomato with pig genes is
not labeled at all.
Please
address Ms. Miars graciously and respectfully. Remember the CCOF folks
are, for the most part, family farmers. Speak from your heart, and
you’ll know what to say. She requests that people not phone her.
Please
forward a copy to us. We’ll collate your letters and publish them on
our site. For letters you’ve already written please click on Your Letters.
Jesse Schwartz, Ph.D.
President
Living Tree Community Foods
jesse@livingtreecommunity.com
You can also get more info and sign on online petition at:
http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/mandatory-almond-pasteurization-is-wrong.html
