Re: money and health: soil fertility

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 1/18/04 1:35:04 AM Eastern Standard Time,

Idol@... writes:

> >If the contract is found to be violated, a court case would ensue,

>

> I forgot to make my one list-topical point! How would this system work

> when it comes to food, particularly nutritional value and soil fertility?

I would regard any advertising of a product or claims about a product that

can be documented as an implicit contract. If you buy a watermelon that's

claimed to be certified as Organic according to the, say, California Organic

Foods

Act, the combination of that statement and that Act forms a contract. You

generally assume that what the label says is true, but if it is discovered

somehow that the melon was produced in violation of some stipulation of the Act,

then the producer has violate the contract. A class-action lawsuit could ensue.

As consumers become more and more educated about soil fertility, they will

demand some sort of certification, or at least will demand information about the

soil fertility of the products, and any advertisement claim or certification

will thus similarly constitute a contract.

Here's a possible scenario:

U.S. Acres forms the Albrecht Soil Fertility certification program, which

stipulates a number of contractual obligations that amount to a farm's adherence

to Albrecht's principles and methods of determining and modifying soil

fertility. Interested consumers will look for the " Albrecht Soil Fertility

Certified " label just like interested consumers today look for the " Certified

Organic "

label. Producers would be bound by law to fulfill the stipulations of the

contract and would be liable to lawsuit.

Chris

[Guest guest]

Chris-

>I would regard any advertising of a product or claims about a product that

>can be documented as an implicit contract. If you buy a watermelon that's

>claimed to be certified as Organic according to the, say, California

>Organic Foods

>Act, the combination of that statement and that Act forms a contract.

And what about when there are no Acts? Are we supposed to rely on

volunteer standards?

>Interested consumers will look for the " Albrecht Soil Fertility

>Certified " label just like interested consumers today look for the

> " Certified Organic "

>label. Producers would be bound by law to fulfill the stipulations of the

>contract and would be liable to lawsuit.

Where's the money going to come from for that?

-

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 1/20/04 3:31:39 PM Eastern Standard Time,

Idol@... writes:

> >I would regard any advertising of a product or claims about a product that

> >can be documented as an implicit contract. If you buy a watermelon that's

> >claimed to be certified as Organic according to the, say, California

> >Organic Foods

> >Act, the combination of that statement and that Act forms a contract.

>

> And what about when there are no Acts? Are we supposed to rely on

> volunteer standards?

The California Organic Foods Act *is* a voluntary standard. Not all organic

certification uses it, and the ones that do use it purely out of convenience,

not because it is mandated by the Act. And many local organizations use their

own standards, like the many local organic farming associations.

COFA might have some legal relevance in California, but at one point it was

the most convenient, established, standard to use, so I believe it was used

outside CA.

>

> >Interested consumers will look for the " Albrecht Soil Fertility

> >Certified " label just like interested consumers today look for the

> > " Certified Organic "

> >label. Producers would be bound by law to fulfill the stipulations of the

> >contract and would be liable to lawsuit.

>

> Where's the money going to come from for that?

The same place it comes from now! NOFA, for example, gets their revenue from

their members.

Chris

[Guest guest]

> >Interested consumers will look for the " Albrecht Soil Fertility

> >Certified " label just like interested consumers today look for the

> > " Certified Organic "

> >label. Producers would be bound by law to fulfill the

stipulations of the

> >contract and would be liable to lawsuit.

>

> Where's the money going to come from for that?

>

>

>

>

> -

hello

Where does Consumer Reports get their money to rate products? Not

from taxes, but from the people who buy their product.

In the future when people finally get fed up with being burned by the

government safety, quality, or lifestyle standards that are really

just products of who has the best lobbiest (aka, who has the most

money or vote whores), people will turn to regular people like us,

and we will start organizations and companies that serve that

purpose, and there will be several standards and organizations, and

people can choose the one they like best or trust most. " I am pro

choice, on everything! "

btw, the more i learn about nutrition, farming, and nature, the more

I realize the current organic standards are useless and probably even

a step backwards. same old same old.

best regards, Joe