How Organic Is China's Organic Label?

Here's an issue that I've brought up from time to time: just how organic are foods coming from foreign nations that are labeled as "organic?"

Metal-contaminated soils and water sources do not affect organic certification. The certified organic label addresses intentional inputs like fertilizer and pest management practices. Farming on contaminated soils does not disqualify a farm from labeling their harvests "organic."

A FOOD CHAIN RADIO RELEASE FROM METROFARM.COM

Our math problem:  If 20% of China’s farmland, and 90% of its surface water, are contaminated with toxic heavy metals, and if 1/3 of the organic food we import is from China, then…
How much of the organic food we eat in the U.S. is contaminated with China’s toxic heavy metals? 
This Saturday at 9am Pacific, the Food Chain Radio show with Michael Olson hosts Patty Lovera, Assistant Director of Food and Water Watch, for a conversation about the organic foods we eat from China.
Topics include why the United States imports so much organic food from China; how organic is the organic food we import from China; and who can we trust to tell us how organic is China’s organic food.

Listen live or recorded on your radio, computer or mobile device: Food Chain Radio #967

Comments

Anonymous said…
I don't eat foreign food. I try and read EVERY label, but on occasion stuff slips passed me. I wish we had more to identify foreign food.
May 20, 2014 at 4:25 PM
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