Scratch that. No choice, less organics.

Forget my earlier post about the great range of organic food out there. After perusing docs at the Organic Consumers Association site, I found out the following:

• Kashi and Morningstar Farms are owned by fucking Kellogg’s. General Mills owns Cascadian Farms. So we’re back to square one: no choices in the cereal aisle at “regular” grocery stores besides Kellogs, GM, and Post. I refuse to buy any of their products from now on. I am so sick of being misled into thinking I have choices that make a difference.
• Horizon Organic is owned by Dean Foods, the largest dairy farm in the US. Horizon has already gotten in trouble for selling “organic” milk that came from feedlot-raised, hormone-injected cows; I already boycott Horizon stuff.
• My favorite natural cookie maker, Back to Nature, is owned by fucking KRAFT! They also own Boca Burger.

There are more, but you get the idea. The problem with all of this is that these huge companies are actively lobbying, right now, this minute, and for the past year or two to change organic standards and allow them to label things as “organic” that are anything but. Shit, they’re already doing it! This absolutely makes me furiously, spitting mad; I pay a bit extra to keep shit out of my food and to support better farming practices, but I am being misled and duped yet again.

From the OCA site: “Agribusiness front groups, such as the Farm Bureau, big food corporations like Kraft, biotech companies such as Monsanto, right-wing think tanks, such as the Hudson Institute, and industry-friendly government agencies have consistently tried to undermine organic standards and get the USDA to allow conventional chemical-intensive and factory farm practices on organic farms. Unless strict organic standards are maintained, consumers will lose faith in the organic label.”

Read more about this issue here: Safeguard Organic Standards.

How much can I trust brands like Kashi or Back to Nature when they are owned by the companies who are the worst offenders of pushing frankenfood on us, and that are actively trying to gain the ability to label frankenfood as “organic?” That is what I’m now looking into. I am also going to try to find very small, very local farms and dairies around here that are not owned by massive frankenfood-makers.

I’m feeling the call to activism, one depressing food news report at a time.