Organic Matter(s)

The move to officially lock-in the term organic - as reported by Bill Metcalfe, Nelson Star, 10 Mar, 2015 - is long-overdue sensible: but the situation is more complex than reported - multi-layered. And the closer we peel towards this organic onion's center - the more teary we may get with Victoria's health-is-wealth-what-not.

Official Layers: 1 and 2
There are several organic certifiers in BC - there also are several certifiers certifying would-be certifiers. And although these certifiers of certifiers have to follow certain rules within the process - there may be variations in approach. This could conceivably lead to certifiers of growers/producers certifying differently from each other.

Store Layers: 3, 4 and 5
The Kootenay Coop Country Store has several ways of identifying dry bulk. All along the same aisle.
1.
Commercially grown/produced dry bulk is kept in orange bins - otherwise left unidentified.
2.
Organic dry bulk is kept in green bins - labelled as that. Only. Usually.
3.
Certified organic dry bulk - also in green bins - is labelled as such. The grower/producer/place of origin may be mentioned. May be. Mostly isn't.

None of the dry bulk labeled Certified Organic identifies which certifier certified this product.

 












The Onion's Center
The Coop carries dulse-flakes. For those unfamiliar with dulse: it's a sea-weed/vegetable growing attached to rocks mostly in the coastal Pacific, like up along our side. Close to the shore, to about 20 meters deep, much of it exposed at low-tide, then gathered.
Even the lesser informed probably know that - particularly closer to urban centers - the water is not the cleanest and sloshes about a lot. We also know that nuclear fall-out from Fukushima has reached the continental shelf of British Columbia (Health Canada). Pronounced negligible and absolutely no health-risk now of course they would while nuclear pollution will hit BC's beaches eventually. Eventually!

But - big BUT! - at the Coop dulse has been sold for ages labeled Certified Organic. No producer, no place of origin, no certifier. This begs the question: how could anyone possibly officially sanely certify the coastal Pacific - or any part of it or the whole thing - as organic! Fukushima or not. Organic as what we have come to envision/expect it to be! At the Coop $3.89 per gram. In a green bin. While in orange bins immediately to the right there is bull-kelp and arame. Both sea-veg as well.

 












I talked about this with the guy in charge of it all a long time ago - nothing. And when marketing-manager Jocelyn Carver now says Because organic food is priced higher there is obviously a strong profit motive for business to use the word "organic" misleadingly in order to charge more - I say yeah!

I don't question whether this dulse was actually certified as organic - I question the certification construct from the top down. And I do question why nobody at the Coop ever said I mean really we need to pull that label and kick some serious certified ass us being Nelson's sacred cow and all!


Organic money for everybody!




Even though this issue was brought to the attention of the Coop's Board one week ago: the dulse is still labeled Certified Organic - as is its price.




Sarah  Stanley