Here in the Netherlands nearly all store bought mass produced organic produce comes in packaging made from GMO corn.
You’ve probably seen it. Often, but not always, it’s the ‘noisy’ plastic you find in the supermarket. Now they have version that’s not noisy, like what the cucumber in the picture above is packaged in. It’s often labelled compostable.
Greenwashing
This is what’s being termed greenwashing these days, taking a product that’s anything but and somehow promoting it as environmentally friendly.
This type of packaging isn’t in any way better for the environment than ordinary plastic. In most cases packaging on produce isn’t even necessary. It’s simply a way to force people who eat organic produce, in order to avoid GMOs, to buy GMOs anyway in their food packaging.
Compostable — Not!
The reason for calling it compostable is because it can’t be called biodegradable. Biodegradable is a legally defined term, and in particular describes something that breaks down into components that are naturally occurring and already present in the environment. This plastic doesn’t do that!
Compostable is an unregulated term, and it’s use in marketing has no particular meaning.
In fact, not only does their use of the word compostable not have any meaning in a marketing sense, but for ordinary consumers who compost their kitchen waste, this material can’t be composed in a normal way. I’ve tried. It simply doesn’t break down like food scraps, probably because it doesn’t pass water or air properly or otherwise support the micro-organisms needed to break it down. Since it doesn’t break down into naturally occurring components you don’t want it in your compost anyway!
Don’t Buy It
Consumers don’t want it. It’s been featured for what it is on local TV, and it’s still being sold. Refuse to buy it and be sure to tell places that sell it you want to buy GMO-free products — including the packaging!
Patrick,
The produce may be grown on a farm that is certified organic but unless subsequent handlers are certified organic, it’s no longer organic. A lot can happen twixt farm and mouth. As organic becomes more and more mainstream it will become more and more worthless as it becomes larger and larger.
Regards,
Mike
Pat…I hope this isn’t true,But if it is.. well you know what will happen to those that destroy GM crops.
http://maxkeiser.com/2010/10/16/monsanto-now-owns-blackwater-xe/
USDA owns the word organic, Mike. It is beyond mainstream now.
Todd,
The USDA does not own the word. They have regulations for products sold in a commercial setting. The problem is that the regulations aren’t strict enough which is not surprising because the USDA sticker is now used on mass produced food. This – http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2003741899_organic10.html – is an old story and I haven’t searched to see it’s still relevant. I suspect that it’s even more relevant today. As more and more multi-national Big Agriculture corporations move in on the “organic label”, it can only lose its meaning. Big corporate farms go organic because there is a demand for it not because they care about building long term health of the soil, monoculture farming, biodiversity, etc, etc. It’s business as usual but using organic certified pesticides and fertilizers.
My apologies for linking to Wiki – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organic_certification#Misrepresentation_of_the_term_organic – but I think that organic has ceased to be a concept and is now a rubberstamp: “A related concern holds that certification is replacing consumer education, and this goes against the essential, holistic nature of organic farming. By reducing complex issues and regulations to a simple, convenient certified organic label, consumers may more easily ignore the principles and practices behind organics, leaving the definition of organic farming and organic food open to manipulation.” It used to be the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval; now it’s the Certified Organic rubber stamp – http://www.mofgastore.org/product.sc?productId=88. The difference is that the Good Housekeeping seal has a Limited Warranty – http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/cm/goodhousekeeping/images/wO/newGHKSeallogo-de.jpg
Regards,
Mike
Do you know if this is true in the United States? I’ve always been wary of “compostable” plastic.
Sorry for the slow reply, I’ve been out of town and away from a computer for a few days.
Indeed organic is a legally controlled term in the US, which just adds to it’s lack of meaning. I think most of us would choose ‘grown sensibly by someone we know’ than ‘certified organic’ any day. I did a post about this a while ago.
BTW, as far as I know only the word ‘organic’ is protected, so in most foreign languages the equivalent word can be used without any trouble. That’s the case here in Amsterdam where the Dutch word used is biologisch, and is not protected.
Anyway Mike, I agree, over time mass produced organic will become less and less meaningful. The real issue is for city dwellers like me, who are sometimes dependent on supermarkets for food. Sometimes these supermarkets are little more than corner shops.
What a surprising number of people do these days is buy organic or non-organic, according to if they know that particular food normally has a lot of pesticide residues. For example, if you buy bell peppers or cucumbers around here, they will certainly be full of pesticides if you don’t buy organic.
In this case, it’s really handy to be able to buy supermarket certified organic — but not if they come in GMO packaging!
Lisa:
I’m pretty sure “compostable” plastic is the same the world over…
Do you want to “Be GMO Free”? Take the GMO Survey at LivingOrganic.org to voice your opinion and learn more about genetically engineered food.
The European Union and the United States have strong disagreements over the EU’s regulation of genetically modified food. The US claims these regulations violate free trade agreements, the EU counter-position is that free trade is not truly free without informed consent.