05/14/2015
THERE NO SUCH THING AS !!!!
The USDA's National Organic Program (NOP) presently regulates the definition of organic. According to NOP guidelines, any multi-ingredient product that contains 95% or more organic ingredients (excluding water and salt) may be labeled "organic." Therefore the Copper Sulfate in example, used in EVERY Organic Soil mix as a nutrient... Yet unfortunately, its toxicological classification you will find that, according to the Dangerous Substance Directive (one of the main European Union laws concerning chemical safety), Copper Sulfate is "Harmful (Xn), Irritant (Xi) and Dangerous for the environment (N).
But it gets even more interesting. Part 205.601 of the NOP's guidelines specifies that copper sulfate is a "synthetic substance allowed for use in organic crop production," as long as it is used in a way that "minimizes accumulation of copper in the soil."We can assume, therefore, that its classification as an acceptable synthetic substance for use in organic crop production, it has evaded raising red flags among regulators....
Faced with chemically-watered down USDA Organic Standards, the time has come to look to truly organic agriculture (you know, what our grandparents simply called "food"), produced locally, and whenever possible with permaculture and biodynamic farming practices, which do not allow chemicals of any kind into their self-sustaining systems.
need to hold manufacturers accountable. Advocate the Precautionary Principle, and put the burden of proving copper sulfate, sodium selenite, and various other chemicals being used, turning exposed populations into guinea pigs by using animal-based toxicological risk assessment models to determine the highly Orwellian "acceptable level of harm."