To the Editor:
It is distressing that the USDA, by attempting to legally define "organic", has granted legitimacy to the concept that so-called "organic" food is any safer or better than conventionally produced foods (Regulators Nearing Tougher Standard for Organic Food, pg. B13, 3/6/00).
By excluding genetically modified crops and irradiated foods from being classed as organic, USDA is supporting the myth that such conventionally produced or treated foods are less safe or nutritious than those that qualify for an organic label. It is thus giving government sanction to an unscientific dichotomy between conventionally-produced and other foods.
The USDA should be encouraging the use of any technologies that can improve the efficiency of food production and the safety of the food supply, especially when there is no evidence that that these technologies present any risk to food safety or nutritional value.
If some consumers believe otherwise and wish to avoid these technologies, they should arrange their own system of certification, rather than co-opting a government agency that is supposed to serve all of us.