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p3<5889sy>|q9s9gs|q+~q|s9x|q>gxϟ9<ϙ?3>gϞ|3s9>g>gyϟ"~όsy>g3:>g?<ϙ?0>g9 0s8?>g>gyϟ"~@sx>`02f>`? ϙ?0>g9 0y>O?'<>g>gyϟ&~@sx>`0O>p? ϙ?3>gϓ3y>O'?>g>gyϟǁ ~sy>g3O> ß?O >ϙ?3>ǵ?3y>O'?>g>gyϟ~|sy>g3_>ϟ?O&>yϘ9>sx?9>O'9>g>s|qϟς??<|yǞys|>s9|gx?&?Ϝ898>p8"?<>g>pϜxp~s>p8?px?&?ϟ yy>>x?<>"?>g>|'Ϝ|>x?s>|>?sx?~ߐdžߏǂ?σ{??σ>=<??ρ x8ς'ρ>Oρ>Oρ񟞁ς'ρ>Oρ>Oρ?~?ρς-'σO>OO>O!?<x y<ρ27N>o>o<`yLJ?8p >|q89?ρ2?s8x9yy|9?sg993ρ? 33~ρyy?sg983ρ? ə3&0~s  ?8xyǎx|?3?~8q3-τO8!9s<pg? ????[@*J:\DRAFTS\NRLOGO.WPGJ:\DRAFTS\NRLOGO.WPGhd\,3BV4d\,g@*J:\DRAFTS\NRLOGO.WPGJ:\DRAFTS\NRLOGO.WPGhd\,3BV4d\,<4 9Z+.Courier New Regular !USUS.,  _=4jXjXXX4=>5XX5>, <8GLICKMANANNOUNCESNEWPROPOSALFORNATIONALORGANICSTANDARDS8< >8#X7X#XX78>=8#j׋B#j׋8=?jf[6&"`z1% `E,,%y%y,,%j (#(#        (#(#  ?@?ReleaseNo.?99@?;  ;?ReleaseNo.0074.00Susan_McAvoy_Ԁ(202)72046234] FO  5  susan.mcavoy@usda.gov6O  7 (#! P $  BillyCox(202)72089984K O  5  billy.cox@usda.gov6O  7 (#  (  ?;;?A  A GLICKMANANNOUNCESNEWPROPOSALFORNATIONALORGANIC  STANDARDS   WASHINGTON,March7,2000!AgricultureSecretaryDanGlickmantodayannouncedanewproposalforuniformandconsistentnationalstandardsfororganicfood.  Thisisthemostcomprehensiveandstrongestorganic_standard_Ԁintheworld,saidGlickman. Ibelievethat_isexactlywhatAmericanconsumers_Ԁandorganicfarmerswant.  Essentially,theproposaloffersanationaldefinitionfortheterm organic.Currently,organicfoodiscertifiedbyvariousprivateandstateorganizationsthateachusetheirownstandardsfortheterm organic.  Asinglenationalorganicstandard,backedbyconsistentandaccuratelabeling,willgreatlyreduceconsumerconfusion,saidGlickman. Consumerswillknowwhattheyarebuyingandorganicfarmerswillknowwhatisexpectedofthem.  Theproposaldetailsthemethods,practices,andsubstancesthatcanbeusedinproducingandhandlingorganiccropsandlivestock,aswellasprocessedproducts.Itestablishesclearlabelingcriteriaandrulessothatconsumersknowexactlywhattheyarebuyingwhentheypurchaseorganicfood.Itspecificallyprohibitstheuseofgeneticengineering,sewagesludge,andirradiationintheproductionoffoodproductslabeled organic.Theproposalalsoprohibitsantibioticsinorganiclivestockproductionandrequires100percentorganic_feed_Ԁfororganiclivestock.L XNPQRSTUVy3OL  USDAsproposalwillalloworganicfarmerstoexportmoreeasilytheirproductsbecausetradingpartnerscanmoreeasilydealwithonenationalstandardratherthanmultiplestateandprivatestandards.  Therevisedproposalistheresultofcarefulanalysisofmorethan275,000commentsUSDAreceivedinresponsetoitsinitialDecember1997organicproposal.  WelistenedtoconsumersandorganicfarmersandcloselyfollowedtherecommendationsoftheNationalOrganicStandardsBoardtodevelopanationalorganicstandardthatisbetterthanouroriginalproposal,Glickmansaid.@  O @A  qABBCCDDCCD  DCmore 1/4 Є2CBBDDB  B Webelievethesenewstandardsfullymeetconsumerexpectationsandreflectcurrentorganicfarmingpractices.    SecretaryGlickmantodayalsoannouncedseveralotherstepstheAdministrationistakingtopromoteorganicagriculture.PresidentClintonsfiscal2001budgetproposes$5millionforresearchtodevelopimprovedorganicproductionandprocessingmethods,evaluateeconomicbenefitstofarmers,anddevelopneworganicmarkets.GlickmansaidUSDAwillestablishapilotorganiccropinsuranceprogramtohelporganicfarmersbettermanagerisk.HealsoannouncedthatUSDAandtheUniversityofCaliforniaatDaviswillconductresearchonorganicproductionandwaystoenhancefarmersabilitytomarketorganicfruitsandvegetables.  Theproposednationalstandardandadditional_steps_ԀSecretaryGlickmanannouncedtodaywillhelpstimulateoneofthefastestgrowingsectorsofAmericanagriculture.USDAestimatesthatthevalueofretailsalesoforganicfoodsin1999wasapproximately$6billion.Thenumberoforganicfarmersisincreasingabout12percentperyearandnowstandsatabout12,200nationwide,mostofthemsmallscaleproducers.  Factsheetsandotherbackgroundmaterialsontheproposedorganicrulecanbeaccessedonthewebat4Y  O  5  www.ams.usda.gov/nop6O  7 x %.? p   A  AE&  E#AA=4#j׋ #4=>5#X7X_#5>AAEA&AEEE