Grow more organics

The Environmental Working Group wants the feds to encourage farmers to grow organic

By Caroline Cummins

June 12, 2007

The Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit environmental research organization based in Washington, D.C., has been filling its website lately with info about the Farm Bill. Now they’ve added a petition urging Congress, in its rewriting of the Farm Bill, to encourage farmers to grow more organic food.

“Are you satisfied with having just 3 percent of the fruit you eat free of potentially dangerous pesticides? How about 2 percent of vegetables? Or less than 0.02 percent of corn?” asks the EWG. “Right now, those are the percentages of organic produce available in grocery stores.”

Petition signers, the EWG adds, will be asking Congress to do the following:

• Improve your family’s access to safe food that is free of harmful pesticides and hormones.
• Help more farmers make the transition to organic farming.
• Level the playing field for the organic industry by devoting a fair share of resources to organic pest control and crop nourishment.

Want to see more organics available at your local grocery store? Sign the petition today.