John Engle
Latest posts by John Engle (see all)
- Why Might There Be No 15th Dalai Lama? Pure Politics - September 17, 2014
- The Business of Business is Business - September 15, 2014
- Time to Stop Worrying About GMOs - September 7, 2014
Mischa Popoff is one of the most formidable opponents of the organic food industry, as this video of his speech to the Far West Agribusiness Association clearly shows. The simple fact that he is carrying to the masses is that the organic industry, particularly the organic certification industry, is a big racket.
There was once a time, decades ago, when organic farming was about increasing consumer choice. The organic farmers chose to compete in the free market and sought to carve a niche in the marketplace for higher-end, organic produce.
But the farmers were hijacked by hardline activists. “Activists took over from the farmers…their first stop was with Big Government in the 1990s under the Clinton Administration, “ Popoff explains, “This is the same activism that led to ethanol subsidies, windmills, and solar power.”
Those activists were, and still are, unconcerned with science, sustainability, or actually feeding the hungry multitude. For them it’s all about pushing their radical agenda. And because they cannot do this in the world of public information, they had to turn to sowing disinformation and to pushing their agenda in government. “You can do anything in Washington,” says Popoff, “The science, the public backing for it, none of that matters. Just go to Washington and talk to the right people.”
The radical activists have transformed the organic food movement from a pro-choice, free market enterprise, into a state-run racket. As Popoff says, “It’s no longer about choice.”
The organic industry has become an extorter of government rents at the expense of the taxpayers. This is particularly true of organic processors, which, like organic farms, must be certified. Popoff shows that the ludicrously large number of these processors in North America far exceed the capacity of the whole organic production industry of the continent. But surely, for these processors to stay in business they need to fill their capacity. How do they do this?
The answer is simple. They import “organic” produce from the rest of the world. There is nothing inherently evil about importing foodstuffs, organic or otherwise. But when the government subsidizes those businesses with taxpayer money, then there is reason for outrage. That is exactly what happens with these processors, which grow fat on subsidies at the expense of we, the people.
The sham that is the organic food industry needs to be fought at every level. It is critical that people stand up to the racketeers and deny them the ability to continue their corrupt shenanigans.
