| The almond issue has been brewing for a while. Or, rather, steaming and getting sprayed with toxic gas. What am I talking about? A while back some genius decided that from now on all U.S. almonds can't be raw. Now, they might SAY "raw almonds" at the store, but they were actually treated either with steam or with a toxic gas (propylene oxide). And I hear that the steam treatment is prohibitively expensive.
As you can imagine, raw almond lovers said, "No deal." I was among them. But I'm lucky - the new rule allowed an exemption for anyone selling almonds direct to consumers and I buy my almonds straight from the farmer at my market. Of course, I don't think it's OK for everyone else to get screwed over while I sit back and munch on my raw almonds.
This week brought news of a defeat in court by the almond farmers who sued over this. Details below...
(Also, you can take action on this issue here.) |
| The Cornucopia Institute put out a press release on this. They describe the suit - 18 California almond farmers and wholesale nut handlers filed the suit against the USDA last September to overturn this "pasteurization" rule nonsense. The judge dismissed the case on technical grounds this Monday.
However, the fight is NOT OVER, says the Cornucopia Institute.
"The court's decision sidestepped the merits and substance of the lawsuit," said Will Fantle of The Cornucopia Institute, a Wisconsin-based family farm research group and organizer of the almond lawsuit.
The USDA's lack of legal authority to enact the controversial raw almond regulation and its fumbling of the rule's implementation were among major substantive claims detailed in the lawsuit-none of which the court has yet to rule on.
"Instead," said Fantle, "the judge decided on procedural grounds that almond farmers, just like consumers and retailers, have no right to have their concerns about the illegal nature of the almond treatment scheme heard in court."
Why are the almond-growing families so pissed off? The rule, which was put in place in September 2007, requires "pasteurization" on all domestic almonds sold to consumers in the U.S. (except for those sold directly from the farmer to the consumer). This exempts exports - and imports. So what will an American do if they want raw almonds and can't buy directly from the farmer? Buy imported almonds that undercut domestic farmers' businesses. Cornucopia says:
These imported nuts, generally of lesser quality, are now destroying the livelihood of organic, family-scale almond farmers in California.
Now, someone might read that and think the answer might be to impose "pasteurization" rules on imported nuts too, but that ignores the question of whether it's a good idea to spray our nuts with toxic gas. I say no.
What happens now?
"Cornucopia and our attorneys are carefully exploring legal options, including appeals and other strategies," Fantle said. "We are not abandoning the fight to return to grocer's shelves an American-grown, highly nutritional raw food that has been eaten with confidence and enjoyment for decades. We believe the fundamental points of our lawsuit are valid and need to be tested."
"This issue clearly illustrates how the Bush administration, at the USDA, sold out the interests of organic consumers and farmers in deference to those of corporate agribusiness, said Mark A. Kastel, who is Cornucopia's Senior Farm Policy Analyst.
Unfortunately, Bill Marler, who is often on the right side of the issues and may be a top candidate for a food safety post at the USDA, stands on the pro-toxic gas side of this debate. I'm disappointed but not surprised.
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