Friday, October 19, 2007, 21:43
Aurora Dairy Responds
I received the following news release in response to the blog I wrote on October 9, 2007, about Aurora Dairy concerning the complaints filed by the Cornucopia Institute that Aurora's organic milk produced on factory farms is not really organic. Aurora supplies private label organic dairy products for several huge corporations, including Wal-Mart.
It is not clear to me from the news release what a "consent agreement" is. The question I have: who is consenting to what? Is the USDA consenting to say that the milk is organic? Or is Aurora consenting to change its practices to a more organic way of production?
The word consent means to give permission to do something ("You have my consent to go to the football game.") or to agree to do something ("I will consent to go to the stock car races if you will consent to go to a movie.") So -- it would seem that a "consent agreement" could go either way.
Using the term "consent" implies that it is something either below or beyond meeting the requirements. If one of the requirements of writing for the newspaper is that I am required to cover four meetings a week, and I cover four meetings a week, I have met the requirement.
If the newspaper wants me to cover five meetings a week, then it is beyond the requirement and I must consent to do it. If I only want to cover three meetings a week, which is below the requirement, then the newspaper would have to consent to allow me to cover only three meetings a week.
Anyway.
My favorite part of the news release is the following:
"The principal sources of misinformation and consumer confusion are the activist groups that are attacking our company and encouraging the filing of misguided lawsuits. Their agenda is clear: they want to limit the supply of organic milk and drive up the price paid by American families."
The news release has not convinced me, personally, that the lawsuits *are* misguided. I have also read that there is now so much organic milk on the market because of the factory farms (or milk that is called organic whether or not it is) that the small organic FAMILY farmers are having trouble finding markets for their own milk. If that's true, then *who* is harming *whom*?
But -- that's the way it is in the good old U.S.A. Consumers do not matter. Small family farmers and small business people do not matter. It is only the large corporations with the big bucks to hire expensive lawyers who have the power.
The factory farms appear to me to be wanting to jump on the American consumer's desire to buy more healthy food and to use it as a marketing tool for all it's worth. My opinion is that they only care about their bottom line and that what's good for American families has absolutely nothing to do with it.
As far as I'm concerned every large corporation is suspect because it seems they will do anything in the name of the almighty dollar. (I mean, really. There are corporations that have a deadline of 2 p.m. for payments that you are sending to them but *they* don't open the mail until 5 p.m., so you are charged a late fee. And they get away with it.)
My other favorite part of the news release is that Aurora has 2,800 acres of pasture in Texas but they have several farms in Colorado. I wonder if that means they truck the cows from Colorado to Texas three times a day in between milking so the cows can be out on pasture? The news release does not say anything about having pasture in Colorado.
For what it's worth, here is the news release. Make of it what you will.
LeAnn R. Ralph
***************
Aurora Organic Dairy Will Fight Purported Class-Action Lawsuits -- All of Aurora Organic's Certifications Valid; No Basis for Fraud Claims
BOULDER, Colo. (October 16, 2007) - Aurora Organic Dairy, a leading provider of high-quality private-label organic milk and butter, today said it will defend itself vigorously against fraud claims brought in purported class action suits filed in St. Louis and Denver, and against any other such suits that may be brought. The company expressed
confidence it will prevail, should any of these cases go to trial.
"There is absolutely no basis for claims we defrauded consumers by selling milk that isn't organic - none whatsoever. Aurora Organic Dairy has maintained continuous organic certifications for all of our farms and facilities. Our milk is and always has been organic," said Marc Peperzak, Aurora Organic chairman and CEO. "Our USDA consent agreement makes clear that all of our organic certifications are valid."
"We're confident in the outcome," Peperzak added, "and will
defend our company, our products and our reputation against any and all false claims."
Aurora Organic's August 23, 2007, Consent Agreement with
USDA recognized, in the very first consent finding, that "AOD currently has eight valid organic certifications under the NOP."
"It's ironic we've been falsely accused of misleading consumers," Peperzak said. "The principal sources of misinformation and consumer confusion are the activist groups that are attacking our company and encouraging the filing of misguided lawsuits. Their agenda is clear:
they want to limit the supply of organic milk and drive up the price paid by American families. This would harm consumers and slow the spread of organic agriculture. If they win, consumers lose. But we're prepared to fight, and confident we will prevail based on the facts."
About Aurora Organic Dairy
Aurora Organic Dairy's mission is making high-quality organic milk and butter more affordable and available for American families. The company is a leading producer of private-label and store-brand organic milk and butter. The organic production company includes headquarters offices in
Boulder, Colo., and an organic dairy farm and on-farm organic dairy processing plant near Platteville, Colo. A second organic dairy near Dublin, Texas, comprises 2,800 acres of pasture, croplands and milking facilities. A third organic farm, High Plains Organic Dairy, near Kersey, Colo., began organic milk production in fall 2006. Aurora
Organic Dairy's newest organic dairy farm, Coldwater West, near Stratford, Texas, began organic milk production in summer 2007. For more information, visit www.auroraorganic.com.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007, 03:05
A Note About Rural Route 2 News
Please accept my apology, but I am unable to send out Rural Route 2 News on Monday evening.
The satellite service does not work for sending e-mail when it is cloudy, rainy, foggy or misty. The weather forecast is saying that we are going to have cloudy, misty, rainy weather for the rest of the week, so I don't know when I will be able to send out Rural Route 2 News.
Needless to say, I am *not* impressed with the Wild Blue satellite service. And we are stuck with it for the next year.
LeAnn R. Ralph