be it plastics, vitamins, food, dioxin or what ever else the gov't sets standards for, generally the gov't standards are set at a lower rate then many states set their standards. the gov't standards are set at a level to give a false sense of security for the masses and not necessarily for the public's well being or health. do not feel comfortable with the gov't standard, but again check different state's standards as a comparison. and, no, i do not have documentation on me at this moment to verify this, but take a little time to do some research. peace be with you and may your garden be gov't free.

I take it you are referring to the USDA NOP. The new gov't standards are a boon and a curse. These standards will legitimize organics to the rest of the ag. industry which means organics will now be getting much needed research monies and the general public will feel better about buying organic as there will now be a set of rules that everyone goes by instead of 66+ different rules as has been the case in the past. Some (most) of the certifiers had better rules than the NOP some had worse

The USDA rule has flaws and lots of them but fortunately the regs are not set in stone and organic farmers tend to be politically active so there is a good chance that the rules can be changed to help the small farmer instead of opening the organic flood gates to the multinational corporate owned farms (Horizon is a good example of this).

For many farmers the organic certifacation is necessary to gain markets. Even at the local level where growers sell directly to the public certifacation can be a Godsend. There are a lot of farmers out there who want the price organic brings without going through the hoops to get there and will claim their food is organic when it is not. Most consumers are not saavy enough to ask the proper questions about growing practises so the certifacation is one assurance that the food really is organic.

That said, I still don't know if I will be certified under the USDA but may look into biodynamic certifacation

Richard,
I have started to take a closer look into government and industry ethics myself, when you have the time, take a closer look at what that recycled emblem on plastic really means. In fact, take a closer look into the true meaning of recycle as pertaining to the chemical plastic industry. Consumer beware.