Senate mulls organic food mislabeling

MONTPELIER — Vermont consumers need to be better informed about which foods are organic and which aren’t.
That was the upshot of a Senate Agriculture Hearing on Friday that looked at the problem of confusion over labeling in stores and farmers’ markets.
Sen. David Zuckerman, an organic farmer, said confusion comes up especially because some organic vegetable and fruit farms have expanded into raising animals for meat. The animals often are fed conventional grain, but because they come from farms that are otherwise organic, consumers assume the meat is organic, too.
Zuckerman says he has no specific legislation in mind now.
Nicole Dehne of the organic certifying group Vermont Organic Farmers says her group is stepping up efforts to educate farmers about good labeling practices.