Can You Trust Certified Organic From Latin America?

When you buy certified organic food grown in Mexico, South or Central America, how can you be sure that it really is organic? The conscious consumer is now, more than ever paying attention to the country of origin as well as to how exactly food is produced. With the large agro-chemical companies exploiting farmers across the globe, the purity of food and proof thereof is in demand.

In this segment of The Organic View Radio Show, host, June Stoyer will speak to Garth Kahl, the Latin American Program Coordinator for Oregon Tilth Certified Organic (OTCO). Oregon Tilth is a nonprofit organization supporting and promoting biologically sound and socially equitable agriculture through education, research, advocacy, and certification. If you have ever wondered about the testing of organic products originating in Latin America, stay tuned!

Bio: Garth Kahl has a degree in agriculture from Cornell University and a certificate in Ecological Horticulture from the Farm and Garden Project at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Since 1996, he has worked as an organic inspector, reviewer and consultant, both in the US and in ½ dozen Latin-American countries. For years this involved spending one quarter to one third of the year living and working with people in these areas.  Together with his wife and another business partner, he also owns and operates a small, diversified organic farm in the coast range of western Oregon. Garth is passionate about organic food and believes whole-heartedly that people should learn where there food comes from. In the case food from Mexico and South America, Garth believes people have nothing to fear, and that once people have the whole story, they will understand that their organic food choices can have a positive impact, even when they can’t buy locally produced organic food.