According to a story published Sunday in the Sacramento Bee, many organic growers unknowingly used a fertilizer that contained synthetic ingredients.The fertilizer was being marketed as an organic product although it didn't conform to state guidelines for organic certification.
The growers, including the behemoth Earthbound Farms, weren't penalized because they were led to believe that the product was organic. The state also didn't impose any punative measures on the California Liquid Fertilizer Company, the folks who knowingly spiked their supposedly organic fertilizer with ammonium sulfate. The regulators explained their leniency by maintaining that their main priority was simply to make sure that these inorganic products were no longer being sold as organic.
Before this news came out, organic growers had been excited about the fertilizer because of its ability to enhance their soil's productivity, which was useful for them in achieving economies of scale in order to keep up with the growing demand for organic products, especially now that they've gone mainstream.
The moral of the story: Buy direct. Buy local. Support the small-scale growers at your local farmers' market.
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