Meme creep: redefining "organic"

Apparently there is a growing trend to label as "oranic" milk from cows that live in feedlots but are fed organic grain:

A different kind of organic dairy farm is emerging out west _ corporate-owned feedlot operations with thousands of cows that are fed organic grain but, according to critics, get little chance to graze.

Fears that big operations will muscle out family farms have produced a backlash, including a boycott by the Organic Consumers Association against the country's biggest organic milk brand, Horizon Organic.

Organic farmers and consumer groups are hoping the U.S. Department of Agriculture will level the field. The agency is considering whether to mandate that milk bearing the "USDA Organic" seal come from cows that have significant access to pasture, a move smaller producers say would give them the protection they need.

I suppose organic grain is an improvement over the standard industrial practices. But feedlots clearly violate the spirit of "organic". (For an entertaining lesson on industrial beef, see the McDonalds game.)

[Via Cryptogon]