Organic chemistry.

Byline: The Register-Guard

There's no better illustration of the current confusion over the real meaning of the green-and-white "USDA organic" label than the "brewhaha" over organic beer.

Anheuser-Busch's Wild Hop Lager bears the U.S. Department of Agriculture's circular organic logo, certifying that it contains at least 95 percent organic ingredients. The other 5 percent can be nonorganic ingredients that have been placed on the USDA National List (for example, corn starch, pectin, water-extracted gums) provided that organic equivalents are not commercially available or available in sufficient quantity.

Among the nonorganic ingredients in Wild Hop Lager (`the perfect organic experience,' according to Anheuser-Busch) are hops that are driving organic food advocates wild because they were grown with chemical fertilizers and sprayed with pesticides. One of the cornerstones of organic agriculture is the requirement that crops be grown without chemical fertilizers and pesticides.

Since the supply of organic hops is insufficient and nonorganic hops constitute less than 5 percent of Wild Hop Lager's ingredients, the beer qualifies for the "USDA organic" label. That has drawn fierce criticism from many organic food producers and advocacy groups, who argue that the inclusion of such blatantly nonorganic ingredients devalues the meaning of "organic" and confuses consumers.

They're right, of course. Organic food producers and consumers regard "a little bit of pesticide" in their organic food the same way strict vegetarians would regard "a little bit of beef" in their barley soup. It contaminates the food with something they've consciously chosen to avoid.

A beer backlash led Anheuser-Busch to announce last week that it had begun using 100 percent organic hops in its two certified organic beers. Behind the scenes, the nation's largest brewer and other giant food manufacturers and retailers are leaning on the USDA to issue an overdue ruling adding 38 new nonorganic ingredients to the National List. The nonorganic ingredients include hops, sausage casings, 19 food colorings and a "bulking agent" with the spelling bee elimination name of fructooligosaccharides.

The USDA's expansion of allowable nonorganic ingredients from a half-dozen to 38 shocked organic food advocates and underscored the influence of the nation's corporate food producers and retailers. Wal-Mart has launched a huge push into organic foods. Kellogg's has bought Kashi cereals, and Coke snapped up Odwalla juices.

Organic food products rang up $16.9 billion in sales last year, double the amount from five years ago. Demand shows no signs of diminishing, even though organic products typically cost 20 percent to 100 percent more than their nonorganic counterparts.

The presence of national food industry players in what used to be a mostly local, mom-and-pop niche business is transforming the meaning of organic.

It's getting harder for consumers to know if the "USDA organic" label embodies the philosophy of organic food production in addition to certifying that the ingredients meet consistent standards.

The respected organic certification and advocacy organization Oregon Tilth defines organic food production as: "a system of farming that mimics natural ecosystems and maintains and replenishes the fertility and nutrients of the soil. Organic production integrates cultural, biological and mechanical practices that foster cycling of resources, promote ecological balance and conserve biodiversity."

A national organic certification program that tries to balance the needs of huge industrial producers, truck farmers, grocery store chains and corner markets is going to confront tough choices that have no perfect answers. But if the organic label is to retain a useful distinction for consumers, the compromises can't effectively negate the reason organic alternatives were created in the first place.

That means there can be no such thing as an acceptable amount of pesticides or genetically modified organisms in a "USDA organic"-certified product.

And it means that the needs of industrial food producers for volume ingredients take a back seat to the needs of organic food consumers for a label they can trust.