In his July 16 op-ed column “Uncle Sam subverts organic farming,” John E. Sununu shows how federal regulators, under pressure from Big Agriculture lobbyists, now allow 250 non-organic food additives to products advertised as “certified organic.” Because these so-called exceptions benefit Big Agriculture, Sununu argues that small local farmers are being hurt by federal overregulation. This all leads to his usual conclusion that big government “never serves the little guy.”
Actually, his example makes a better case for more effective regulation, not less. If the regulators were protected from the lobbyists, there would be fewer exceptions. If the regulators were eliminated, as Sununu recommends, Big Agriculture could peddle anything and call it “organic.” Would this help the little guy?