New standard for organic fish is quickly criticized

"For the first time, a federal advisory board has approved criteria that clear the way for farmed fish to be labeled 'organic,' a move that pleased aquaculture producers even as it angered environmentalists and consumer advocates," write Julie Eilperin and Jane Black of The Washington Post. Opponents of the move argue that it will cheapen the organic label because it would allow farmed fish to be fed 25 percent non-organic material while other industries must use 100 percent organic material.

The organic fish standard is the result of a long process and confusing process. Many fish species are carnivorous and live in nets in the ocean where they feed on small fish, which makes a 100 percent standard difficult to meet.

Many fear that the standard, created by the National Organic Standards Board, will damage the existing organic standard for some consumers. Critics point out that consumers of organic meat products expect the animals to be fed with 100 percent organic feed, as indicated by a recent Consumers Union poll, "in which 93 percent of respondents said fish labeled organic should be produced with 100 percent organic feed; 90 percent said organic fish farms should be required to recover waste and not pollute the environment," Eliperin and Black write.

The standard also looks to protect certain fish species that have dwindled as the fish farming industry has boomed. Environmentalists are concerned because the standard does not attempt to prevent fish waste and disease from polluting the ocean. (Read more)