Johnny's Select Seeds are certified organic - maybe not all of them. I believe Cook's Garden are also. I have to go out now, but will try to remember others.... People/organizations/corporations selling products as certified organic when they are not at all is an on-going problem in the organics field. It does cost to be properly certified, if only in terms of time, and stay certified - you have to keep track of every bit of input, from seeds to fertilizer, as well as growing conditions, neighbors' practices (spraying herbicides, etc.) as well as grow the vegetables, harvest them, pack them and get them to the broker or market. I think, if I wanted to produce on a scale that would be viable, that I would simply say that my produce was grown without artificial inputs/assists, and not try to be certified, as it takes too much energy and attention to detail, not one of my strong points. I think you have to grow for 3 years without adding artificial/chemicals fertilizers, etc., before you can apply for inspection and certification - which is why some produce is labeled as "transitional". And I know I am not telling you anything you weren't already aware of, Seramas, but others might not have known some of the above.

"you could get a bad plant from so many vendors, but once I get an obvious yellow zig-zag one, I don't trust the vendor anymore." Ahh yes, the "baby and the bathwater" approach to buying roses. Unless you know for a fact that a particular rose you are buying has never, ever been grafted onto a different rootstock, then you have no guarantee that its not infected with one or more viruses. A second reasonably trustworthy scenario is if the nursery is grafting onto certified virus free rootstock and they have certified the scion variety is virus free as well. (aka VID) If you are prepared to abandon a supplier because it sold you one virused rose, then you can't trust any of them. Believe me, every rose nursery has some virused plants in their collection and they probably don't even know, since so often they show no signs of the disease! How can you fault them for that??? Many experienced rose growers prefer to ask the nurseries they buy from about the rose's provenance and whether or not the nursery knows the infection status of that variety. Most suppliers have a pretty good idea what's what. Lastly, I'll say this again: any rose that has ever been budded to a foreign rootstock is at risk of being infected with virus. That's a lot of roses, by my count.

I'm all over the map. I actually a weenie who enjoys reading up on food production methods, chemicals, etc. Natural resource managment is my field, and I teach a lot about various methods of growing things. Also thru that process I have developed local connections with people who farm. There's a whole controversy about the USDA label "organic" which many small growers feel is way to restrictive, and also way to bureaucratic and skewed in favor of large, commercial producers. I'm much more concerned about knowing where my food comes from, where the farms are and who the producers are than some type of label. I buy local or regional produce when I can. Most stuff I cannot afford to buy organic OR conventional out of season. For fruit, other than in-season, I mostly only eat apples and bananas which is all I can afford. I eat those conventional, and always peel apples. I can't afford many of the high pesticide veggies anyway. I buy organic celery, my one concession. I buy conventional potatoes and always peel. I can no longer eat green peppers so occasionally splurge on a conventional red pepper, which I can barely afford anyway so I don't buy organic. I'm lucky to have a great U-Pick place up the road for peaches, cherries, strawberries and some other fruits. I buy tomatoes in bulk from a produce farm and can for winter use. Also still lots of great farms in the area so local stores often carry regional produce. Meat is mostly a non issue for me. I eat so little of it. I can't really afford most fish, I buy it rarely but then follow the Monterey Bay Aquarium's recommendations. Excellent Web site they have on the subject. Don't get me started on what's happening to the oceans, it is such a tragedy. I've started buying the canned tuna and canned salmon in the health food store that is sustainably harvested. Since I use both the salmon and tuna as more of a condiment, even though they are twice the price of conventional, it isn't cost prohibitive for those small cans. I buy canned Pacific salmon for salmon patties. I eat freshwater fish from Michigan when I go every year. They have lots of contaminants, but I don't eat the fish that often. People say, "Aren't you worried about eating Lake Michigan fish?" and I say, "Well, that's why I have devoted my life to conservation!! As goes my Lake, so go I." If I was a meat eater, I would try to develop relationships with local producers. I know a farmer who produces local organic meat if I was so inclinded. There are lots of cooperatives here where you can get organics, if you can afford it. Cheese, milk, eggs, produce, the whole nine yards. There are even businesses that will deliver it to you straight from a Lancaster cooperative. I can't afford most cheese anyway, only eat a few kinds and can't afford organic. But I limit my consumption. I buy organic milk. Meat is actually an area I would seriously want to buy organic, considering most toxins concentrate in the fats of milk, cheese, meat. But since I eat those things so rarely, that's my compromise. Also from what I have tasted, organic free range poultry is superior. I don't like the other meats anyway so I can't really judge. For me, the most important thing in my food purchases is to support my LOCAL agriculture, and also local businesses. Even the local greengrocer, which has great prices, is a fun place to go. Most of the stuff comes from Mexico, but most of the shoppers are from there too! They carry stuff imported from the Middle East too. The store is filled with a whole variety of ethnicities. That's where I go for my out of season splurges. I enjoy educating myself about where my food comes from, and meeting and getting to know local producers and local business people. Here is a link that might be useful: Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch

To correct and expand on the last post, feeding raw is a feeding option based on what an animal would eat in the wild. Animals never cook foods in the wild and could care less about shelf stability. Three ideologies exist in the world of raw: Complete and balanced approaches, balanced approaches, and prey model approaches. Complete and balanced approaches mix the benefits of nutritional science and raw food benefits to formulate products that at least meet and often exceed AAFCO nutrient requirements of dogs. Balanced approaches are marketing claims with no standard meaning of which essentially mean the products are a mix of meat and fruits and vegetables; oftentimes these products are referred to as mixes. Lastly, some companies produce grinds of which are a mix of meat, organ meat and bones to fulfill a market need for carnivore diets. Scientifically speaking cats are carnivores but dogs are not. Natural is a marketing term in pet food of which has no regulated definition. Organic is an incredibly strict federally regulated term. No company may legally use the term "organic" unless they adhere to strict (NOP) National Organic Plan regulations. This includes annual inspections to guarantee adherence to organic standards. Three options in organic exist: "100% organic," "95% organic," or "made with organic ingredients" (must contain at least 70% organic ingredients). Only the first two options may display the green USDA organic seal. Organic pet food products must be certified organic under human standards as the definitions and regulations do not allow for compromised standards allowed for conventional pet foods. Two of the best foods for your pet come out of Wisconsin: Paw Naturaw and Stella & Chewy's. I recommend feeding their raw foods. However, Paw Naturaw offers organic, raw, frozen and dehydrated raw foods and Stella & Chewy's offers natural, raw, frozen and freeze-dried raw foods. Learn more about the two companies at: http://www.PawNaturaw.com http://www.stellaandchewys.com Here is a link that might be useful: Organic Raw Dog Food and Treats, Organic Raw Frozen and Dehydrated Diets for Dogs - Paw Naturaw