Section 76-22-3 - Findings. - New Mexico Statutes

76-22-3. Findings.

The legislature finds and declares that:   

A.     consumers are demanding fresh and processed foods produced using organic methods;   

B.     organic farming methods promote more sustainable agricultural practices than conventional farming methods;   

C.     existing agricultural grading standards as contained in Chapter 76 NMSA 1978 governing the contracting and sale of food articles do not provide standards for food articles that are organically produced;   

D.     due to the proliferation of labeling and advertising claims utilizing and relying on terms such as "organic", "organically grown", "natural", "naturally grown", "ecological", "ecologically grown", "pesticide-residue free" and derivatives of those terms, a need exists to establish organic grading standards to clarify the use of such terms in labeling and advertising; and   

E.     in order to protect the public from misrepresentation, to secure the general health, to suppress unfair competition in the production and sale of organic food articles, to ensure the purity of the food article imported and to protect the food supply of the state, the Organic Commodity Act is enacted.