"What really upset some people is that Greene spoke without declaring his financial relationship with Dean, a $12 billion dairy goliath, long known as a bad actor in the conventional and organic dairy communities," Kastel said.
The Cornucopia Institute stated it is preparing an ethics complaint against Greene for misrepresenting the body of literature that, the Institute claims, clearly lacks any scientific basis for the marketing claims he is helping his corporate benefactor articulate in the marketplace.
"This kind of questionable behavior, and overt conflicts of interest, has been condemned in the pharmaceutical industry when physicians partner with companies for promotions," Kastel stated. "The organic industry is successful because it was built by farmers and consumers partnering in an ethical, values-based approach to food production. We will not tolerate these antics by someone, by virtue of a medical degree, looking to cash in on the goodwill and trust of the organic consumer."
Organic Trade Association
In addition to the ethical concerns about Dr. Greene's position as a spokesperson for Dean/Horizon, Cornucopia is calling on the Organic Trade Association (OTA) to remove Dean Foods' representative, Ms. Kelly Shea, who is Dean's Vice President of Industry Relations and Organic Stewardship, from the OTA board of directors.
"For too long the OTA, an organic industry trade and lobby group, has looked the other way when their powerful members have willfully violated federal law," Kastel attested. "We call on them now to respond forcefully to the apparent willful violations of law by Dean Foods by disassociating themselves with the company."
Subsequent to a 2007 USDA finding that Aurora Dairy, another organic factory farm operator, which supplies private-label milk to major supermarket chains such as Wal-Mart and Costco, had "willfully" violated 14 tenets of the organic law, Aurora's president Mark Retzloff was elected as chairman of the OTA's research arm, The Organic Center.
The Cornucopia Institute said in its letter, "It's time that the Organic Trade Association recognizes its responsibility to take action against its membership when they jeopardize the reputation and integrity of the organic label."
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