Living close to the natural world and the seasons as we do in the Hollows and Valleys of Vermont, it would seem pretty obvious what’s natural and what’s, well, not natural. Garden kale stew with local sausage, pretty damn natural. Cool Ranch Doritos® in a plastic bag, we ain’t expecting to see any time soon down at the Co-op. Oh wait! I think I did see some kind of suspiciously flavored, ultra packaged, chip type product in the local natural products store. Supermarket “Natural Sections” are 90%+ allegedly better convenience food. Thing is, everything is wrapped, covered and sealed in plastic. And it comes from very far away.

The line between natural and unnatural became increasingly blurred one week during the 2004 big Natural Products Expo down in Washington, DC. It’s hard to ignore the obvious irony of attending a natural products trade show in DC. And never mind reflections about life behind the beltway, and what it does to one’s sense of what is natural and not natural. I am here today, not to editorialize, but to present the facts of life, as I see ’em.

1. Washington is basically hell on Earth. We wrote a really cool rock song during the 9-hour drive home. Its main lyric consists of the phrase: “No more days in hell.” A bunch of us waited over an hour in the Express line of a ghetto grocery store to buy water and paper cups. Every day, including Sunday, drivers rode our bumpers in a barely controlled rage—from stoplight to stoplight. No chance of anyone getting there quicker, just a city stretched taut. A woman was shot in the stomach (by her boyfriend apparently) in front of our hotel. There were more homeless people than last year, and more homeless young women. Yet the federal buildings stood white and stately in the distance, with manicured lawns and helicopters laden with wealthy politicians buzzing overhead.

2. Natural is dead (almost). Eighty percent of the booths at Natural Products Expo were distinctly UNnatural. Had a great talk with the folks from Archer Daniels Midland. ADM once paid a multibillion dollar fine—and showed a profit that same year. They happily informed me that my favorite meatless burger was made with their GM soy. One friend said: “Have you been down those aisles?” “Doesn’t it make you want to cry?”

3. If America is the center of Western civilization, and DC is its Capital, I submit that our civilization is about to hit a brick wall.

4. All that aside, there sure are some beautiful cool people trying like hell to make a positive influence on the world. Yeah for the 20%! It’s the good people of this country and the good work they do that keeps me going. Ten years ago the mix was 80% good people/good products to 20% Corporate America. Since when is Slim Fast® a health food?

The corporatization of the natural products industry remarkably parallels that of the bookselling industry. Originally a loose network of quirky, independent stores, the industry went through a major upheaval about 15 years ago, when chain megastores and online venues began closing the doors of time honored independent bookstores. Burlington, Vermont saw the closing of several local icons when Borders and Barnes and Noble came to town.

It all (I mean this in the context of the survival of Western civilization, as well as the natural products industry), comes down to this one basic thing—natural vs. unnatural. As a society we are largely out of touch with the Natural. Statements like: “I’m a natural girl, I use Herbal Essence®!,” do not fly anymore. We are pretty near down to the wire here.

If you are still reading this, you have a part to play in all of it. As goes America, so goes the rest of the world.

Organic Personal Care Products Standards—I attended the OTA (Organic Trade Association) task force meeting at the Expo. Things appear to be moving forward in the establishment of a national organic standard for personal care. The excesses of the corporate perspective (“if it has a molecule of organic ingredients it is organic,” to paraphrase GW Bush, II), is definitely being tempered by the work of the other committee members and the influence of the Organic Consumers Association (http://www.organicconsumers.org/). Seems that the barrage of letters from consumers about the labeling shenanigans of some “organic” personal care products companies has at last made an impression.

There is still a wide variety of opinions as to what constitutes an organic personal care product, but things seem to be moving towards the center anyway. I suspect the final rules for a “Made with organic ingredients” claim will allow a lot more chemical type stuff than most people will be comfortable with. After their work is wrapped up, the proposed standards go to the ANSI people to be put into National Standards format. This may take three years. Then back to USDA or FDA, (depending on who ends up in charge of this), and ultimately, in about 5 years from now—maybe, we’ll have a National Organic Standard for Personal Care. If we all stay vigilant and proactive it may actually mean something. In the meantime, I encourage everyone to make products that meet NOP Organic Food Standards. Since “All Natural” is meaningless, “Organic” is the best marketing designation for those in the business of manufacturing clean personal care products. And if you meet food standards, you will absolutely meet any new national standard.

If you believe, as I do, that Western civilization is in deep doodoo, unless we change our perspective and conduct our lives and our businesses in a renewable and sustainable manner, the importance of our work in the industry becomes even more acute. Few people become fabulously wealthy by doing the right thing, but you can make a decent living trying. Vote with your paycheck. The companies you and your neighbors support have a strong influence over our collective futures.

Sanity has increasingly become my main priority. I can’t take the adrenaline rushes of psychodrama and stress like I used to. What’s the point anyway? Time has become a most precious commodity. Time and money: hard to have both at the same time. Guess when you have both...you’ve won! Or retired. Time, money, health, and sanity. May we have them all!

These essays were written for entertainment purposes only. The views expressed herein do not necessarily reflect those of Vermont Soap, its employees, board of directors, our Web host, Web designer, the neighbors who live up the road; or any of the thousands of people who use our stuff. Originally published in edited form by Comic News. Many thanks to Seasoned Books, without which, life in the Holler may never have become a reality.