Today's New York Times has an interesting editorial on the budding controversy over how to apply "organic" labels to fish, in particular wild caught salmon. Farm-raised salmon can be labeled as "organic" if produced in accord with USDA guidelines, but what about fish that come from the sea?

The Department of Agriculture routinely distinguishes between organic carrots and the regular kind when it decides whether to grant an "organic" label. But it has gotten into trouble recently over how to decide whether a fish — especially a fish like salmon — is organic or not. The fishing industry is eager to call wild salmon "organic," as a way of denoting quality to consumers.

There is something perverse about all this. The USDA "organic" label is seen as an indicator of quality — so much so, apparently, that some companies would rather call their salmon "organic" than "wild caught."

A wild salmon is a glorious thing, and every bit as delectable as its cousins raised in fish farms that are, or are not, organic. But to call a wild salmon organic is to demean it, since it comes from a place where the word has no meaning.

UPDATE: Jacob Sullum comments on Hit & Run.