Some organic food producers fear the free trade treaty with the United States and consider it the kiss of death for their business.

They made themselves visible Sunday at the Feria Agroecológica at the Museo Nacional.

The event was billed as a time to share information on organic farming methods and to sell organic produce. But some shirts carried buttons seeking a no vote on the free trade treaty. In fact, the buttons were for sale there at a small stand that also featured buttons carrying the face of Argentine revolutionary Ernesto “Che” Guevara, the architect of Fidel Castor’s victory in Cuba.

Although larger agricultural producers lust after the free trade treaty, some of the smaller operators working Sunday said that the treaty would put them out of business. They fear a flood of produce from the north.

The fears may not be misplaced. U.S. pork producers said Costa Rican marketers have told them that more money can be made here simply by reselling U.S. pork. The efficient U.S. techniques produce a product that is even cheaper when transportation is considered.

There were no pork producers at the fair Sunday, but nearly all products of small-scale agriculture were represented, including some, like the fruit jocotes, typical of Costa Rica. There also were displays of seed specimens from dozens of tropical plants.

Everything there from the products to the tourists was organic, but the word has come to mean products raised without chemical fertilizers and insecticides.

One small booth offered information on an insecticide made from citrus rinds.

The event was organized by the Movimiento de Agricultura Orgánica with the support of the Museo Nacional de Costa Rica and other agencies.

The organic organizers also are concerned with transgenic products, that is products that have been subjected to genes inserted artificially. For example, a corn variety has been developed that produces its own insecticide via a gene from a bacterium. A video outlined in Spanish a mock trial at a Brazilian university where the defendant was transgenic plants.

Opponents fear polluting the gene pool of certain crops and effects on humans when the transgenic food is eaten.

Some of the producers need not worry about the free trade agreement. The United States is not a big producer of ayote or star fruit or bananas.

One free trade opponent agreed that the key to success under the treaty is marketing, something she did not feel small producers could accomplish.

Those who missed the annual organic fair have a chance to visit a similar event every Saturday from 6 a.m. to noon in Barrio Carmen, Paso Ancho. The Centro Ferial el Trueque features organically grown products there. The location is two blocks north of the Circumvalacion’s Paso Ancho traffic circle and one block north of the Catholic church there.