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["TradingPostPaul" <tradingpost@riseup.net>]

USDA Stacking Federal Organic Standards Board with Industry Reps

Alert: Stop USDA from Stacking Federal Organic Standards Board with
Industry Reps
On December 5, 2006, the USDA announced its new appointments to the
National Organic Standards Board (NOSB). The NOSB essentially advises the
USDA on how to interpret and implement federal organic laws that regulate
industry. The NOSB also reviews and approves substances for placement on
the National List of Approved and Prohibited Substances. In other words,
the NOSB has the ability to significantly weaken or strengthen the
effectiveness of the national organic standards.

According to federal law, the NOSB is to be made up of a diverse group of
experts in the organic field, including a consumer and public interest
group representative, an environmentalist, a scientist, and a handler.
Despite this clear mandate of diversity, the USDA's new appointments are
all industry representatives.

USDA's new appointees are:
Scientist: Katrina Heinze (General Mills)
Consumer and Public Interest Group Representative: Tracy Miedema (Stahlbush
Farms: a primarily non-organic operation)
Environmentalist: Tina Ellor (Phillips Mushroom Farms)
Handler: Steve DeMuri (Campbells Soup)

Historically, there has only been one other instance where the USDA has
attempted to stack non-industry seats on the NOSB with industry
representatives, and the results were an embarrassment for the USDA. One
year ago, the agency attempted to put a General Mills representative in the
NOSB Public Interest Group Representative seat, which was closely followed
by a massive consumer backlash spearheaded by the Organic Consumers
Association (OCA) and the Consumers Union. The protests caused the USDA
consumer rep appointee (Katrina Heinze) to resign.

In response to the USDA's recent appointment of industry representatives to
the NOSB, the OCA is calling for similar actions from concerned citizens.
"Never before has the Bush administration's USDA made such a blatant
attempt to pack the National Organic Standards Board with people who
represent corporate agribusiness and industrial farming practices," says
OCA National Director Ronnie Cummins. "Stahlbush Farms, which admits on its
website to using pesticides, fungicides, and insecticides on its crops
(except for pumpkins, sweet potatoes and green beans) is not, by any
stretch of the imagination, an organic consumer or public interest group.
Likewise, General Mills is not an academic institution, qualified to submit
an impartial "scientist" to serve on the NOSB."

General Mills' long history of aggressively fighting against the labeling
of genetically engineered foods makes that seat appointment of particular
concern to organic advocates.

Tell Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns and members of Congress they
should intervene to ensure that the NOSB is composed of organic
specialists, bona fide scientists, and representatives of consumer and
public interest groups, as mandated by the Organic Foods Production Act.