Market Farming

[Leigh Hauter <lh AT pressroom.com>]

Organic Consumers Association Criticizes New Federal Labeling, Says 
'USDA Organic' Is 'Grade B' Organic

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Story Filed: Tuesday, October 01, 2002 10:41 PM EST

LITTLE MARAIS, Minn., Sep 30, 2002 (ASCRIBE NEWS via COMTEX) -- On 
October 21, many products at local supermarkets and health food 
stores will bear the new label "USDA Organic." The Organic Consumers 
Association, representing 400,000 consumers across the US, believes 
this new federal organic standard and label is an inadequate response 
to the 30 million American organic consumers and farmers genuinely 
committed to purchasing and growing organic food. These standards 
represent the lowest common denominator of what traditionally has 
been certified as organic, falling short, for example, in certain 
instances of IFOAM (International Federation of Organic Agriculture 
Movements) standards already in place in Europe and other nations. 
While USDA Organic is certainly safer and better than the 
chemical-doused, genetically contaminated, or irradiated food 
typically found on grocery store shelves, it is decidedly "Grade B" 
organic.

The USDA Organic standards ignore or downplay important issues such 
as social justice and equity for farm workers; consideration of 
"food-miles" as an impact on the environment; the importance of local 
and regional organic production; preservation of biodiversity and 
diverse crop and animal varieties and breeds; and a consistent and 
specific delineation of what constitutes humane treatment of farm 
animals.

The new USDA federal standards also prohibit existing certification 
agencies such as Oregon Tilth and California Certified Organic 
Farmers from maintaining higher standards than the lowest common 
denominator put in place by the "USDA Organic" label, even when 
farmers are already producing according to higher standards.

Real "Grade A" organic standards should promote principles of 
environmental stewardship and social responsibility, favoring small 
family or cooperative farms, local distribution, and Fair Trade to 
assure living wages and decent work conditions for organic producers.

Today, there are more prisoners than farmers in the US. While the US 
had six million family farms at the end of the Second World War, 
these numbers have today dwindled to less than two million, 70 
percent of whom, according to the USDA, are too small to be 
economically viable. Part of the reason for this is that the USDA 
continues to subsidize conventional farms, especially large farms and 
ranches, with billions of dollars in subsidies ($28 billion in 2001), 
while throwing crumbs to organic farmers or conventional farmers who 
would like to make the transition to organic (less than $10 million 
for organic research and promotion in 2001).

The new organic standards, if accompanied by substantial subsidies 
such as those in Europe to help convert family farmers to organic, 
could help save small farmers by facilitating their entry into the 
rapidly growing mass market of organic. Instead the new USDA Organic 
standards do the opposite, favoring large, industrial farms.

Twenty-five percent of all greenhouse gases in the US are a 
by-product of industrial agriculture, food processing, and 
long-distance food transportation. If the new organic standards 
included requirements in packaging reduction, efficient processing, 
and limitations on food-miles, they would make American agriculture a 
catalyst for sustainability and help solve other problems 
simultaneously.

"Products bearing the 'USDA Organic' label are certainly safer and 
better than conventional food, but socially responsible consumers 
still need to exercise their judgement and intelligence and give 
preference to organic foods and products which are produced locally 
or regionally, equitably, and humanely," according to Ronnie Cummins, 
National Director of the Organic Consumers Association.

The Organic Consumers Association was formed in 1998 in the wake of 
the massive consumer backlash against the original proposed USDA 
Organic standards, which allowed sewage sludge fertilizer, genetic 
engineering, irradiation, animal cannibalism, and intensive animal 
confinement.

For more information, see www.organicconsumers.org or call 888-403-1007.

For an op-ed on the new USDA Organic standards "Is USDA Organic 
'Grade B' Organic?" see 
www.organicconsumers.org/organic/gradeB092902.cfm