May 18, 1998
USDA Bows to Pressure on Organic Standards
After receiving more than 200,000 comments from farmers,
environmentalists, consumers and others, the U.S. Department
of Agriculture (USDA) announced that it is backing down on
its proposed national organic standards. The standards would
have allowed farmers to use a wide range of toxic, synthetic
substances, and left open the possibility of allowing use of
genetically engineered organisms, sewage sludge and
irradiation in organic production. Almost all comments
submitted to USDA criticized the standards for being far too
weak and for compromising the integrity of the organic label.
"If organic farmers and consumers reject our national
standards, we have failed," said U.S. Agriculture Secretary
Dan Glickman. "Our task is to stimulate the growth of organic
agriculture, ensure that consumers have confidence in the
products that bear the organic label, and develop export
markets for this growing industry." The agency announced that
it will evaluate the comments submitted in response to its
proposal and submit a revised proposal for public comment
later this year. The revised proposal will prohibit use of
genetically engineered products, irradiation or sewage
sludge, according to Glickman.
Organic industry and advocacy groups, including the Organic
Trade Association and the Organic Farming Research Foundation
(OFRF), were pleased about the agency's announcement, but
said that there is still work to be done. "We will continue
lobbying the USDA, Congress and the White House for a federal
label for organic that maintains the rigorous standards
already established by the organic industry," said Katherine
DiMatteo, head of the Organic Trade Association.
According to Bob Scowcroft, executive director of OFRF,
Secretary Glickman's statement that USDA's job is to
"stimulate the growth of organic agriculture," marks a
significant change in the agency's attitude. "Hopefully, this
reflects a long-lasting change of heart," said Scowcroft. "It
means that now it's safe for mid-level researchers at USDA to
express an interest in organic without risking their
careers."
Since issuing its proposed standards in December, USDA has
been flooded with critical comments from a broad range of
consumers, activists and industry groups, including
mainstream agricultural organizations such as the California
Farm Bureau, the Produce Marketing Association and various
state Departments of Agriculture. The California Senate and
Assembly issued a joint resolution stating that the rules,
"would threaten the integrity of the organic process in our
state." In addition, 32 U.S. Senators and 48 House members
wrote a letter to Secretary Glickman urging him to rewrite
the organic rules or face action that would block them in
Congress.
International groups also submitted comments, including the
International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements
(IFOAM), which stated in a press release the proposed
standards were so bad that they could hurt "our movement
everywhere."
Observers have remarked that USDA was stunned by the force
and volume of negative comments. According to a spokesman for
Secretary Glickman, "for anybody who thinks of organic
farming as some fringe element . . . this has really proved
them wrong." He stated that organic farming is "very
mainstream, it's very national and it's very big."
Sources: Bob Scowcroft, personal communication, May 13, 1998;
The Boston Globe, May 9, 1998; Reuters, May 8, 1998; USDA
Release No. 0205.98, May 8, 1998.
Contact: PANNA.
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