Organic producers, consumers squelch attempts to lower standards, so far

So, some businesses think organic standards are too strict. How can big box retailers afford to stock shelves with certified organic products if they can't use fertilizer? The easiest way is to lower organic labeling standards. If a few more synthetic ingredients are USDA-approved for organic labeled food, businesses like Wal-Mart won't need to spend more money on rigorously certified products.
But the public doesn't want lower standards, according to the Organic Consumers Association (OCA). So legislators tried to sneak in an amendment without an option for public comment. Big food industry names are pushing legislation that would let a Bush appointee weaken limits on synthetics used under the organic label.

Last week, the Senate passed the 2006 agriculture appropriations bill. This is a standard bill that comes up every year and directs money within the agricultural industry. Legislators, backed by a food industry that disapproves of strict organic standards, tried to sneak in an amendment this year that weakens organic labeling criteria.

This followed a court ruling from earlier this year involving Arthur Harvey, a proponent of strict labeling standards. Harvey, an organic blueberry farmer from Maine, saw that organic standards passed in 2002 didn't match standards in the Organic Foods Production Act, which passed in 1990. The original standards said synthetic substances cannot be used under the organic label. The 2002 standards said some synthetics were allowed. In an effort to reinstate stricter standards, he sued Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman, saying the 2002 ruling was inconsistent.

Harvey didn't win on every issue he raised in court, but a June ruling said the 1990 standards disallowing synthetics should be upheld. This received the food industry's attention, said OCA's head director Ronnie Cummins. “Obviously, it costs a lot more to keep organic standards,” he said. Therefore, it's in the interest of corporations that need large farms to keep standards low. The OCA says that companies like Wal-Mart, with help from the USDA, tried inserting an amendment into the appropriations bill that lowers the standards. Today, the National Organic Standards Board has power to determine whether synthetics are allowed under the organic label. This new amendment weakens their authority and hands it to the USDA, headed by Bush appointee Veneman.

However, this amendment didn't make it into last week’s bill. Senate aides leaked the proposed rider to the Environmental Working Group, who shared it with the Little Marais-based OCA. Through the OCA’s public action alerts, they generated 45,000 e-mails and 15,000 telephone calls from consumers to U.S. Senators. It may have stalled the weakened standards.

Instead, Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), who sits on the Senate Agriculture Committee, included an amendment in the appropriations bill saying the Agriculture Secretary must analyze, within 90 days of passage, whether reinstating the organic labeling standards set in 2002 “would adversely affect organic farmers, organic food processors, and consumers.” The secretary also needs to analyze “issues regarding the use of synthetic ingredients in processing and handling” certified organic products. The appropriations bill now goes to the House and Senate Conference Committee. Cummins said this is where it's likely that an amendment to lower standards will be included, without public comment, or a full congressional vote.

At an annual meeting in June, Wal-Mart's president, Lee Scott, said he's "excited about organic food, the fastest growing category in all of food and at Wal-Mart." Kraft and Dean Foods also want in. Organic food is a booming $10.8 billion industry in America. Organic sales grow by about 20 percent annually, dwarfing the increase in other U.S. food sales. The industry is undergoing a transition; where organics were once primarily grown on small farms and sold in co-ops, now large corporations are seeing the revenues generated and want a share of profits. But organic farms are generally small compared to conventional farms. Supplying a large demand is difficult and big companies "want to cut corners," Cummins said.

To be certified organic, farmers cannot use synthetic fertilizers. This increases prices because more farmers are needed for hand-weeding. And without pesticides, farmers face a higher risk of losing their crops. Sewage sludge and chemical fertilizers used on conventional farms are cheap while organic fertilizers such as compost and animal manure are more expensive to transport. Organic farmers need to rotate crops in order to keep their soil healthy, making it difficult to exclusively plant their highest valued crops. Conventional farmers can use all of their land to plant one valuable crop.

If the amendment is passed in the conference committee, “there's a lot of consumers who will wonder what organic means anymore,” said Barth Anderson, research and development coordinator at The Wedge co-op. The Wedge, certified organic since 2002, is also informing their shoppers about the legislation. Barth said this amendment could make it difficult for The Wedge to judge where to purchase its in-store products. But he points out that they work with local distributors and trust their standards. “If this amendment goes through," he says, "it will shift the focus to more local, much more meaningful relationships.”
Consumers hoping for strict standards are finding little help in some well-established organic organizations who worry more about large retailers than synthetics. Katherine DiMatteo, executive director for the Organic Trade Association (OTA), said earlier this year that if Harvey won his case, “it could devastate the [organic] industry . . . We're asking our members to think about how it would affect them . . .” The OTA has recruited William J. Friedman to represent them while pushing for weaker standards. Friedman is a lawyer from Covington & Burling, the same Washington law firm that's represented seed-giant Monsanto in trials related to genetically engineered crops.

Organic producers and consumers have already won numerous battles in the past to sustain their standards. Their latest battle is expected to happen this week. “We're hoping there will be enough pressure in the conference committee so they don't attach a rider,” Cummins said, but also he foresees that a new label may be necessary if standards are lowered.