BRIAN TOKAR ON U.S. ORGANIC STANDARDS

Dear friends,

A serious alarm has been raised over the past several weeks about the future of the USDA's Organic Standards. Alerts have been going out from several organizations suggesting that new proposed revisions would lead to a fatal weakening of organic rules. A long-term subscriber to this list wanted to post the latest alert from the Organic Consumers Association (OCA), which makes some very serious and disturbing charges.

However, some further investigation over the past two weeks has revealed a story that is far more complicated. Basically, a court decision handed down over the summer would prohibit the use of virtually all synthetic ingredients in the manufacture of organic processed foods. The Organic Trade Association (OTA), representing both small and medium-sized companies (Smucker's is the largest company on their board) is petitioning Congress to reinstate the use of 'approved synthetics' from the original USDA organic rules, everything from baking powder to various food handling agents routinely used in processing. But OCA, the Center for Food Safety, and other organizations view this proposal as opening the door to even more synthetics in organic production, a step toward dramatically weakening the standards.

OTA views their proposed amendments as simply restoring the status-quo, necessary to prevent a drastic reduction in the use of organics in food processing and a rapid decline in the demand for organic ingredients by food processors. Others question this assumption, and view the OTA proposal as part of the steady erosion in the integrity of 'organic' that we've seen over the past decade, with the rise of 'mass market' organic products and increasing involvement of the largest food processing companies in 'organic' marketing. The present controversy has revived a long-standing debate about whether organic standards should be relatively open and accessible, with a goal of expanding the use of organic practices and encouraging farm conversions, or a stringent as possible, in order to keep organic food as 'pure' as it can be.

At the very least, it's clear that the story is much more complex than is painted in OCA's latest alert.

Here are some links that will help you better understand the current debate over organic standards:

Organic Trade Association statements:

http://www.ota.com/JusttheFacts.html
http://www.ota.com/pp/legislation/Setting_The_Record_Straight/index.html

Center for Food Safety/NCSA position:

http://www.centerforfoodsafety.org/policy_com52.cfm

I hope this will shed some light on what has become an increasingly
confusing situation. Stay tuned for further updates.

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Brian Tokar
Biotechnology Project
c/o Institute for Social Ecology
1118 Maple Hill Rd.
Plainfield, VT 05667
802-454-7138
www.nerage.org
www.biodev.org