National
Organic Standards
The National Organic
Standards implemented by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) took
effect on October 21, 2002. Products bearing the USDA Organic Label meet
the requirements of the Final National Organic Program (NOP) Rule, the
national standards for the production, handling, processing, and labeling
of organically grown food in the United States.
History-
The Organic Foods Production Act; the making of the organic standards;
court rulings on organic; and congressional amendment
What
is allowed and required- The certification process for
growers and processors; what practices and substances are allowed and
required; what is not regulated by the organic standards
Labeling-
What USDA organic labels mean and which products they apply to; the
labeling and regulation of products used in growing organic food
Why
organic integrity is important- Why we must continue to
insist that the National Organic Standards Board upholds strict rules
regulating organic agriculture
Listen
to Beyond Pesticides discuss the history of the National Organic Standards,
farming and product labeling on an Organically
Speaking podcast interview - download (right click, save as) or stream.
History
of USDA Organic Regulations
In 1990, Congress
passed the Organic Foods Production Act (OFPA) (full text available here) to
determine uniform standards for organic agriculture and processing. The
purpose of this was to establish national standards for organic products
in order to assure consumers that organically produced products meet a
consistent standard and to facilitate interstate commerce in fresh and
processed organic food. The OFPA established the National
Organic Standards Board (NOSB), the purpose of which is to assist
in the ongoing development of organic standards. Prior to the USDA organic
rules, state and local organizations regulated organic production with
some local variations in standards.
The USDA released
a weak version of proposed organic rule October 1998. but it was met with
much criticism and sparked an unprecedented 325,603 public comments. USDA
proposed allowing bioengineered crops, sewage sludge, and irridation in
organic production, which became known as the “big three.”
Many changes, including removal of the "big three" were made
to the final rule.
While it is generally
agreed that the final rule is a vast improvement over the proposed rule
of 1998, many organic farmers and environmentalists have concerns with
the regulations. In October 2002, just days after the rules governing
organic under NOP were implemented, Maine blueberry farmer Arthur Harvey
filed suit against USDA claiming that USDA regulations governing foods
labeled “organic” contravened several principles of the OFPA
(read "In
the Words of Arthur Harvey" from Pesticides and
You).
Of primary concern
were the allowance of certain non-organic agricultural substances under
the organic label, the allowance of certain synthetic ingredients under
the organic label, and the treatment (feed) of dairy cows transitioning
to organic. Having initially lost on all counts, Harvey prevailed in January
2005 when the Court of Appeals ruled in his favor that the USDA organic
regulations were in conflict with the OFPA. Groups, including Beyond Pesticides,
filed a petition asking USDA to bring the regulations into compliance
with the law (read
more from daily news).
However, following
the Harvey victory in the Court of Appeals, Congress engaged in backroom
talks with the Organic Trade Association and amended the OFPA to allow
synthetic substances in “organic” labeled products, and to
adjust the feed regulations for dairy cows. We reported on this amendment in the winter 2005-2006 issue of Pesticides and You. Because
of the amendments to OFPA, the court found in 2006 that the Secretary
of Agriculture was not required to comply with the earlier consent decree,
thus reversing its earlier ruling in favor of Mr. Harvey. Many organic
farmers’ and consumers’ groups decried the amendments to the
OFPA because of the lack of democratic participation.
Beyond Pesticides,
along with many other sister organizations issued an Open
Letter To The Organic Community to set the record straight on the
amendments to the OFPA and bridge differences as we move ahead together
to strengthen the partnership between consumers, farmers and food processors
that will grow the organic marketplace.
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What
is allowed and required
Farming varies
from place to place and farmer to farmer. Organic farming is no different
than conventional farming in this regard, but there are certain underlying
principles of organic agriculture that are the basis for the regulations
implemented by the USDA. Rather than a doctrine on the values and interpretations
of organic farming, the rules have distilled organic principles into what
is allowed, not allowed, and required for certification. Often, people
focus on what is not allowed in organic agriculture to highlight its divergence
from conventional agriculture. The use of antibiotics, sewage sludge,
genetically modified organisms, and irradiation is prohibited in organic
production, and the list of allowed pesticides is highly restricted to
include only the least toxic controls, primarily derived from natural
ingredients.
Certification
standards
All producers and handlers of organic products are required to be certified
by a USDA accredited certifying agent in order to claim to be USDA certified
organic. There are currently 55 domestic agencies and 40 international
agencies accredited by the USDA. Certifying agents make annual visits
to farms and processing plants, and are permitted to make unannounced
visits to make sure a facility is in compliance with the standards.
Farms are required
to submit to the certifier a comprehensive plan that includes things such
as the land history of all fields, a fertility and nutrient management
plan, a pest, weed, and disease management plan, and the origin, feed
and health care of livestock. A grower must report all products used on
the farm, rate and date of application. If a grower fails to report a
product used, even if it is an approved product, s/he will be out of compliance
with the organic standards and will receive appropriate reprimands and/or
revocation of certification.
For a complete explanation
of these standards, including products allowed, you can visit the text
of the National Organic Standards.
There is also an independent
organization, called the Organic
Materials Review Institute (OMRI), that reviews products submitted
by applicants to determine if they follow the National Organic Standards.
This list of OMRI-approved products is widely used as the most comprehensive
list of product names that are approved for organic production. OMRI is
not affiliated with USDA and not all products approved for organic production
are listed with OMRI.
Pesticide
Regulation
Organic production is subject to many more regulations aimed to protect
ecological and human health than conventional agriculture. One area of
particular importance and in stark contrast to conventional agriculture
is the regulation of pesticides. In conventional agriculture, synthetic
pesticides with known health effects may still be registered for use,
and the “inert” ingredients in the formulations are not taken
into consideration in the registration process, even though many inert
ingredients are toxic by themselves. Under the organic regulations, only
naturally derived pesticides and a small number of synthetic ingredients
of low toxicity such as boric acid may be used. Inert ingredients in these
products must be approved for organic production.
Sometimes an active
ingredient may be utilized in both conventional and organic agriculture,
but only certain formulations are approved for organic use because of
the inert ingredients. An example of this is the bacteria Bacillus
thuringiensis (Bt), which is widely used to combat various insects
in the larval stage. Bt itself degrades rapidly and has very low toxicity
to humans and wildlife. However, Bt’s effectiveness is threatened
by the introduction of genetically engineered crops in conventional agriculture
that contain Bt such as corn, cotton, and potatoes. In these crops, Bt
is always present, which means there is great potential for insects to
develop resistance to Bt. For
more on this issue, please visit our genetic
engineering page.
Using even pesticides
approved for organic production is generally a last resort for organic
farmers. Crop rotation, good soil and plant health, and biological controls
such as beneficial insects are the favored methods for controlling pests
and diseases. Without the use of herbicides, organic farmers rely on good
crop rotation, cover cropping, mechanical cultivation and mulching to
limit weeds. No-till
organic agriculture is a new approach that combines some of these
practices at once.
What is not
Regulated Under the Organic Standards
The organic standards have intentionally focused on production methods
only, and worker treatment is not a part of the regulations. The elimination
of toxic pesticide exposure for workers is an enormous step in the right
direction for just working conditions. However, it is important to keep
in mind that the organic label does not indicate anything about the treatment
of farm workers beyond this toxic exposure issue. For more on this, visit
our buying organic page.
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Labeling
In order to ensure a standard for the use of the term “organic”
and the use of the USDA Organic seal, the USDA has issued labeling protocols
(click here for USDA fact sheet) for fresh, and processed products containing organic
ingredients. Only the top two listings may use the USDA Organic seal on
the product. Here is a summary:
“100%
Organic” must consist of 100% organically produced ingredients
and processing aids, excluding water and salt. May display the USDA
Organic seal.
“Organic”
must consist of a minimum of 95% organically produced ingredients, excluding
water and salt, and the remaining ingredients must consist of nonagricultural
substances approved on the National List, and/or specific non-organically
produced agricultural substances not available commercially in organic
form. May display the USDA Organic seal.
“Made
with Organic Ingredients” must contain at least 70% organic
ingredients. May not display the USDA Organic seal.
Other products that
contain less than 70% organic ingredients may not use the word organic
on the principal display panel of the label, but they may list specific
organic ingredients in the ingredients statement.
Each organic ingredient
must be identified as such in the ingredient information box. The name
of the certifying agency must be displayed on the information panel.
“Certified
Organic” applies only to products grown organically. It
does not apply to products that may be used in organic production. In
other words, a carrot, a bag of potato chips, or cotton may be certified
organic, but the potting soil or biological pesticide used in growing
these products is not certified organic. The closest thing to the USDA
organic seal for products used in organic agricultural production is the Organic Materials Review
Institute (OMRI) listing, but this is an independent agency not run
by the USDA National Organic Program. Companies pay to have their products
evaluated by OMRI, and OMRI tests them to see if they comply with the
National Organic Standards.
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Why organic integrity is important
The Winter
2005-2006 issue of Pesticides and You expressly illustrates
why a strong organic standard with integrity is so important. It must be
held up as the solution to the pesticide problem. For example, if the two
victims of pesticide poisoning, described in this issue, were living in
communities where organic is the norm, they probably would not have been
poisoned. Similarly, as the debate over the safety of 2,4-D continues and
the regulatory risk assessment and risk management processes continue to
be politicized (both the subject of articles), it is clear that the real
solution is the widespread adoption of organic practices.
This issue also contains
a special focus on pesticides and water, and the widespread failures to
protect the nation’s waterways from pesticide contamination. Agriculture
is only one source of the pesticide contamination, and along with advocating
for organic agriculture, Beyond Pesticides continues to advocate for organic
lawn care. The National Coalition for Pesticide Free Lawns is a broad
coalition with members in over 20 states that is working to eliminate
toxic pesticide use in land care.
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