As corporations rush in to make a buck, some farmers are pushing back — and
fighting for the soul of organic
food
by Lisa Elaine Held Jan 3, 2019
One morning in 2015, instead
of heading into the fields, a group of about 50 farmers gathered in a parking
lot
in Vermont — a handful on tractors. They arrived to protest outside a meeting of
the National Organic Standards
Board (NOSB); on a mountain of decomposing kale stalks, onion
peels, and tomato stems, they objected to a
proposal that would allow producers
of hydroponic vegetables to put a USDA-certified organic label on berries
and
greens grown without soil.
The demonstration was the
start of a movement called Keep Soil in Organic, and it’s one small example
of the many big ways
people are arguing about what “organic” really means now.
seen as a reliable stamp: It signals that a food was produced according
to set standards that
prohibit the use
of most synthetic pesticides and includes other requirements
related to conserving biodiversity and animal
welfare. It means the farm and
any processing facilities involved in producing that food have been evaluated
by a third-party certifier to verify the standards are being followed.
word would evolve into shorthand for “healthy” — but it was never going to be that
simple. Talk to farmers like
the ones at the protest, and “organic” is a
lifestyle that involves a philosophical understanding of the
relationship
farmers (and all people) have to the earth; talk to a Whole Foods supplier and
“organic” is a
value-add that means a higher price on the shelf. Talk to a
consumer, and organic is now simply confusing.
term — don’t agree on several contentious issues. First, animal welfare
standards: Advocates say factory
farm operations that use organic feed but
confine thousands of chickens or cows into cramped indoor spaces
do not meet
the standard, but those farms are continually approved for certification. Second,
the aforemen-
tioned soil:
Should hydroponic vegetables be certified organic?
the term. Organic product sales reached
nearly $50 billion in 2017
and demand still vastly outstrips supply,
sometimes leading to outright fraud.
A Washington Postinvestigation last year, for example, revealed that in the
rush to satisfy demand, millions of pounds of soybeans and corn from Turkey
were sold into the U.S. market as
organic but had been grown using conventional
farming practices.
At a time when more eaters
than ever say they care about where their food comes from, can “organic”
weather
the storms to settle on a clear definition and resell consumers on its
promise? “There’s no question organic is
at a very critical juncture right
now,” says Max Goldberg, founder of Organic Insider. “It has become
very big
business, and everyone wants a piece of it.”
The history of organic
To understand the organic
standard, it helps to know the history. Chemical pesticides began to transform
American agriculture after World War II. With war-torn countries desperate for
food, the global call was
to produce as much food as possible, quickly.
[...]
As corporations rush in to make a buck, some farmers are pushing back — and fighting for the soul of organic
food
in Vermont — a handful on tractors. They arrived to protest outside a meeting of the National Organic Standards
Board (NOSB); on a mountain of decomposing kale stalks, onion peels, and tomato stems, they objected to a
proposal that would allow producers of hydroponic vegetables to put a USDA-certified organic label on berries
and greens grown without soil.
The demonstration was the start of a movement called Keep Soil in Organic, and it’s one small example
of the many big ways people are arguing about what “organic” really means now.
seen as a reliable stamp: It signals that a food was produced according to set standards that prohibit the use
of most synthetic pesticides and includes other requirements related to conserving biodiversity and animal
welfare. It means the farm and any processing facilities involved in producing that food have been evaluated
by a third-party certifier to verify the standards are being followed.
word would evolve into shorthand for “healthy” — but it was never going to be that simple. Talk to farmers like
the ones at the protest, and “organic” is a lifestyle that involves a philosophical understanding of the
relationship farmers (and all people) have to the earth; talk to a Whole Foods supplier and “organic” is a
value-add that means a higher price on the shelf. Talk to a consumer, and organic is now simply confusing.
term — don’t agree on several contentious issues. First, animal welfare standards: Advocates say factory
farm operations that use organic feed but confine thousands of chickens or cows into cramped indoor spaces
do not meet the standard, but those farms are continually approved for certification. Second, the aforemen-
tioned soil:
Should hydroponic vegetables be certified organic?
the term. Organic product sales reached nearly $50 billion in 2017 and demand still vastly outstrips supply,
sometimes leading to outright fraud. A Washington Postinvestigation last year, for example, revealed that in the
rush to satisfy demand, millions of pounds of soybeans and corn from Turkey were sold into the U.S. market as
organic but had been grown using conventional farming practices.
the storms to settle on a clear definition and resell consumers on its promise? “There’s no question organic is
at a very critical juncture right now,” says Max Goldberg, founder of Organic Insider. “It has become very big
business, and everyone wants a piece of it.”
American agriculture after World War II. With war-torn countries desperate for food, the global call was
to produce as much food as possible, quickly.
