More on the Lawsuit against the USDA Organic Standards

Who is Arthur Harvey and Why Did He Sue the USDA?

Organic Business News -December 2004 issue Vol 16 no 12
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Nobody really paid much attention to Art Harvey a couple of years ago when he sued Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman, alleging that the National Organic Program was overstepping the bounds of the Organic Foods Production Act.

But now, nearly two years later, with a dozen prominent groups behind him, there is a good chance the US Court of Appeals in Boston will rule in his favor on his contention that OFPA does not allow blanket exemption of non-organic products used in processing.

Even the Organic Trade Association and others are sitting up and taking notice because a favorable ruling on any of Harvey's seven issues could impact the way the organic food industry does business.

This month, the OTA alerted members about the case. Even though OTA said it was too early to assess the implications, the trade group said, "the decision could significantly affect NOP regulations applying to processors, wholesalers, distributors and dairy farmers".

For Harvey, a 72-year-old organic blueberry farmer and inspector from Hartford, ME, it was all about upholding the purity of organics and what OFPA really says.

He became increasingly concerned when he saw the NOP taking more authority than the law allows.

"I had to do this; or otherwise the government could get away with anything they wanted," Harvey said. "It just seemed to me that it was necessary to do it."

What particularly bothered him was the way that the NOP allowed synthetics to be used in organics. While he is not opposed to some synthetics being used because the law allows for 5% on multi-ingredient products, he believes the NOP has gone much further than OFPA allows.

In addition to the 36 synthetic ingredients on the National List, he said, the USDA agency now allows 315 synthetic food contact substances containing chemicals that have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration, but would never "pass muster" in the organic industry.

"The NOP has taken these substances and has gone completely hog wild," Harvey said. "The synthetics issue is pretty important because it makes the NOP look like it is on thin ice."

He believes that many members of the National Organic Standards Board don't really know what the law says. "I am sure a majority of the board members don't have the time available," Harvey said. "One former board member told me whenever the subject came up, he just blocked it out."

Harvey said he made it his business to read the law and evaluate what it really says. His insight came from being trained to read ordinances while on the local planning board as it prepared zoning ordinances. "I was taught that every word meant something," Harvey said.

Without a lot of money, he sought help from various organizations, including the National Association Against the Misuse of Pesticides, which was able to steer him to good legal advisors as he prepared the original lawsuit himself.

"The law makes a strict limited allowance for synthetics," Harvey said. "It is important for consumers and farmers to know that the USDA can't just put anything on its web site."

Harvey said he was originally criticized for "rocking the boat" but the reaction against me is wearing off", Harvey said. "Some of these organizations that are supporting my lawsuit are quite prestigious."

His only disappointment is that more certifiers did not back him. Only one, NOFA-Mass, joined in supporting briefs.

Moreover, if the court rules in his favor, Harvey wants an adequate phase out period to give manufacturers time to make changes.