Organic Farmers Protest USDA Weakening Organic Standards

April 14, 2004

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Mark Kastel 608-625-2042
Will Fantle 715-839-7731

Organic Farmers to Protest Weakening of Federal Organic Food Standards

Rules and regulations governing the quality of organic food and farming
standards are being weakened according to critics of the federal National
Organic Program. "Large corporate interests, who have seen the explosive
growth in organic agriculture, are working to warp and weaken strict organic
farming guidelines so that they can capture a profitable piece of the action
and direct future growth," says Mark Kastel, Director of The Organic
Integrity Program at The Cornucopia Institute.

Two recent examples illustrate the drive to weaken organic standards. USDA
bureaucrats reversed a decision made by an accredited organic certifier who
had denied organic certification to a factory farm raising chickens because
the chickens lacked access to the outdoors. Organic standards for dairy
operations were also threatened by a staff decision allowing a large organic
dairy farm to purchase conventional heifers and then phase them into their
organic operation. Previous policy demanded that all replacement milkers
come from certified organic operations.

"The heifer replacement decision by USDA staff," says Kastel, "is reckless
and threatens the bio-security and integrity of organic dairying and puts
family-scale farms at a competitive disadvantage." Adds Kastel: "Federal
staff are rejecting and dismissing the advice from the National Organic
Standards Board (NOSB) which, by law, has authority over these issues."

The Cornucopia Institute is urging consumers and organic farmers to speak
out on the issue at the April 30 meeting of the National Organic Standards
Board in Chicago. Beginning at 8 am, members of the public will have the
opportunity to address the board about organic food and farming concerns.
The meeting will be held at the Best Western Inn, located 162 East Ohio
Street, in the Buckingham Meeting Room.

Farmers unable to make the meeting are encouraged to contact Cornucopia who
will "partner" them with organic consumers in the Chicago who will present
their comments to the NOSB and communicate their concerns with USDA
Secretary Anne Veneman. "Organic farmers need to let the AG Secretary know
that they will not sit by idly while their livelihoods are threatened by
multinational food corporations hijacking the Organic Program," added
Kastel.

"Consumers who choose to purchase organic foods do so because they have
certain expectations about the way their food is grown and the animals are
treated," notes Will Fantle, Research Director at The Cornucopia Institute.
"The weakening of organic standards could severely damage one of the bright
spots in agriculture, a $12 billion sector that has been growing by more
than 20% a year."

The Cornucopia Institute is non-profit group dedicated to the fight for
economic justice for the family-scale farming community. The group's Organic
Integrity Project acts as a corporate watchdog monitoring the credibility of
organic farming methods and the food it produces. Farmers and ranchers who
have questions or would like to participate in the action in Chicago can
contact The Cornucopia Institute: organic@cornucopia.org
<mailto:organic@cornucopia.org> or 608-625-2042. A briefing paper and
instructions are available upon request.

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