The National Organic Standards Board (NOSB), which advises the
Secretary of Agriculture on organic policy and rulemaking, is
considering several changes to the USDA’s organic standards that would

water down organics, catering to corporate interests.

We cannot allow corporate-backed members of the NOSB to chip away at
the integrity of the label. The following proposals are highly
objectionable. Please comment on them through www.regulations.gov (complete instructions below).

Synthetic Additives

The proposal would allow any synthetic additive that qualifies as a
“nutrient” to be added freely to organics, even those that have never
been tested for safety by the FDA. Currently, organic law requires all
synthetic additives, including nutrients, to be individually
petitioned, carefully reviewed and approved by the USDA before they can
be added to organics.

Message to the NOSB: Reject the Handling
Committee’s proposal regarding nutrient additives. Nutrient additives
must be individually petitioned, reviewed and approved as safe and
appropriate for organics before they can be used, as the law currently
requires.

Already, some companies are illegally adding a synthetic form of DHA
omega-3 (from algae) and ARA omega-6 (from soil fungus) oils to organic
food, including organic infant formula. These additives have been
linked to serious gastrointestinal reactions in some babies and
toddlers.

More information: An action alert on this topic was sent out in late March. If you already sent in your comments—Thank You! If you haven’t already commented,

please do so today.

Space for Chickens

Factory farms, with as many as 100,000 birds in a building, that do not have

legally mandated access to the outdoors, would be shut down if new strict rules are put into place.

The good news is that the NOSB Livestock Committee proposal would
outlaw the tiny enclosed porches that industrial-scale producers had
been illegally calling “the outdoors.”

But our struggle for meaningful animal welfare standards is not over!

The committee caved once again to industry pressure—proposing
outdoor space requiring just 2 ft.² per layer and 1 ft.² per broiler!
In the European Union, organic standards require at least 43 ft.² per
bird outdoors and the US leading organic brand, Organic Valley, affords
their birds 5 ft.² outdoors.

2ft.² and 1 ft.² is simply not enough for birds to have meaningful
outdoor space where they can exhibit their natural behaviors (like
running around and “foraging”).

Furthermore, the proposal would grant 1.2 ft.² indoors for laying
hens and 1.0 ft.² for meat birds, which is no better than the current
industry standard for factory farms, and certainly inadequate for
organics. Many legitimate organic farmers currently provide 1.5 ft.² of
indoor space for their laying hens.

Message to the NOSB: Please resist
pressure by the industrial-scale producers to reduce the outdoor space
requirements for chickens any further. When I buy organic eggs and
chicken, I expect that the birds were raised with ample access to real
outdoor runs—5 ft.² should be the bare minimum!

More information: Watch the video and read Cornucopia’s report,

Scrambled Eggs. A complete action alert on the NOSB’s proposal for organic poultry is also available.

Indoor and Outdoor Space for Growing Pigs

The Livestock Committee’s proposed space requirements for growing
pigs are so small, even standards set by the National Pork Board—which
is controlled by industrial hog producers—are more generous! The
proposed space requirements would make it impossible for growing pigs
to turn around in their bedded indoor space, with even less space
outdoors.

Message to NOSB: The proposed space
requirements for growing pigs are woefully inadequate. If organic
standards are going to be the gold standard in terms of animal welfare,
growing pigs should be granted more space than what is currently
proposed.

More information: A complete action alert for organic hogs is available.

Indoor Space for Dairy Cows

The opposite is true for dairy cows. The latest proposal for indoor
space requirements is so overly generous that it could essentially put
thousands of family-scale dairy producers out of the organic business.

Many small-scale organic dairy farmers use stalls in their barns to
position the cows and direct their manure away from their bedding. The
proposed space requirements would have cows lying in their own
excrement. Most family farm producers would have to build new barns to
meet these space requirements—a capital investment that many could not
afford, forcing them out of the organic business.

Message to NOSB: A previous
recommendation, which had been accepted by the full NOSB, already
requires stall barns to provide one full, traditional stall per animal.
Therefore, indoor space requirements for dairy producers with stall
barns are unnecessary.

More information: A complete action alert for organic dairy cows is available.

Take Action

Please submit your comment electronically before the

April 10 deadline.

We strongly recommend submitting two separate comments—one for
nutrient additives and one for animal welfare. Also remember that a
message in your own words carries more weight than cutting and pasting
the sample letter, so please personalize your message, at least at the
beginning and end if possible!

And your message doesn’t need to be long to be effective.

Tell your family and friends to submit their comments as well!

To speak in person at the NOSB meeting (important if you can make it):

In addition to sending their written comments, organic farmers and
consumers living in the Seattle area, or willing to travel, are
encouraged to also sign up for a five-minute speaking slot at the
meeting at the end of April. Individuals can find more information
about the meeting, and can pre-register for a slot by April 10, 2011,
by visiting http://www.ams.usda.gov/nosbseattleslots or by calling (202) 720-3252.

Please email cultivate@cornucopia.org or call 715-514-2627 if you are planning on attending the Seattle meeting.

Sample Letter for Consumers

Unregulated Synthetics/Animal Welfare

Dear Members of the National Organic Standards Board,

Thank you for your efforts in setting animal welfare standards for
organically raised farm animals. I appreciate the clarification that
organic laying hens and meat birds be required to have outdoor access
beyond a tiny, lifeless enclosed porch.

However, I have some concerns about the proposed stocking rate chart.

For chickens, the current proposal does not grant enough space.
Please require more outdoor space for chickens, since birds cannot run
around freely in outdoor runs if they only have 1 ft.² or 2 ft.² Many
producers already grant much more outdoor space, and 5 ft.² should be
the bare minimum in the organic standards.

Please resist pressure by the industrial-scale producers to reduce
the outdoor space requirements for chickens any further. When I buy
organic eggs and chicken, I expect that the birds were raised with
ample access to real outdoor runs. And indoors, birds should have at
least 1.5 ft.² of space (1.2 ft.², the agribusiness standard for
uncaged birds, is inadequate).

For growing pigs, the proposed stocking rate would not allow pigs to
even turn around inside, and they would not all fit in their outdoor
space. The space requirements for growing pigs must be increased.

For dairy cows, the proposed indoor space requirements would make it
impossible for thousands of family-scale organic dairy producers to
comply. Since a previous recommendation already requires one
traditional stall per animal, indoor space requirements for dairy
producers with stall barns are unnecessary.

Furthermore, I strongly object to the inclusion of any synthetic
nutrient ingredient in organic food without the careful review by the
NOSB, which is legally mandated.

Please do not water down the working definition of organic agriculture and food production!