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Once again, organic standards are being twisted and threatened.
Send your comments to the USDA here. Read on for more info!
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has proposed a new rule for the standards around raising organic chickens. On the surface, it seems to be heading in the right direction; new provisions for living conditions, clarifications on existing requirements, and differentiations between avian and mammalian living conditions.
Under the surface, we find some very rotten rules.
Instead of enforcing the spirit and letter of the law, subsequent administrations in the White House and at the USDA have spent years delaying, with the excuse that new rulemaking “was needed.” After a decade of foot dragging, a draft rule is available for public comment — and it makes things worse!
Rotating chickens on pasture prevents nitrate contamination of soil and groundwater, provides a varied diet for the birds including grass and insects, and makes for more nutritious meat and eggs. If the Organic standards required vegetated cover for poultry production, this would open markets for operations that rotate their chickens on pasture AND feed organic grain, a rare combination.
IFOAM Organics Europe has urged the need for a holistic and multi-dimensional approach to carbon farming, focusing not only on the amount of carbon stored in soils, but also on biodiversity protection and the systemic transition of farming systems towards agroecology.
In a move that the Syngenta boss says is “in no way linked to Syngenta’s business objectives,” CEO Erik Fyrwald recently called for an abandonment of organic farming to focus on increased yields to avert rising global food insecurity. The solution, in his view, is for rich countries to improve yields to better feed the world.
“The indirect consequence is that people are starving in Africa because we are eating more and more organic products,” Fyrwald said.
Kilian Baumann, a Bernese organic farmer and president of the Swiss Small Farmers’ Association, said Fyrwald’s thinking is “grotesque”—motivated by “fighting for sales” as farmers use fewer pesticides.
With programs for schools, elders, and diabetics across 10 counties, Choctaw Fresh Produce is making sure its tribal members have access to fresh, healthy food.
Amish Farmer Faces $250K Fine, Jail Time And Losing His Sustainable Farm For Processing His Own Meat
Amos Miller’s private food club members say they don’t want their grass-fed meat treated with the chemical preservatives required by all USDA-approved processing plants
Good news! After years of work from the organic community, the USDA finally released the Origin of Livestock final rule, closing loopholes that will level the playing field for organic dairy farms. And Congress continued to slowly move towards the next Farm Bill while the National Organic Standards Board gets ready for its spring meeting.
A POLITICO investigation based on more than 50 interviews finds the FDA is failing to meet American consumers' expectations on food safety and nutrition.
Potentially toxic pesticide residue still found on 70 percent of non-organic fresh fruits and vegetables
