| | Rapid Growth & Strict Organic Standards: A Difficult Balancing Act | |
by Organic Consumers Association - 1/24/2006
http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/business/13695375.htm
Helping manage organic growth
By Harold Brubaker
Philadelphia Inquirer Staff Writer
Organic farmer Jeffrey W. Moyer doesn't shy from long-term thinking.
"We want people to be able to produce food on this farm 10,000 years
from
now," said Moyer, manager of the Rodale Institute's 330-acre farm
in Berks
County.
That perspective will serve Moyer well as he takes a seat today on the
National Organic Standards Board, which sits in the crosshairs of many
groups that would move federal rules for products that carry the "USDA
Organic" seal in one direction or another.
Even before those rules took effect in October 2002, traditional organic
advocates attacked them for not being strict enough, allowing a "movement"
rooted in whole foods and environmentalism to become an "industry"
that
churns out organic versions of virtually every processed food known to
man.
But Moyer, a Lehigh County native, is not moved by the unrest over the
role
of big business and processed foods in the organic market.
"If everybody wants processed food, let's make it organic processed
food,"
said Moyer, 50, whose overarching goal is to have as much land as possible
farmed organically.
That does not mean Moyer is willing to cut corners for large corporations.
They must operate under the same rules as the small businesses that built
the foundation of the organic market, he said.
However, Moyer is joining the board at a time when the world of organics
has
been riven by Congress' amendment last fall - allegedly under the influence
of large food companies - of the 1990 Organic Foods Production Act in
response to a federal court ruling.
The changes involve the use of synthetic chemicals in organic-food
processing, the emergency substitutions of nonorganic ingredients when
organic versions are not available, and the method for transitioning dairy
cows into organic production.
"Doors were opened that could weaken the standards and weaken the
authority
of the" organic standards board, said James Riddle, who is finishing
a
five-year term - including a year as chairman - on the voluntary, 15-member
board.
Riddle worries, for example, that under the amendment, certain chemicals
could end up in organic products without proper review by the standards
board, which has final say over the so-called National List of synthetic
chemicals allowed in organic-food processing.
Barbara Robinson, an Agriculture Department official who oversees the
National Organic Program, disputed that substantial changes had been made.
"Nothing Congress did changed the authority of the board or the secretary
of
agriculture," she said.
The struggle is over the fast-growing market for organic foods, which
command a significant price premium.
Sales of organic products in traditional supermarkets and by mass merchants
have climbed by more than 12 percent a year since 2001, reaching $4.3
billion during the 52 weeks ended Dec. 3, according to ACNielsen. Those
figures do not include sales at Whole Foods Market.
The historic growth rate of overall supermarket sales is less than 4
percent, making organics extremely attractive to big and small food
manufacturers.
Steel's Gourmet Foods, a Bridgeport producer of sauces and salad dressings
that received its organic certification in March, is among the small
companies that have latched onto organics as a growth market.
Steel's had previously been heavily into low-carb products and got burned
when big companies flooded the market and prices collapsed, owner Betty
Jo
Steel said.
Steel has not gotten the impression that the Organic Trade Association,
which proposed the changes in the organic-foods law, is caving in to big
business. "That group is so rigid."
Moyer's goal as a member of the voluntary organic board is to help the
secretary of agriculture manage the industry's growth, keeping companies
both big and small in line.
Industry observers said Moyer was a good choice for the board. "Jeff
brings
a lot of good background and perspective to the process, plus expertise
in
farming," said Phil Margolis, chief executive officer of Neshaminy
Valley
Natural Foods Distributors Ltd. in Warminster and board president of the
Organic Trade Association.
For nearly 30 years, Moyer has worked at the nonprofit Rodale Institute
near
Kutztown, where he manages field experiments for other researchers and
conducts his own research on topics such as "Managing Cover Crops
in
Bio-Based No-Till Systems."
Rodale, which traces its roots to the Soil & Health Foundation founded
in
1947 by J.I. Rodale, has been a leading advocate for organic farming,
emphasizing the connection between healthy soil and healthy people.
"We don't believe you should be using poisons to grow healthy food,"
Moyer
said.
One of the things Moyer looks forward to as a member of the standards
board
is reviewing what he expects to be a bounty of new products companies
will
try to sell to organic farmers as the industry expands.
An example, Moyer said, is a new clay coating for seed corn as a substitute
for chemical fungicides. It is not a chemical, so the Environmental
Protection Agency does not regulate it. It is up to the standards board
to
review its use in organic farming, Moyer said.
Early advocates of organic agriculture started the movement for cultural,
environmental and health reasons, but "new people are coming in from
the
money side," Moyer said.
That is fine, he said. "The door is open wide, and it is opening
wider, but
people have to understand what they are getting into," he said, or
else the
market will see through them.
National Organic Standards Board
Members of the National Organic Standards Board determine the requirements
for getting the U.S. Department of Agriculture's "organic" certification.
Its members are:
Producers
Kevin Engelbert- Farmer in Upstate New York.*
Jeffrey W. Moyer - Farm manager at the Rodale Institute in Berks County.*
Rigoberto Delgado - Livestock producer in Texas.
Gerald Davis - California potato producer.
Consumer/Public Interest Members
Daniel Giacomini- Independent dairy nutrition consultant in California.*
Jennifer Hall - Advocate for anti-hunger policies and consultant to Seattle
restaurants on organic issues.
Katrina Heinze - Manager of global regulatory affairs for General Mills
Inc.*
Environmentalists
Andrea Caroe - Environmentalist with Protected Harvest, a Maryland nonprofit
that promotes sustainable agriculture.
Nancy Ostiguy - Professor of environmental science and food toxins at
Pennsylvania State University.
Hubert J. Karreman - Dairy veterinarian in Lancaster County.
Processors
Kevin O'Rell- Food scientist and quality-assurance expert with Horizon
Organic Dairy in Colorado.
Julie Weisman- With Flavorganics, a food ingredient and flavoring company
in
Newark, N.J.
Retailers
Bea James - Whole health manager with Lund's & Byerly's Food Stores
in
Minneapolis.
Certifiers
Joseph Smillie- Senior vice president with Quality Assurance International
Inc., a global organic certifier based in San Diego.*
Scientists
Michael Lacy - Professor of poultry science at the University of Georgia.
* New member as of Jan. 24.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Agriculture
What's Organic?
Organic farming prohibits most conventional pesticides, synthetic
fertilizers and bioengineered seeds.
Organic meat, poultry, eggs and dairy products come from animals that
receive no antibiotics or growth hormones.
Packaged foods with the green-and-white "USDA Organic" seal
may contain up
to 5 percent nonorganic ingredients, including certain synthetics common
in
conventional foods.
Some examples:
Ascorbic acid - Vitamin C, preservative.
Bleached lecithin - An emulsifier to keep, for example, chocolate and
cocoa
butter from separating.
Sodium phosphates in dairy products - An acidity regulator.
SOURCES: USDA and Inquirer research
Contact staff writer Harold Brubaker at 215-854-4651 or
hbrubaker@phillynews.com.
Provided by Organic Consumers Association on 1/24/2006
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