New USDA Organic Code May Be More Harmful to Small Farmers
WASHINGTON, Oct. 24, 2002–When the new organic food standards went into effect last Monday, they were touted as helpful to both consumers and farmers. But now the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association says they might be more harmful to smaller farmers.
Everything from organic meat to milk would be governed by a single set of federal standards put out by the United States Department of Agriculture.
Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe, who voted for the 2002 Farm Bill, which provided funding for farmers to implement the standards, said Monday in a statement: “Under these new standards, farmers in Maine will for the first time be able to sell organic produce to retailers in other states with the confidence that the organic label will be accepted and recognized by consumers there.”
She also said that United States Department of Agriculture standards would help the costumers by giving them standards to judge by, which means no more confusion.
“For consumers this rule means clear and consistent labeling that will affirm the content, production process and handling of organic food-whether it is milk, cheese, vegetables, fruit, grain, meat or poultry,” Snowe said Monday in a statement.
The new labels will say “100 percent organic,” which means exactly that; or “organic,” which means the product is 95 percent organic; “made with organic ingredients,” requiring the product to be at a minimum 70 percent organic; or “some organic ingredients,” which classifies foods with less than 70 percent organic ingredients.
However, some people aren’t as enthusiastic about the standards as Snowe is.
“This will take a lot of sorting through,” said Russell Libby, director of the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association, which is Maine’s organic certifying agency.
Only those farmers who sell more than $5,000 worth of product must become certified, according to the MOFGA certification coordinator Mary Yurlina. Small producers who possibly have misused the “organic” label now could be subject to a $10,000-a-day fine.
“While small producers now have more reasons than ever to get certified, the paperwork burdens and the rise in the fee might stop them,” Libby said. “The increased paperwork burdens might make people wonder whether they actually want to be certified.”
In Maine, people have usually had that one-one connection with their farmer, so the USDA organic standards won’t be changing much at all.
“If people trusted their farmers before, what will these standards mean to them?” Libby said. “Maine has a very local food system.”
Libby also said there were still many questions that need to be answered by the USDA before the new year takes effect.
“We don’t feel as if we’re getting clear answers from the federal government,” Libby said.
Libby explained how the farmers have used a number of botanical pesticides for years. The pesticides haven’t been approved for next year.
“We’re left wondering what we’ll use or if it’ll be approved,” Libby said. “They haven’t offered us alternatives either.”
The organic industry is growing between 20 and 25 percent annually, and has been for the last several years. U.S. retail sales of organic foods reached approximately $7.8 billion in 2000, with global sales topping $17.5 billion.
Published in The Kennebec Journal and The Morning Sentinel, in Maine.
