Real Organic Project Meets with Secretary Vilsack

Farmers of the Real Organic Project met with Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack last week, discussing what the group calls the “organic problem.” The meeting followed a letter sent to Vilsack last month signed by 43 former members of the National Organic Standards board.

The farmers told Vilsack, “the National Organic Program is in serious trouble because of the failure of the USDA to uphold the integrity of the Organic Standards.”

The standards board is intended to represent a broad spectrum of interest groups. However, the group claims, “The choices by the USDA are often skewed, with mid-level Agribiz managers oftentimes taking a farmer position.”

In the last eleven years, the program has failed to successfully bring a number of key recommendations to rulemaking. The group’s April letter states, “This failure has led to real damage to trust in and the integrity of the organic program, as the NOP has failed to respond to serious challenges to the meaning of organic from industry.”

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