SOS Campaign

After 35 years of hard work, the US organic community has built a multi-billion dollar alternative to industrial agriculture. Now large corporations, aided and abetted by the USDA and members of Congress, are moving to lower organic standards and seize control. For the sake of the earth and our health we must stop them.

Take Action!

Demand an Independent
NOP Peer Review Board

After years of pressure from watchdog groups like the Organic Consumers Association (OCA), the Cornucopia Institute, and others, the USDA has finally acknowledged publicly that there are problems in its monitoring and enforcement of the National Organic Program (NOP). In August, the USDA announced that half of the accredited organic certifiers under an agency investigation failed their certification audits.

The OCA has emphasized that the overwhelming majority of organic farmers, producers, and certifiers are indeed "playing by the rules," but we need to stop unscrupulous certifiers and USDA bureaucrats from saturating the organic market with fraud.

We need a professional, well-funded and independent NOP Peer Review Board, composed of respected members of the organic community, as required by law, and we need it now.

Learn more and take action here

Organic Boycott Spreads

Stop Organic Outlaws Labeling Factory Farm Milk as "USDA Organic" The OCA is expanding its boycott of Horizon and Aurora organic dairy products to include five national "private label" organic milk brands supplied by Aurora, as well as two leading organic soy products, Silk and White Wave, owned by Horizon's parent company, Dean Foods.

Its time to turn up the heat on the "Shameless Seven"
Learn more and take action....

Tell USDA that products labeled as "Organic" must be Organic.

WHAT'S AT STAKE

Organic Standards Under Fire:

Agribusiness front groups, such as the Farm Bureau, big food corporations like Kraft, biotech companies such as Monsanto, right-wing think tanks, such as the Hudson Institute, and industry-friendly government agencies have consistently tried to undermine organic standards and get the USDA to allow conventional chemical-intensive and factory farm practices on organic farms. Unless strict organic standards are maintained, consumers will lose faith in the organic label.

Federal Funding for Organics:

The current five year $220 billion US Farm Bill allocates less than $5 million annually for organic research, promotion and marketing... approximately one-hundredth of one percent. This means that Congress is using billions of our tax dollars to reward chemical-intensive, factory farm style operations, while penalizing non-chemical farmers. This, despite the fact that organic food has been the fasting growing segment in the food marketplace for over 13 years. To move beyond using pesticides, chemicals and genetically modified seeds, conventional farmers need government subsidies and conversion programs that prioritize local and regional organic production. These misguided priorities must be reversed in the upcoming 2007 Farm Bill.

Preserving Organic Farms and Consumer Choice:

Genetically Engineered (GE) crops pose a serious pollution threat to organic food and farms. Windblown pollen from GE crops and commingling of seeds in grain elevators or transport vehicles are contaminating organic farms and seed stocks of corn, soy, cotton and canola. The OCA is calling for strict legal liability on all GE crops utilizing the "polluter pays" principle, to protect the property rights of farmers growing organic or non-GE crops. The OCA is also calling for mandatory labeling on GE foods- similar to laws already in place in Europe and other countries- so that consumers have a choice whether or not to buy GE foods.

The Power of the Organic Community

USDA Yields to OCA's Demands

Following a June 14, 2005 lawsuit filed by the OCA and Dr. Bronner's, a leading organic body care and hemp food company, and a nationwide OCA grassroots pressure campaign, the USDA agreed to allow certification of qualifying organic body care products, pet foods, and nutritional supplements. Since the summer of 2004, the USDA National Organic Program had been telling certified organic companies to remove the "USDA Organic" seal from all non-food products. Taking advantage of the lack of regulatory oversight, some body care and supplement companies had been misleading consumers with fraudulent "organic" labeling claims on products with a host of synthetic ingredients. Thanks to thousands of consumers signing our petition, and over 400 businesses signing on to support our campaign, the USDA surrendered to the OCA's demands on August 23, saying they would accept certification and allow use of the "USDA Organic" seal on all organic non-food products that meet the national standards. The "USDA Organic" seal will help consumers find real organic products while substantially boosting the market for organic farmers. This was a major victory for consumers and the organic community!

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