Keeping organic labels real

In session
May 2003

Freedom for information!
Keeping organic labels real
Legislative alerts from Network, a Catholic lobby

Keeping organic labels real
A hastily conceived congressional provision that would have significantly diminished long-sought standards for organic labeling for the U.S. food industry has been withdrawn after a deluge of consumer complaints on Washington legislators. "President Bush's repeal . . . of Section 771 is a triumph for the organic community and verifies the strength of the consumer mandate to protect the organic standards," said Katherine DiMatteo, executive director of the Massachusetts-based Organic Trade Association.

The bill signed on April 16 by President Bush includes an amendment repealing a rider to the Omnibus Appropriations Bill that, in effect, allowed organic livestock producers to feed their animals less than 100 percent organic feed and still market the resulting meat, dairy, and poultry products as organic.

"The organic community united immediately in a nationwide grassroots effort to defend the integrity of the organic standards. Every elected official was contacted. Every medium was tapped," said DiMatteo. "It's time legislators realize that the organic community will not allow the organic standards to be undermined."

On October 21, 2002, after 12 years of wrangling and negotiation, new standards for organic foods became law. All producers of organic foods would finally be playing by the same rules. But in February 2003, a provision buried in the 3,000-page, $397 billion federal spending bill was inserted—without a public hearing—by House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R.-Ill.) at the urging of Rep. Nathan Deal (R-Ga.). Deal was acting on behalf of Fieldale Farms, a corporation of poultry farmers in Deal's north Georgia district.

The provision relaxed the standard for organic animal feed by creating a significant loophole: In situations when organic feed costs twice as much as conventional feed, meat and poultry could still be labeled organic even if the animals hadn't been fed organic feed. (It is a standard operating procedure in the United States to provide 100 percent and readily available organic feed for organic livestock. The organic rule already includes emergency feed provisions in case of shortages.) In other words, Georgia chickens could still be called organic even if the farmers fed them conventional feed containing antibiotics and pesticides.

Organic community efforts to repeal the rider, Section 771 of the Omnibus Appropriations Bill, included nationwide e-mail and phone campaigns to elected officials in Congress, letters to the editors of local newspapers, a national ad in The New York Times, visits with legislative leaders in Washington, D.C., newspaper, magazine, TV and radio articles, and web and store-based consumer education.

DiMatteo praised Congress for its rapid response to requests to repeal the rider. "We especially appreciate Senators Patrick Leahy and Olympia Snowe and Representatives Sam Farr and Ron Kind in the House for sponsoring the repeal bills. Seventy-one Senators and 105 Representatives signed on as co-sponsors of bills to repeal Section 771. Getting this response took a monumental effort by our members, affiliated associations and groups, and consumers who barraged their legislators and contacted the media with the message that Section 771 was a major mistake that had to be corrected immediately," said DiMatteo.

"Congress has done the right thing to repeal Section 771. The organic industry and consumers can breathe a sigh of relief and rejoice that this issue has been put to bed in a timely fashion. It truly was a bad egg, but legislators now have disposed of it," said DiMatteo.

She added, "We truly hope legislators have learned that we will not stand by when anyone tries to undermine organic standards by resorting to backroom deals.

"This is a moment to celebrate. However, it proves once again that we must remain vigilant to make sure consumers get what they want: that products labeled as organic in the marketplace truly meet stringent standards that are certified."

Representing the $11 billion organic industry in North America, the Organic Trade Association (OTA) is a membership-based business association. Its mission is to encourage global sustainability through promoting and protecting the growth of diverse organic trade.

For more:
The organic report

Back to page top