Organic Certifiers Take an Unprecedented Stand Against the USDA

(Images courtesy of the Real Organic Project)

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According to Dr. Jennifer Tucker, the senior USDA official who oversees the National Organic Program, hydroponics in organic is considered “a settled issue.” Meaning, it is allowed, give up your fight and let’s move on to other matters.

Yet, a significant part of the organic community vehemently disagrees and remains defiant in its view that the allowance of hydroponics represents both an egregious violation of the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990 and an existential threat to the entire movement.

In a new and stunning development, the stakes in this fight have just been raised to an unprecedented level.

Several leading organic certifiers — OneCert, NOFA-NY, Vermont Organic Farmers, OEFFA and MOFGA, in addition to add-on label Real Organic Project — drafted and signed onto the position statement Organic Agriculture is Soil-Based: A Fundamental Principle Underlying Organic Crop Certification.

While many of us sign petitions fighting for causes on a daily basis, we do not give it much of a second thought.

For these certifiers, however, they are taking a direct stand against the USDA, the agency that has the power to strip them of their ability to be an official organic certifier, something that would put them out of business.

So, signing this statement, which says that “hydroponics and aeroponics cannot be classified as certified organic growing methods,” is an incredibly serious declaration and demonstrates just how deeply they believe that the USDA is erring in its judgment on this issue.

“The USDA’s National Organic Program is wrong, and it has to decide if it wants to be relevant or irrelevant,” said Dave Chapman, co-director of the Real Organic Project. “We have a lot of power, and we are not going away.”

THE SOUL OF ORGANIC IS AT STAKE

As ratified by Congress, Section 6513 b-1 of the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990 says that:

An organic plan shall contain provisions designed to foster soil fertility, primarily through the management of the organic content of the soil through proper tillage, crop rotation, and manuring.

It doesn’t require a law degree to understand that growing plants in a plastic bucket of water has absolutely nothing to do with fostering soil fertility. It only requires intellectual honesty.

So, if the law is so clear, how has this method of growing been able to make such inroads into the organic industry?

Corporate lobbyists, of course, who have exerted tremendous pressure on the National Organic Standard Board over the past few decades to keep it in organic.

These hydroponic advocates claim that we need to use this growing technology in order to meet the increasing demand of the organic marketplace. But in no way does this justify its inclusion in organic production, as it goes squarely against what the law states.

After all, having clearly defined and enforceable laws is a requisite for a well-functioning system. Everyone knows the rules and the best, most efficient operators will win and gain market share. That is called fair competition.

But when the rules are bent, creating an unlevel playing field where soil-based organic farmers must unfairly compete against organic hydroponic operators, the system breaks down. This is precisely what is happening today.

For Sam Welsch, president of OneCert, whose certification agency was served an issue of non-compliance by the USDA for refusing to certify hydroponic operations as organic, this issue speaks to the soul and essence of our movement.

“Most people come to organic because they want to avoid consuming toxic pesticides, and the reason that organic agriculture can avoid using these chemicals is because the crops are grown in healthy soil. Organic soil management is what creates healthy plants. So, if we remove the soil from the equation, we are denying everything that organic represents. ‘Organic hydroponic’ is a complete oxymoron,” he said.

As the USDA continues in its attempt to persuade hydroponic opponents to let go of the fight, it ought to heed the words of its leader, Secretary Tom Vilsack, who said the following many years ago when he ran the agency under President Obama.

“That term, ‘organic,’ needs to be pure. You can’t allow the definition to be eroded to where it means nothing. We have to fight against that kind of pressure.”

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As of publication today, the Position Statement has been signed by 72 organizations, including 10 organic certifiers. If you are an individual or a business and would like to add your name to the list, please visit the website of the Real Organic Project or OEFFA.

(Does this hydroponic operation look organic to you?)

With gratitude, Max Goldberg, Founder