Certifications Discuss Where Organic is Heading in 2023

(Photo courtesy of Farmland LP)

When you look at the outside of an organic product, more often than not, you will see a handful of different certifications.

So, as we head into a new year, I spoke with several of these organizations and asked about their thoughts on organic in 2023, through the prism of their own certification.

Below are their edited answers.

Elizabeth Whitlow, Executive Director of the Regenerative Organic Alliance, which oversees the Regenerative Organic Certified label

We love the USDA organic seal at the Regenerative Organic Alliance. However, we have to recognize that organic alone is not a silver bullet.

It doesn’t necessarily include the highest standards that regenerate soil health, assure high-bar animal welfare and fight for social fairness. We are also deeply concerned about the prevalence of certified organic Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) and the allowance of soilless, hydroponic systems to be organic.

Based on what we saw in 2022 — and what I believe will only accelerate in 2023 — organic food, fiber and supplement brands from all over the world are becoming increasingly concerned as well, and interest in our certification has never been higher. Not only is the environmental and social impact of primary importance to so many companies, but they want a regenerative standard that is side-by-side with organic.

“Regenerative” is a term that has been co-opted by the pesticide giants, and many organizations that advocate for “regenerative” allow for chemicals, such as glyphosate, to be used. In 2023, I believe that a record number of organic brands are going to demand something different.

Dave Chapman, Co-Director of the Real Organic Project

Organic is more important than ever and remains the serious disrupter on the agriculture scene, despised by the multinational chemical companies.

But the truth is that many eaters and even many farmers are losing faith in the USDA organic certification, and erosion of integrity in the seal is a significant challenge. That being said, these same individuals are not losing faith in organic farming.

Real Organic Project (ROP) offers people the alternative that they are hunting for and affirms that real organic practices work. With approximately 1,000 farms having received ROP certification so far, 2023 will see continued growth in the certification of farms, in addition to brands becoming much more involved in the label. Both the awareness of ROP and the presence of ROP-certified products at retail will only grow.

Now is not the time for despair. Now is the time for change.

In the months ahead, the organic movement will come together and reorganize like never before. There are too many people in our movement who share our belief that we must save this term, something we have worked so hard to build.

Henry Rowlands, Founder of The Detox Project, which oversees the Glyphosate Residue Free certification.

The reduction of toxic chemicals in our food supply has always been a key goal for the organic world, and I expect transparency on this subject to become even more important for consumers of food and supplement products in 2023.

Organic brands realize that consumer education has reached a whole new level in the past few years, and this will lead to an ever-increasing interest in where ingredients are sourced and what their impact is on both human health and the environment.

Unfortunately, many organic brands do not feel that USDA organic certification gives consumers enough of what they want — a fully transparent system that has pesticide and other toxic chemical testing at its core. The USDA’s National Organic Program has very limited toxin testing requirements, and this is leaving the door open to current and future problems, resulting in decreased public trust in organic certification.

Even though glyphosate — the most widely used weedkiller in the world and the key toxin for the creation and development of the unsustainable industrial agricultural model — is prohibited in organic, it has found its way into some organic supply chains, either through spray drift, soil contamination or fraudulent activities by ingredient suppliers.

Given the growing problem of glyphosate and an increasing desire for an extra layer of transparency, I expect the exponential growth in The Detox Project’s Glyphosate Residue Free certification to continue among organic brands in 2023.

Hans Eisenbeis, Director of Mission & Messaging at the Non-GMO Project 

I’m afraid there’s a perfect storm brewing for organic in 2023, as far as GMOs are concerned.

Overall, the organic community has gotten complacent about the threat of GMOs, especially new GMOs or GMO 2.0. There just is not the level of awareness or urgency that we’d like to see.

Make no mistake: Biotech companies that use GE techniques like precision fermentation and synthetic biology are coming for organic and regenerative systems and markets. The fig leaf of “organic is always non-GMO” cannot hold back things like President Biden’s $2 billion biotech executive order or his administration’s meddling with the National Organic Standards Board.

In our view, the USDA’s National Organic Program has just not kept up with the evolving threat of GMOs, and in 2023, the organic community needs to reassert its non-GMO values as loudly as possible.

The Non-GMO Project does not compete with organic — we complement it and support it — and the proof is that shoppers actually prefer products that carry both USDA organic certification and Non-GMO Project verification.

Austin Whitman, CEO of Climate Neutral

What we’re seeing at the intersection of organic and climate labeling is that brands recognize that customers are interested in hearing about climate change, but organic labeling alone does not reflect climate action. So, they’re looking to complement organic labeling with a climate label that speaks to this.

Companies with certified organic products have operations well beyond their ingredients, and in the year ahead, organic brands will continue to adopt climate labeling because they recognize the impacts of their broader operations — the impacts of factories, shipping, travel, packaging, etc. — are not captured in an organic designation.

We continue to regard organic certifications as one of the best examples of where the climate neutrality movement could go. If climate neutrality were as pervasive as organic, we would see hundreds of millions more dollars going into avoiding and reducing carbon emissions.

With gratitude, Max Goldberg, Founder