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4.3.2019
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The Cornucopia Institute -- One of the Industry’s Most Important Watchdog Organizations -- May Soon Become Irrelevant

(Cornucopia Co-Founder Mark Kastel at the Keep the Soil in Organic Rally in Jacksonville, Florida in 2017.)


As of Saturday, Mark Kastel, the outspoken co-founder of The Cornucopia Institute, is no longer heading this organic farm policy group.

In a statement posted on Cornucopia’s website on March 30th, it announced “a change in leadership” and gave no specific reason for this decision.

Seeking more details about this move, Organic Insider received a response from Cornucopia on April 2nd which said, “Mark is stepping down from his Executive Director role with the Cornucopia Institute. While he may continue to be involved in policy analysis and research efforts, Mark is moving toward retirement.”

For those individuals who are entrenched in the policy and regulation of organic, this announcement was devastating news.

“Losing Mark as a fierce advocate for the regulations that have made organic a powerhouse at the grocery will further damage the organic system I know and love. His knowledge, sharp eyes and ears, and fierce fight on behalf of the integrity of organics cannot be replaced,” said Stephanie Strom, former food business journalist at the The New York Times and someone who has covered the industry for many years.

The timing of this move is quite curious.

A few weeks ago, Cornucopia released its most important and controversial work ever — the organic certifier scorecard.

This scorecard was a direct and unprecedented challenge to the industry’s status quo and exposed which certifiers are certifying organic factory farms and hydroponic operations — both of which are viewed as illegal and incredibly damaging in the eyes of many industry stakeholders. By compiling this information and pushing it out to the public, the report put the cash flow of these multi-million dollar organic certifiers at risk.

As a result, one could easily speculate that the board of Cornucopia faced tremendous pressure to remove Mark Kastel from his position.

This seems to be the opinion of some industry observers.

“It troubles me greatly that Cornucopia’s board has apparently buckled to the pressure put on it by major certifiers and their big company clients. Everyone knows that the certification system has favored larger clients, who pay bigger fees and are thus more lucrative for certifiers than small farmers,” said Stephanie Strom.

WHY THIS MATTERS SO MUCH

The fact that this move at Cornucopia would cause such concern speaks to the precarious nature of what is truly happening in our industry; namely, the serious lack of support and cooperation from the USDA and how its failure to protect our industry is weakening the organic seal.

Here are a few examples that illustrate this point:

* There are two separate lawsuits (see here and here) against the USDA in regards to its withdrawal of the Organic Animal Welfare Standards.

* Legal action has been initiated against the USDA for allowing hydroponics in organic. Hydroponics is a complete violation of the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990.

* Factory organic farms have been allowed to proliferate under the USDA’s watch.

* The USDA ignored repeated warnings about the massive problem of fraudulent imported organic grains until The Washington Post’s investigation came out in 2017.

* The USDA’s refusal to clarify rules in organic dairy has created a situation where every organic certifier is interpreting the rules differently, something that is contributing to the demise of many small organic dairy farmers. Melissa Hughes, General Counsel and Chief Mission Officer at Organic Valley, said there is “a new level of inconsistency we have never seen in 30 years of organic dairy.”

With the USDA failing to protect and safeguard our industry, it has fallen into the hands of groups such as Cornucopia to do this job.

Yet, with so few others willing and capable of taking on this role, who will replace Mark Kastel?

While he may have ruffled some feathers along the way and had an approach that did not sit well with everyone, the quality of his work was impeccable, and his integrity was unquestioned. There is a reason that the nation’s leading publications, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, NPR and many others, continually quoted and worked with him on stories.

“Mark has been a tremendous asset in the battle to protect organic integrity, and he has proven time and again he will not shy away from controversy,” said Jim Gerritsen, a Maine organic seed farmer and President of OSGATA.

After years of tireless work and dedication, Mark Kastel built The Cornucopia Institute into what it is today — one of the most trusted and vigilant watchdog groups in the organic industry.

If Cornucopia fails to follow through on its organic certifier scorecard and does not maintain its very aggressive stance, which was established by Mark Kastel, this esteemed organization will soon become irrelevant.

And organic farmers and consumers will end up suffering the most.

With gratitude,

Max Goldberg, Founder

This Week's Quick Hits

Quick Hits

* Patagonia Provisions has just released its second beer called Long Root Wit.

* This Belgian-style witbier is made with organic ingredients and the Kernza perennial grain, a grain specifically suited for regenerative organic agriculture thanks to its long roots — up to 10 feet long — and perennial growth cycle.


* This Saturday in NYC, Dewayne “Lee” Johnson, the terminally ill former groundskeeper who sued Monsanto and won, will be speaking at the movie premiere of Ground War.


* Presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren wants to level the playing field for America’s family farmers.


* Bryce Harper, the major league baseball star who just signed a whopping 13-year, $330 million dollar contract, is committed to eating an organic, non-gmo diet.


* Applegate is first-ever official natural and organic meat of Minor League Baseball.


* At the end of March, Natural Grocers estimated that it had eliminated more than 300 million single-use plastic bags.


* Apparently, these albino lizards are the world’s first genetically modified reptiles. I don’t like where this is headed.


New Organic Products

New Organic Products

Celery Juice by Suja

Suja is now selling pressed organic celery juice in 59-ounce bottles at select Costco stores in the San Diego area. The company plans on rolling out smaller sizes in additional markets and at other retailers in the upcoming months.

Drinkable Cashew Probiotic Yogurt by DAHlicious Organic

DAHlicious Organic has introduced a line of slow cultured, organic cashew drinkable yogurts. These plant-based drinks come in four flavors – Alphonso Mango, Wild Blueberry, Field Strawberry and Grassland Plain.

Selected Cheese by Clover Sonoma

Made with AHA (American Humane Association) certified organic milk from Northern California family-owned dairy farms, Clover Sonoma has rolled out a new line of organic cheese in 8 oz. blocks that come in five flavors — Sharp White Cheddar, Medium White Cheddar, Monterey Jack and Pepper Jack.

Want your product profiled here? Learn more

This Week's News Items

Weekly News Summaries

First Course
USA Today

Whole Foods Cuts Prices on Hundreds of Items

By Kelly Tyko

Whole Foods has announced that it has cut prices on more than 500 items at locations nationwide, with some savings of up to 20%.

NPR

Jury Awards $80 Million to California Man in Monsanto's Roundup Lawsuit

By Richard Gonzales

A jury has awarded Edwin Hardeman $80 million in damages, whose lawyers argued that the glyphosate-based herbicide caused his cancer after more than two decades of Roundup usage on his property.

Civil Eats

Farmers Bet Big on the South’s First Organic Hemp Cooperative

By Austyn Gaffney

Kentucky, now the fourth largest hemp producer in the nation, and its small farmers are building a cooperative and transitioning more land from generations of tobacco farming toward organic hemp.

CNBC

Walgreens Will Sell CBD Products in 1,500 Stores

By Angelica LaVito

Walgreens to join rival drugstore chain CVS in selling CBD-containing topicals, including creams and salves.

Second Course
NOSH

BIGR Invests in Leading Organic CBD Brand RE Botanicals

By Carol Ortenberg

Launched by Nutiva founder John Roulac, RE Botanicals has closed on a $2M round of financing led by BIGR Ventures, with participation from a diverse group of natural and organic industry veterans.

Cision PRWeb

Tony Robbins Helps Launch an Organic Baked Goods Company

Self-help guru Tony Robbins has backed Nunbelievable, a mission-based, direct-to-consumer organic baked goods company that aims to help end hunger in the United States.

Associated Press

SunOpta Expands Organic Oils Portfolio with Acquisition of Sanmark

SunOpta, a publicly-traded global company focused on organic, non-gmo and specialty foods, has signed a definitive agreement to acquire the shares of Sanmark B.V., a business focused on organic oils for the food, pharmacy, and cosmetic industries.

U.S. Right to Know

Monsanto Allocates $17 Million for Pro-Glyphosate Efforts

By Carey Gillam

U.S. Right to Know has found that Monsanto has budgeted up to $17 million -- in one year alone -- to discredit international cancer scientists who warn people about the health risks of glyphosate, the super-toxic herbicide.

Third Course
Fort Lauderdale Daily

Local Chefs Give Insight on Organic Food at Restaurants

By Eric Barton

A very sobering look at how a few chefs in Florida view organic food at restaurants.

Eater

Whole Foods opens Bodega-Like Convenience Store in NYC

By Carla Vianna

Dubbed Whole Foods Market Daily Shop, this new concept in Chelsea aims to get people in and out faster than the full-service grocery store next door.

GlobeNewsWire

GMO Tequila Bacterium Produces Cannabinoids from Sugar

Genetic engineering continues to invade the cannabinoid space.  

Natural Products Insider

Millennials Show Loyalty to the Frozen Foods Aisle

By Judie Bizzozero

Nearly half of all Millennials are making purchases of frozen foods, with non-GMO and organic claims seeing strong growth.


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This Week's Quick Hits

Quick Hits

* Patagonia Provisions has just released its second beer called Long Root Wit.

* This Belgian-style witbier is made with organic ingredients and the Kernza perennial grain, a grain specifically suited for regenerative organic agriculture thanks to its long roots — up to 10 feet long — and perennial growth cycle.


* This Saturday in NYC, Dewayne “Lee” Johnson, the terminally ill former groundskeeper who sued Monsanto and won, will be speaking at the movie premiere of Ground War.


* Presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren wants to level the playing field for America’s family farmers.


* Bryce Harper, the major league baseball star who just signed a whopping 13-year, $330 million dollar contract, is committed to eating an organic, non-gmo diet.


* Applegate is first-ever official natural and organic meat of Minor League Baseball.


* At the end of March, Natural Grocers estimated that it had eliminated more than 300 million single-use plastic bags.


* Apparently, these albino lizards are the world’s first genetically modified reptiles. I don’t like where this is headed.


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