Despite organic agriculture’s positive growth it has reached a critical juncture in its struggle for a more sustainable food future. OnOctober 21 2002 national organic standards became law. While thesestandards are worthy of celebration they are not the final word in theprotection and promotion of organic food systems.

Unfortunatelythe future of organic food is in the hands of an Administration and aregulatory agency–the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)–that arebacked by powerful agribusiness interests all of which are openlyhostile to the organic and beyond alternative. In less than a year frompassage the Bush administration sought to seriously undermine the national organic standards in a number of significant ways including creating numerous potential loopholes that would allow placingunacceptable chemical materials on a list of substances approved fororganic use; a number of unapproved additives to be used in processing organic foods; eliminating outdoor access requirements for poultry; eliminating the requirement that livestock feed be 100 percent organic; and forcing small-scale farmer-based organic certifiers out of the program. Ifthe Bush administration’s current policies are continued the integrityof all organic food could be fatally compromised and this crucialalternative to industrial agriculture would be lost.

CFS seeks to maintain strong organic standards that live up to the quality and integrity that consumers expect from organic foods while evolving the ethic by promoting agriculture thatis local small-scale and family operated biologically diversehumane and socially just. The ultimate goal of the Organic &Beyond campaign is to replace the industrial agriculture model with anew vision of farming with the natural world.

From The Center for Food Safety