ORGANIC CERTIFICATION FRAUD

            According to the Real Organic Project, yesterday a letter with 40 former National Organic Standards Board signatories went to Sec. of Agriculture Thomas Vilsack and most congressmen and senators that said in part:

 "We are writing to share with you our concern that the integrity of the National Organic Standards has eroded significantly over the years. In some cases, the Standards have devolved from the original intention of OFPA, as in the example of enclosed poultry porches substituting for outdoor access. In other cases, a lack of strong enforcement of existing standards has led to well-documented cases of fraud and an economic burden on organic operators who follow the rules, versus those who do not. We think the erosion of the Organic Standards is in violation of the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990 and is undermining consumer confidence in the integrity of organic food and the confidence of real organic farmers in the integrity of the USDA National Organic Program."

   - Forty Former members of the NOSB to Secretary Tom Vilsack.

              The letter cites several areas of rampant disdain by USDA's organic standards enforcement division:

             1.  The pasture compliance which large organic livestock producers circumvent openly and aggressively.  "Outdoor access" requirements for organic poultry now means simply a tiny deck or porch that chickens can step on if they want--most don't because they're too small to accommodate even a tiny fraction of the birds in an organic factory house.

             2.  Grain fraud.  Most people don't realize that nearly 80 percent of all organic grains used in the U.S. is imported, and nearly half of that goes through Istanbul where fraud is rampant.  The Washington Post did an expose on this fraud four years ago but the USDA largely ignores all of it.  On our farm, we purchase GMO-free from local farmers we can visit and befriend--this is why I don't play the government certification game.  It's completely bogus.

             3.  Hydroponics and aeroponics.  When first written, the organic rule was all about soil; these soilless systems are a gross adulteration of the intent and foundational thinking of the organic movement and yet these nutrient-deficient products and growing practices are allowed to be certified.

             I met with Vilsack when he was Sec. of Ag under President Obama; I was one of about 20 folks invited by then-VA governor Terry McCauliffe to an agriculture round-table in Richmond.  What I remember most vividly about that meeting was Vilsack's number one reason to help farmers stay in business:  their children produce the best soldiers for the U.S. military.  I still shake my head every day over the memory. When I publicized it, McCauliffe's henchmen threatened to harm me.

             I have news for these sincere-minded signatories:  put your energy somewhere else.  Ain't gonna be no salvation from Vilsack.  Forget the politics and just grow good stuff; lead with integrity and let the charlatans play.  You'll just be disappointed and bleed off important emotional energy tilting at Vilsack windmills.  The corruption is way deeper than you can imagine and the media doesn't care about farming anyway.

             Do you have faith that Vilsack will unleash the USDA's enforcement army on industrial organic scofflaws?