USDA Rescinds Controversial Organic Food Rule

WASHINGTON, DC, May 27, 2004 (ENS) - U.S. Agriculture Secretary Anne Veneman has rescinded new organic food guidelines that critics say threatened to undermine the integrity of the organic food industry.

The directives, announced last month by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), relaxed enforcement of the national organic standards and allowed some use of pesticides, animal drugs, growth hormones, antibiotics, and tainted fishmeal on organic farms.

They outraged the organic industry and consumer organizations, who threatened legal action to force the agency to reverse its decisions.

In response to the new directives, the Organic Consumers Association (OCA), a national consumer watchdog group, immediately launched a campaign to pressure the USDA into reversing its controversial directives.

Within two days, more than 5,000 petition signatures had been gathered and a landslide of faxes, emails and phone calls hit the USDA and National Organic Program (NOP) offices.

"Two days after we sent our first email action alert out, their were so many consumers responding to it, the USDA contacted us and told us to tell our supporters to stop calling their offices," said Ronnie Cummins, executive director of the OCA.

"Secretary Veneman has listened to the concerns the organic community has raised, and I commend her for retracting these far-reaching changes," Cummins said. "The secretary has decided to follow the law and to consult with the National Organic Standards Board, and that is welcome news."

Veneman made the announcement Wednesday at the end of a teleconference focused on farm economy and agriculture export forecast."

The Agriculture Secretary said the department had developed the guidance in "good faith trying to clarify" some implementation issues.

The decision to rescind the guidance was made because "there has been a tremendous amount of interest in this, of concern about what it does," Veneman said.

The USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service will now consult with the organic industry and consumers to rework the guidelines, Veneman told reporters.

Katherine DiMatteo, executive director of the Organic Trade Association said the move is "a gigantic step toward reestablishing the public-private trust that went into developing U.S. national organic standards in the first place."

"Allowing NOP to create and implement new directives 'at will' without open dialogue with stakeholders was creating confusion for businesses and consumers alike," DiMatteo said. "We are eager to work with NOP in this process, and trust that together the right decisions can be made for the good of organic farmers and producers and consumers of organic products."