consciouseating

What’s Organic about Organic?

Behind the USDA Certifi cation

by Lauressa Nelson

O

ur Conscious Eating column is dedicated to supporting our community in the

movement toward eating in a way that is sustainable for us individually, collectively and environmentally. In exploring local farms, markets, restaurants and food resources, I’d begun to wonder about the strength behind the USDA’s organic certifi cation label. Recently, I’ve heard casual comments suggesting that the USDA standards are weaker than they should be or that loopholes allow big corporations to get around the rules. There’s also the argument that “the little guy cannot afford USDA certifi cation.” Is such skepticism regarding USDA certifi cation warranted? When I saw that the Florida Film

Festival was screening a documentary entitled “What’s Organic About Organic?” I was afraid I’d walk away with the sinking feeling that there’s no hope of eating food about which I can feel good. After the fi lm screening, I stayed for an audience Q-&-A session and personally caught up with producer/director Shelley Rogers and co-producer Marty Mesh, who is also executive director of Florida Organic Growers—a not-for-profi t organization that promotes organic and sustainable agriculture on local, state, national, and international levels.

Rogers admits she began the project with doubts similar to mine. “When I fi rst started, I was actually skeptical [about the USDA label]. I was concerned that maybe it was just all marketing hype. In 2005 when I started doing the research, everything I read on the internet was about the corporate take-over of organic.” That skepticism didn’t last long after Rogers spent time at organic farms and realized how dedicated organic farmers are to their environmental impact and that the paranoia on the internet was the false hype. “I realized that the important part of the story is that organic production has a great benefi t to the environment: not only is it not using toxic materials, it’s also really great for soil health, can sequester carbon and can combat global warming. . . . Yes there are corporate entities involved in organics,

but is that necessarily a bad thing? In order to change the face of agriculture and change our food system, we need everybody involved. The potential environmental benefi t of large companies producing organic products is considerable. Local agriculture and local food systems are really important, but just because it’s corporate organic doesn’t necessarily mean it’s bad. It might not be the best thing you can buy, but it makes me feel good to know that whoever grew the product that I’m eating wasn’t exposed to toxic chemicals as they were growing it.” What follows in the fi lm is a series of interviews and family-farm vignettes that highlight the inspiration and beauty behind the organic philosophy and lifestyle alongside the real-world issues, pressures, and trade-offs that must be made to bring organically- grown products to a broader market. The inside look at the industry, however, does make one a believer in the signifi cance of growing organically. Regarding USDA certifi cation, Rogers point out: “I’ve been to farmers’ markets all over the country. If a farmer says he grows organically but isn’t certifi ed, how am I supposed to know if that is true without the USDA seal? There’s no verifi cation other than a handshake and a look into somebody’s eyes. Certifi cation is that necessary validation from an independent third party.” Furthermore, USDA certifi cation, explain Rogers and Mesh, is a “transparent system, completely publicly funded and vetted. As citizens in a democracy, we have a voice to make it whatever we think it should be.” Because it is a public program, public support for it is vital. Rogers explains: “Marty and some of his colleagues fi ght really hard on behalf of organic farmers.

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