Farming Group Calls for More USDA Attention to Organic Imports
Drastic changes at the U.S. Department Agriculture's National Organic Program are needed in response to the cheap imports improperly being labeled as organic, the Cornucopia Institute said in a letter to Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue (here). The letter followed a…
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May 12 article in The Washington Post (here) that examined imported agricultural products labeled "USDA Organic" even though the products may not have met requirements for such a label. Cornucopia, which describes itself as a "national nonprofit farm research organization," called for replacing USDA Deputy Administrator Miles McEvoy, who oversees the NOP. "The next organic scandal is already at the door: the flood of foreign hydroponic imports that are illegal to sell as organic in their country of origin but are being sold in the U.S. as certified organic produce -- even though the U.S. organic standards clearly requires soil stewardship as a prerequisite for organic certification," Cornucopia said. "These foreign imports are already forcing domestic farmers in the Northeast out of retail markets for their produce grown in American soil." The USDA Agricultural Marketing Service didn't immediately comment.