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History of the USDA National Organic Program |
K. DIMATTEO, Organic Trade Association, PO Box 547, 74 Fairview St., Greenfield, MA 01302 In the 1970s farmer groups throughout the United States came together – independent of each other – and agreed to volunteer standards for organic production and certification to verify their product claims. At the same time in Europe the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) was formed to share information about the adverse ecological effects of current farming practices and to discuss the principles that would bind together the emerging organic production standards. In 1980 Washington and Oregon States passed legislation that defined organic production, organic labels and the requirement for certification. The Organic Foods Production Association of North America (OFPANA) was formed in 1985 to unify the various organic farm groups, certification organizations, processors and handlers of organic products in the U.S. and Canada. Concerned about marketplace confusion about the organic claim, fraudulent use of the organic label and the inequity created by mandatory State organic regulations, OFPANA strove to create a private sector oversight system of organic standards and the organic label. This private sector industry initiative was not easily embraced by the environmental and consumer organizations. Eleven states by 1990 had introduced legislation for organic production standards including California that required registration, not certification, to use the organic label. The National Resources Defense Council’s Alar Report coalesced a diverse group of environmental, consumer, and farm organizations as well as OFPANA and other industry organizations in support of a proposed federal legislation – the Organic Foods Production Act - for the 1990 Farm Bill. Sponsored by Senator Leahy of Vermont and Congressman DeFazio of Oregon this Act was passed by Congress despite strident opposition from many on the Hill, USDA, and the agriculture and food industry. Another twelve years were needed to forge organic regulations acceptable to the organic industry, environmental and consumer groups and to manage the regulatory process.
Session 36, Organic foods in the post USDA final rule era
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