New Organic Labeling Program Starts Today (Monday),
Ensuring That ‘Organic’ Products REALLY ARE Organic

. . . Leahy Is Program’s ‘Father’

(MONDAY, Oct. 21) – After a struggle of more than ten years led by Vermont’s Senator Patrick Leahy, the new organic standards and labeling program officially begins today (Monday) in grocery stores in Vermont and nationwide.

Leahy is the father of the program, which certifies that farmers whose products carry the new “USDA Organic” label have earned it by meeting the new standards.  Now consumers will be able to trust that products claiming to be organic really are organic – if they carry the USDA Organic label.  It means they are produced with organic ingredients and environmentally friendly practices, and without chemical pesticides, irradiation, genetically modified seeds, and antibiotics.  Leahy authored the 1990 law that set up the organic standards and labeling program, and Vermont’s booming organic industry has worked with Leahy for a decade to get the labeling program through USDA and off the ground.

The number of organic farms in Vermont has quadrupled in the past decade, and U.S.  demand for organic products has risen by at least 20 percent each year.  The labeling program is expected to fuel even more growth in organic products, with retail sales projected to approach $20 billion three years from now.

Leahy also included several follow-on steps on organic products in this year’s farm bill, and today Leahy, joined by Agriculture Committee Chairman Tom Harkin, wrote to Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman asking prompt implementation of Leahy’s new provisions, which include a national cost-share program which will help defray the cost of certification to organic farmers.  Another Leahy provision funds a new $15 million research program to help develop better and more efficient organic agricultural practices. 

CHRONOLOGY –

THE LONG ROAD TO TODAY’S LAUNCH
OF THE ORGANIC STANDARDS AND LABELING PROGRAM 

MAY 1982 – Senator Patrick Leahy introduces the Innovative Farming Act of 1982, which directs USDA to create pilot projects to promote and help interested farmers with their transition to organic agriculture.  The bill is opposed by the Reagan Administration.

MARCH 1990 – Senator Leahy, now chairman of the Agriculture Committee, introduces the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990 to create a national standard for organic foods. 

NOVEMBER 1990 – The 1990 Farm Bill becomes law, including Leahy’s Organic Foods Production Act.  The new law directs USDA to begin writing national organic standards which then would be the basis for consumer labeling.

DEC. 1997 THROUGH May 1998 – Seven years later, USDA finally releases a proposed rule for the labeling of organic products.  The draft rules were flawed and were heavily criticized, during the public comment period, by Leahy and by the organic farming community.  The draft rules would have allowed genetically modified and irradiated foods to be labeled “organic,” as well as products grown with sewage sludge as fertilizer.   In total, 325,000 citizens commented on the national organic standard, mostly urging stronger standards.

MAY 1998 – USDA responds to the overwhelming public criticism by pulling back the organic rule for a major rewrite.  Kathleen Merrigan, a former Leahy staffer, is hired by USDA to rewrite the rule and bring credibility back to the national organic standard.

MARCH 2000 – USDA issues a revised and far more stringent rule.  The new rule makes several key changes, including the exclusion of genetically modified, irradiated, and sewage sludge-grown foods. 

DECEMBER 2000 – USDA issues the final national organic standards, which is widely hailed by organic producers and consumer organizations.

MAY 2002 – The 2002 farm bill becomes law.  Senator Leahy succeeded in adding several provisions building on the new organic standards program, including a national cost-share program to help farmers with the costs of organic certification and a $15 million organic research program.

OCTOBER 21^st, 2002 – National organic standards and labels program takes effect.  Leahy urges Agriculture Secretary Veneman to promptly implement organic provisions of the new farm bill.

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