‘Organic’ Integrity

Last December, the U.S. Department of Agriculture proposed the country’s first-ever organic food standards and then set them aside for a period of public comment. That period, which ends Thursday, would be better characterized as a time of public thrashing. The department received a record 125,000 letters denouncing its proposal to include under the “organic” category some foods fertilized with sewage sludge, zapped with radiation or genetically engineered to resist pests.

Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman, reportedly chastened by the protest, is now revising the standards. The practices in dispute do have their dangers: Irradiation kills bacteria but also alters the taste of some foods and produces radioactive waste that must be disposed of; sewage sludge often contains heavy-metal toxins like cadmium and lead; genetically altered plant seeds, while holding promise as a possible alternative to pesticides, could be misused in ways that would create “super-bugs.”

But the bottom line is that these practices simply go against what most Americans expect of organic food and what the USDA’s own advisory board, an appointed panel of organic farmers, scientists, environmentalists and consumer representatives, recommended last year.

There are also some provisions worth fighting for in the USDA proposal. One would require regulatory oversight of organic producers. Some organic farmers voluntarily submit to certification, but since they hire the certifiers themselves, there is an obvious conflict of interest. The proposed federal law would improve on this, requiring organic farmers to pay a $50 yearly fee that would fund federal inspectors and an accreditation system for the private certifiers.

The definition of what’s organic is no longer of interest just to a few vegetarians and foodie purists. The organic market is booming, with $4 billion in revenues nationwide last year, up from $173 million in 1980. Those figures will no doubt increase with the escalation of controversy over the safety of pesticides used on non-organic crops.

Last week, the Natural Resources Defense Council issued a report contending that nine out of 10 younger American children are exposed to dangerous levels of organophosphate insecticide residues in their foods. Agriculture industry leaders challenge the report, claiming the levels actually are far too low to be toxic. But the debate has been ratcheted up a notch.

One thing is certain: If the label “organic” is to be trusted by consumers, meaningful standards must apply. The USDA should insist on regular inspections and use ordinary common sense in defining organic practices.