Bill Would Restore Organic Standard

The Bush administration said Wednesday that it supported a bipartisan Senate bill to repeal recent legislation that lets organic beef and poultry producers use non-organic feed for their livestock.

Organic food organizations and consumer groups were enraged by a provision quietly inserted in a massive federal spending bill this month that eased the livestock feeding requirements for U.S. farmers selling products labeled as organic.

The spending bill was signed into law last week by President Bush.

Agriculture Secretary Ann M. Veneman said she supported a new Senate effort to repeal the organic provision.

“It is important to maintain a strong organic program that ensures the integrity of the organic label placed on consumer products,” Veneman said in a statement. “I support bipartisan efforts to ensure those USDA standards remain in place.”

A group of 27 Senate Democrats and Republicans introduced a bill Wednesday that would again require organic producers of meat, eggs and dairy products to use organic feed.

The USDA launched a program in October, after a decade of activists’ efforts, that allows U.S. organic food companies to carry a special USDA seal on the label. To qualify for the USDA organic seal, livestock producers were required to meet strict conditions, including feeding their animals 100% organic grain or grazing them in special pasture land.

However, some organic livestock producers began lobbying the USDA last summer for permission to feed their animals conventional grain because of skyrocketing prices for organic feed.

Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.) said the legislative language inserted into the federal spending bill this month was done to help a Georgia organic livestock producer, but was written so broadly that it created a loophole for the entire industry.

“We should not weaken the organic standards because one producer wants to cut corners that his competitors are not cutting,” said Leahy, a co-sponsor of the new bill.

Lawmakers have expressed concern that unless the organic provision is repealed, it could undermine consumer confidence in organic food and hurt U.S. exports of organic products.