*Update: This Action of the Week is updated to address the organic status of the company cited in the piece, Merchant's Garden. The company is certified as organic under a different name (Merchant's Garden Agrotech) than the name used in the USDA press release. As a result, their name did not appear in USDA's Organic Integrity Database (OID) at the time of the original Daily News and Action of the Week posting. USDA updated OID on December 8, 2023, the same day it received a complaint from former National Organic Standard Board chair Jim Riddle. The critical focus of the piece remains the same: It is not disclosed to consumers on food products labeled "organic" when that food or ingredients are grown hydroponically. Beyond Pesticides, as indicated, views hydroponic as a conventional growing practice that does not meet the spirit and intent of the organic system, as defined in the Organic Foods Production Act.
On November 27, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack announced the release of funds from the USDA Rural Business Development and Value-Added Producer Grant Programs to assist in the financing or expansion of rural businesses. In total, 185 projects worth nearly $196 million are being funded to create new and better market opportunities for agricultural producers.
One of the projects highlighted in the USDA announcement is very troubling. The announcement states, “Merchant's Garden LLC is a hydroponic and aquaponic farm in Tucson, Arizona. The company will use a $250,000 Value-Added Producer Grant to expand marketing and sales of prepackaged salad mixes to help them become a local supplier of organic leafy greens for southern Arizona.” However, Merchant's Garden's website does not make any organic claims for its produce, so it can only be concluded that USDA is urging this hydroponic/aquaponic producer to seek organic certification.*
Taxpayer dollars should not used to finance a hydroponic/aquaponic operation that does not comply with the Organic Foods Production Act (OFPA). If products from this operation are to be sold as “organic,” it will cause harm to producers who comply with OFPA. It will also deceive consumers, who purchase organic products believing that such products are produced in healthy, fertile soil, as required by the organic law and regulations. To the extent that hydroponic operations supplant soil-based (real) organic operations, these subsidies negate the climate and biodiversity benefits of organic agriculture.
The Organic Foods Production Act, at 6513(b), requires that all organic crop production operations submit and follow organic plans that, “shall contain provisions designed to foster soil fertility, primarily through the management of the organic content of the soil through proper tillage, crop rotation, and manuring.” The same section of OFPA goes on to state, “An organic plan shall not include any production or handling practices that are inconsistent with this chapter.”
The Earth needs many more real organic farms that support soil health, help sequester carbon dioxide, and avoid the use of materials like soluble nitrogen fertilizers that contribute many times as much warming potential as carbon dioxide. USDA's financial support should go to new and transitioning organic farms.
By decisive vote in 2010, the USDA's National Organic Standards Board determined that hydroponic and aquaponic operations are inconsistent with OFPA and do not qualify for organic certification. The National Organic Program (NOP) must determine whether Merchant's Garden LLC complies with section 6513(b) of the Organic Foods Production Act and whether the operation intends to sell their hydroponically-grown products as “organic.” If the operation does not comply, NOP must ensure that it is not certified organic.
>>Tell Secretary Vilsack and your Congressional representatives to ensure that USDA ceases promotion of hydroponically-grown products as “organic."
The targets for this Action are the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Congress.
Thank you for your active participation and engagement!