- The National Organic Standards Board, an advisory committee to the US Department of Agriculture, voted to allow some crops grown hydroponically and aquaponically to have organic labels.
- Organic food sales totaled $47 billion in the US in 2016.
- Some traditional organic farmers are threatening to leave the NOSB, the program they helped create, over the controversial vote.
A growing battle in the $47 billion organic food industry could fundamentally change the program — and some farmers are worried
This week, an advisory board to the USDA voted to allow non-soil farmers to label their products organic. Some traditional farmers are not happy.
The United States organic industry — whose 2016 sales totaled around $47 billion — is facing a battle between traditional farmers and high-tech producers.
In recent years, hydroponic, aquaponic, and aeroponic farms — which grow produce in nutrient-rich solution without soil, often indoors — have boomed. Some of these businesses have been granted the organic label for their products.
But that trend has dismayed some traditional farmers, who argue that allowing non-soil producers to label their food organic weakens the integrity of the program. True organic farming, they say, requires nurturing, natural soil.
But in a series of close votes on Wednesday night, tan advisory committee to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), voted to allow the majority of these high-tech operators to stay in the National Organic Program. The decision creates an organics standard for non-soil farming, which did not exist previously.
is not happy with the decision, which he calls a "tragic failure."
"
Chapman said he is considering leaving the program. He and other critics of the board's decision say that hydroponic farming does not meet the USDA's definition of organic due to its lack of soil.
Organic traditionalists point to Albert Howard
The NOSB issued its recommendation in four parts. It voted to
"
Eyewitness? Submit your stories now via social or:
Email: news@pulselive.co.ke