Our tax dollars are supporting what?
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack was recently celebrating the positive impacts of Regenerative Agriculture. He applauded the value of healthy soil and clean water, and their powerful impact on climate.
But when the questions turned to certifying hydroponic in organic, his view took a dramatic right turn.
Vilsack said, “Well, this is a controversial issue. It's sort of like asking me which of my two sons I love the most. The reality is I love them both equally. I think that's been the position historically in terms of hydroponics and organics. It has been included within the organic structure for the last 20 years, and at this point, we'll continue to do so.
"You know, at the end of the day, whether it's hydroponics, whether it's container agriculture, whether it's aeroponics, the idea here at the end of the day is to encourage more sustainable practices.”
Huh?
It certainly is not accurate to say that hydro has been "included within the organic structure for the last 20 years." If it was ever "permitted," it was against the recommendations of the NOSB. And it was a secret hidden from the rest of us.
The notion that these are "sustainable" practices has to call into question the Secretary's definition of "sustainable."
This exchange sums up the USDA attitude toward organic. They support "Regenerative" as long as it remains undefined. For them, "Organic" is just a marketing brand for large corporations. They think it is fine to certify Hydroponic and CAFO operations as organic. Why not?
Actually the USDA doesn’t seem to be committed to regulating anything. They have become addicted to carrots rather than to sticks. Just not organic carrots. Like a lonely Godzilla, the USDA wonders why everyone opposes them. They wish they were more popular.
The confusion in the US around hydro as organic is entirely due to Vilsack’s "lover’s embrace" of hydroponic. And this is clear in a recent announcement Vilsack made about a new funding program.
Out of 185 projects being funded, Vilsack went on to highlight 4 recipients of our tax money. One of them was Merchant’s Garden LLC, 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."
So Vilsack is BRAGGING about giving a hydro greens company out in the desert a quarter million dollars of taxpayer money to promote "organic." Nowhere else in the world would a government certify these practices as Organic.
Join Jim Riddle's campaign to wake up our government. Write to your Congressperson to support his complaint to the National Organic Program.
Once again, another insult, another paper cut. Another nail in the coffin of real organic. The point of this is not about the good people at Merchant’s Garden. They are working to build their business growing fish and greens. The point is that the USDA is willfully redefining organic for the world, and then pretending that this “just happened.” It did not.
Jim Riddle is a longtime champion of the organic movement. He was a blueberry farmer in Minnesota and a leading trainer of trainers for certification. He was the chairperson of the National Organic Standards Board. He was active in gathering signatures from former NOSB members for a letter to Vilsack calling out the destruction of integrity in the National Organic Program. That letter was signed by 43 former NOSB members, a majority of those still alive. Six organic champions, including Jim and I, met with Vilsack to plead with him to do better.
Jim is now sending around a letter calling for people to object to their Congresspeople about this misuse of government funds. It is important that our representatives hear this is not how we want our tax money to be spent.
Please, write a letter to your Congressperson and Senators. Let them know you do not support this flagrant disregard for the organic law. We need them to hear us.
Dave
Official Complaint Submitted to USDA NOP
December 8, 2023
By Jim Riddle
Hillsborough, NH
On Nov. 27, 2023, USDA Sec. Tom Vilsack made a false and misleading market information claim about an operation in a press release, when he stated, "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."
This market information is false and misleading because:
As a "hydroponic and aquaponic" operation, Merchant's Garden LLC does not qualify for organic certification because 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.” Section 6513(g) of OFPA goes on to state, “An organic plan shall not include any production or handling practices that are inconsistent with this chapter.”
Hydroponic and aquaponic operations do not "foster soil fertility"; as required by the OFPA. Further, the National Organic Standards Board, in 2010, by decisive vote, determined that hydroponic and aquaponic operations are inconsistent with organic production and do not qualify for organic certification. In his press release, Sec. Tom Vilsack refers to Merchant's Garden LLC as a "local supplier of organic leafy greens"; This market information from Sec. Vilsack is false and misleading and is contrary to the plain language of the Organic Foods Production Act.
From Complaint File # NOP-INQ-3432
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