truly wants this. Organic is taking root
among all kinds of operations. A renaissance is underway for small farming. Advocacy groups should seize the
opportunity to encourage a harmonious coexistence of all types and
sizes of organic operations that will
benefit more and more people.
We need to find more ways to get
more nutritious organic food into
more shopping bags while protecting
the essential integrity of the organic
certification. Consumers are telling us
they want more access to organic food
and that it bothers them when they
can’t afford the food they would prefer to buy for their family. Are we
going to respond to this demand or
create a regulation that makes organic available only to a small segment of society? This is the persistent
question behind the issues the NOSB
will face in the coming years.
In poll after poll, we see evidence
of a tipping point in the awareness
about food and it is these issues we
need to focus on rather than
fault-seeking within the organic community. For instance, more than 80
percent of Americans surveyed are
concerned about the presence of
GMOs in food and want GMOs to be
labeled on the food they buy. Can the
organic community, when banded together, influence this discussion with
Congress? A full 95 percent of Americans say they are concerned about
how animals are cared for. Is organic
fulfilling this consumer wish? And
with world food prices up nearly 36
percent over last year, how might organic do more to fulfill the need for
affordable, healthy, sustainably grown
food? The answers to these big questions and others—and the magnitude
of the solutions needed—point the
way to the future of organic. Over the
past two decades, organic has grown
to be a bona fide alternative to the
conventional food system. This next
era is when we come together to democratize organic. o
Tracy Miedema is the chair of the USDA National Organic Standards
Board. She is also director of product innovation for Earthbound
Farm and lives near Corvallis, Oregon. To learn more about the
National Organic Standards Board, please visit www.ams.usda.gov/
AMSv1.0/NOSB. You can reach Tracy at tmiedema@ebfarm.com.
*Editor’s Note: The Organic Trade Association releases its NOSB Report exclusively to OTA members immediately following the latest NOSB meeting. OTA has
agreed to share the April 2011 report with Organic Processing readers. To see the
full report, go to www.ota.com/m/publications/nosbreport/april2011.html.
OF COURSE,
YOUR CUSTOMERS
RELY ON YOU.
SO WHO DO YOU
RELY ON?
Why not rely on the company that didn’t wait
for stricter food safety/quality standards:
Because at SunOpta, this
is, and has been, standard
operating procedure.
From field to table, we
control every step for all our soy,
corn and sunflower products.
This includes sustainable farming
practices, natural processing
and packaging.
But then— we go one step
further. We offer a Traceability
Integrity Program (TIP),
which requires testing,
documentation and certification
at every phase of our production.
