The image of happy healthy cows in a lush green pasture—an idea often associated with organic food—has found a place in the American psyche. Organic food is everywhere: co-ops, farmers’ markets, specialty stores, and now even big box stores and major grocery chains. In fact, organic food sales are increasing 20 percent per year, according to Craig Minowa, an environmental scientist at the Organic Consumers Association, a non-profit public interest organization campaigning for health, justice, and sustainability

The introduction of organic foods to the mainstream has increased accessibility, but at what cost? Increased demand has led to more imports—where organic standards may be weaker than in the U.S.—and the abuse of loopholes found in U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) regulations. These loopholes are used more and more frequently, said Minowa.

Industrializing Organic

Though organic food is typically more expensive than conventional food, major chains like Wal-Mart are offering organic foods at prices much lower than found in specialty stores. Wal-Mart is able to do this through economies of scale, but another tactic the big-box retailer uses is to purchase organic food from abroad. Minowa explained that it is not that U.S. farmers aren’t able to meet the growing demands of the organic food market, but that those who want to sell organic food at a bargain price can get it cheaper elsewhere.

Cheaper prices mean more people buy organic food, but organic food producers from other countries may not always abide by U.S. standards, said Betty Kanane, president of the Global Organics Alliance, a third party certifier of domestic organic foods.

Recently, investigations have been launched into companies that claim the food they have imported from China is organic when it isn’t, according to Andy LeVoir, produce manager of the East Lansing Food Co-op.

But Joan Shaffer, of the USDA’s National Organics Program disagrees. “We have the same set of standards whether food is from Chile or down the street.”

The confusion does not stop at the border, however. U.S. organic standards are being questioned as well.

Made in the U.S.

USDA regulations prohibit the use of toxic synthetic pesticides and fertilizers, irradiation, sewage sludge and genetic engineering in anything labeled organic. Farmers are also required to pasture livestock, refrain from treating them with antibiotics and hormones and sustain them only with organic food.

Though these standards work well most of the time, not everybody is playing by the rules. “Ninety-nine percent of the organic market is clean,” said Minowa. “(But) there are a few abusers out there.” Unfortunately, it is those few companies that could have an impact on how well the organic standards are followed.

In 2006, the Organic Consumer’s Association boycotted the “shameless seven,” organic suppliers using practices that don’t conform to organic standards. Minowa said that the abuse of standards happens because there’s a breakdown occurring at the national level, where key decision makers are dragging their feet on closing organic standard loopholes.

One loophole is vague as to what qualifies as pasture, or the period cows should be allowed access to pasture. Under the current regulations, a short walk from a confined feeding area to the loading trucks could be counted as access. Brands such as Horizon and Aurora, two major producers of organic dairy products, are taking advantage of vague standards that apply to organic dairy, Minowa said. They sell milk labeled USDA Organic to consumers even though some or all of their milk is coming from factory farm feedlots where animals do not have proper access to pasture.

Sara Unrue, a spokeswoman for Horizon Organics, said that her company is “certainly disappointed” in the allegations that some of their dairy cows are not allowed proper access to pasture. According to Unrue, Horizon works with 425 family farmers who are certified organic per the USDA standards, and these farms provide Horizon with 80 percent of their milk. Unrue said that these allegations are “hurting consumer confidence in the organic label.”

Another issue that arises with mainstreaming organic lies not in standards or regulations, but in values. As the organic industry moves from family-scale diversified farms to large industrialized operations, the concept of organic, which is to grow food with the sustainability of the environment in mind, is slowly fading into the background. As organic becomes more industrial, it is easy to start to view the label organic as only a set of practices.
“The vitality, integrity and meaning are taken out of it. It becomes a list of do’s and don’ts rather than a way of thinking and sustaining life,” said Laura DeLind, senior academic specialist at Michigan State University’s department of anthropology.

Though the verdict is still out on whether the organic label can be trusted, consumers can take matters into their own hands by educating themselves on companies that sell organic foods. A wealth of information on almost any food producer or company is available with Google.

To ensure the organic label maintains its integrity, it is essential that consumers investing in organic foods demand high standards. Consumers still hold the power to shape which direction the organic industry goes. After all, they are the ones spending the money. ´´