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For Immediate Release
July, 14 2009, 02:54pm EDT
Contact:
Ronnie Cummins (218) 226-4164
Alexis Baden-Mayer (202) 744-0853
Vilsack to Appoint New Organic Standards Board Members
Vilsack to Appoint New Organic Standards Board Members Organic Consumers Association Makes Endorsements
WASHINGTON
This year, Secretary Vilsack will make the Obama Administration's first appointments to the National Organic Standards Board,
a volunteer board comprised of representatives of the organic community
who make formal recommendations on organic standards to the USDA National Organic Program.
Several important topics remain before the NOSB and the NOP, including: anticompetitive behavior
in organic dairy where some brands continue to violate the organic law
by using feedlots where cows don't have access to pasture; misbranding
in the personal care products market where products that aren't
certified are advertised as organic; standards for organic aquaculture
that pose environmental concerns; and the continuing issue of which ingredients may be synthetic or sourced in non-organic form.
The
appointment of strong organic advocates will help bring clarity and
harmonization to the standards, allowing the organic movement to speak
with one voice and reassuring consumers that there is no stronger standard than "USDA Organic" for nutrition, safety or environmental impact.
The Organic Consumers Association is making the following endorsements for the NOSB:
Environmentalist (1): Jay Feldman, Executive Director of Beyond Pesticides Farmers
(2): Nick Maravell, Farmer, Nick's Organic Farm and State
Representative Nancy Smith, Farmer/Forester, Snafu Acres Dairy Farm Retailer (1): Barth Anderson, the Wedge Co-op, or Trudy Bialic, PCC Natural Markets Processor (1): Lynn Betz, Sensibility Soaps, or Diana Kaye, Terressentials
To learn more about the NOSB and OCA's Endorsements, CLICK HERE.
The Organic Consumers Association (OCA) is an online and grassroots 501(c)3 nonprofit public interest organization, and the only organization in the U.S. focused exclusively on promoting the views and interests of the nation's estimated 50 million consumers of organically and socially responsibly produced food and other products. OCA educates and advocates on behalf of organic consumers, engages consumers in marketplace pressure campaigns, and works to advance sound food and farming policy through grassroots lobbying. We address crucial issues around food safety, industrial agriculture, genetic engineering, children's health, corporate accountability, Fair Trade, environmental sustainability, including pesticide use, and other food- and agriculture-related topics.
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