WASHINGTON, May 25, 2016 - Stakeholders from the organic
sector are in Washington this week hoping to drive home the big impact of what
some might still view as a small industry.
The Organic Trade Association’s policy conference is
expected to attract about 200 members who will be touting the sector’s economic
significance, including a new report on local impacts as well as a survey released last
week that showed sales of organic products topped $43.3 billion in 2015, a
record and an 11 percent jump over 2014. Nearly 5 percent of all food sold in
the U.S. was organic.
The OTA’s white paper issued this morning will push the
local impact of “organic hotspots,” hoping to demonstrate a connection between
overall economic health and organic production.
OTA Executive Director and CEO Laura Batcha defined those
hotspots as “clusters of organic operations in counties surrounded by other
counties that also have clusters of organic operations.” The object, she said
in an interview with Agri-Pulse, is to educate members of Congress “about why
they should care about organic policy issues when they do come up.”
Aside from the white paper, Batcha says the group is also
keeping an eye on the appropriations process, specifically hoping to prevent
any rider that would block the organic animal welfare standards recently
proposed by USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service. She said OTA is in
“very, very active defense” against any rider that would prevent
implementation.
“We believe that Congress intervening in the process by
which voluntary regulations are set in the organic market is a very negative
precedent,” Batcha said. She added that the regulations have been in discussion
since 2008, and congressional intervention at this point would be “an
aggressive, bold move.” She says there are “a lot of little things” in the rule
that OTA will comment on, but she says the organization is committed to moving
the rule forward.
OTA, which favors mandatory labeling of products containing
genetically modified organisms (GMOs), will also be lobbying lawmakers to keep
any definitions in the legislation aligned with what is already on the books.
In particular, Batcha said she wants to see organic and GMO definitions jibe
with how current definitions in USDA’s organic standards.
“Then, you’re drawing a line at the same place all the time,
and that is easier for the consumer to understand,” she said.
Aside from those issues, Batcha said OTA would continue to
push the organization’s “top priority,” which is an organic checkoff. The
program was authorized in the 2014 farm bill, but now the group wants USDA to get
a proposed rule published before the end of the current administration.
“Thankfully, Congress has already acted,” Batcha said.
Today, OTA will gather at the Newseum in Washington to hear
from speakers including Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, Darci Vetter, chief
agricultural negotiator in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, and members
of Congress. Agri-Pulse’s own Philip Brasher and Spencer Chase will also be
part of the program.
Hill visits and industry lobbying will take place tomorrow.
Batcha says the group will “not limit ourselves to friendly faces” on Capitol
Hill, but rather focus on the members in attendance as well as lawmakers from
the top 50 House districts in organic production.
#30
For more news, go to: www.Agri-Pulse.com
