An Associated Press story came out today on the lawsuits against retailers who sold private-label organic milk produced by Aurora Organic Dairy while the dairy company had probationary status with regard to their organic certification. USDA (and the certifying agent) never revoked Aurora's organic certification, but according to the story, the lawyers suggest that retailers had a responsibility to know that the dairy had a probationary status and should not have sold the milk as organic. Woven throughout this long battle are consumer expectations about organic practices that may exceed or diverge from what the national organic standard actually requires.
Firmani & Associates, one of the law firms involved in these suits, sent me an unsolicited e-mail last week informing me that, "According to investigations
the milk labeled organic, and being sold at higher prices, is in fact not
organic according to FDA regulations." Organic 101, anyone? FDA doesn't regulate the organic label. It's hard to give credibility to a law firm that doesn't yet have a basic understanding of the regulatory framework. But that's just the tip of this messy iceberg.
There are no winners here. I think the tenor of the organic dairy war has done a lot of damage to consumer views of the integrity of all organic foods. As a friend said last week, the perception of misbehavior and even corruption has not been limited to one or two companies or to the organic dairy category, but to the entire organic market. The people who work in the companies and organizations on every side of this situation are part of my community; as individuals, I believe -- I know -- they all care deeply about organics. So where does it go from here?
Transparency is a basic principle of organic agriculture and the organic certification system, and it's getting short shrift. Aurora was not transparent to the organic community or to the public about the ways in which their farms may have exceeded the boundaries of the organic rule, or how they would address problems. The National Organic Program at USDA and its accredited certifier, Colorado State Department of Agriculture, were similarly not transparent about actions they were or were not taking against any noncompliance (And where is the long-awaited proposal for more rigorous pasture standards for organic dairy that might begin to move this debate forward? The NOP is severely under-resourced, but this proposal needs to be made public for open discussion, finalization, and implementation.)
Cornucopia Institute, a tax-exempt nonprofit that positions itself as a watchdog organization and has driven much of the media maelstrom, has also avoided being transparent about its funding sources and operational structure. Cornucopia risks its own credibility by engaging in scorched-earth tactics and venomous attacks on the companies they oppose, as well as individuals who work for those companies (posted on organic dairy list-serves) and indeed on anyone who dares to question them. Their attitude has been "do as we demand, not as we do." I believe in watchdog organizations, and the organic industry needs them, and they too have got to adhere to the highest standards of conduct.
Lawsuits targeting the retailers brings up the question of how far the gatekeeper role should go for mainstream retailers selling organic products, or any third-party-certified products. That's a discussion worth having, as they're in an interesting position. Consumers want organic to mean things that are not written into the law at this time and yet they also want organic food to be cheap and easily available. And too many seem ready to abandon organic either way -- either because it's not everything they want it to be under one label, or because, if it is everything they want it to be, it's too expensive. If situations like this continue to do damage and result in lawsuits like these, companies like Costco and Target may decide it's just not worth it to continue to commit to the organic market. And then everybody pays again, in a different way.
Retailers have shown their share of insensitivity, as well, in looking for cheap organic products and appearing sometimes to revel in the high markup they've been able to charge. Here, too, let's see some transparency about the cost of food, its source, and how much is returned to organic farmers.
Meanwhile, organic remains a small percentage of a very large global food industry that is highly dependent on pesticides, subtherapeutic antibiotic use, genetic modification, factory livestock farming, monocropping, the steady destruction of biodiversity and small farms, and little regard for long-term precautionary policy. Maybe there ought to be some class-action lawsuits targeting that system.
There is a baby-and-bathwater lesson here; let's strive to play by the highest rules, fix what must be fixed, and redirect some focus and energy to creating a stronger and better organic world.
