| This profile is part of "Sustainable Agriculture... Continuing to Grow", a publication developed to present some of the excellent sustainable agriculture research and education work done by universities, nonprofit organizations and other institutions in the Western Region over the past twelve years. Additional profiles and abstracts will be posted weekly, with links provided in the Table of Contents. |
Organic Standards at the Crossroads - The first US Eco-Label
Michael Sligh
Organic agriculture is considered by many to be the first viable US eco-label. The production and processing of organically grown foods has continued to grow at double-digit rates for the last decade. Mainstream stores, farmers, processors and Wall Street venture capitalists are all investing in organic products. Organic agriculture represents a marriage of values and stewardship standards which is based on consumer demand and point of purchase differentiation, and is backed by third-party verifications and strict standards. In addition, regulatory enforcement is coming soon.
Setting US and international organic standards remains a challenge, as does continuing the growth and success of the organic approach. Lessons learned from the organic experience have implications both for new and emerging eco-labels as well as for more established organic growers and processors. For example, parallels may be drawn from the early communication and collaboration efforts of organic labeling programs, as well as from the coalescing of the organic certification programs into a national and international body asking for government oversight.
In light of the many lessons to be learned from the rich organic experience, the Greener Fields Team* created and recently implemented a survey of organic industry leaders. In thinking about what lessons the broader eco-label community can learn from the organic experience, the Greener Fields team asked, among other questions:
1. What mistakes were made that can or should be avoided in developing new labels?
2. What is the role of government and has it helped or hindered the growth and why?
3. How has the development of reciprocity between labels been accomplished?
4. What lessons are there from enforcement and third party verification development that should be learned for new labels?
5. What was your definition of success when you started? Has that changed? Why?
6. What were your keys to success?
Results from the Greener Fields survey of organic leaders will be available in Summer 2000.
* Greener Fields is a joint project of four organizations: the Rural Advancement Foundation International (RAFI), the Southern Sustainable Agriculture Working Group (SSAWG), Mothers & Others for a Livable Planet, and The Food Alliance (TFA).
Michael Sligh
Director of Sustainable Agriculture Program
Rural Advancement Foundation International-USA
PO Box 640
Pittsboro, NC 27312
Tel: (919) 932-1697
The work to create this publication was sponsored by the Western Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (Western SARE) program. Western SARE is an effort of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Since 1988 through federal fiscal 2000, the U.S. Congress has allocated more than $114.6 million to the federal SARE effort; Western SARE has received $26 million. The Western region includes Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wyoming and the Island Protectorates of American Samoa, Guam, Micronesia and the Northern Mariana Islands.