The Coalition is urging the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) to continue the longstanding USDA policy of certifying containerized growing methods, a natural method for growing plants that produce fruits and vegetables in containers instead of planting them in the ground.
The Coalition believes a change to the current standards would eliminate the ability of thousands of growers to certify container-grown fruits, vegetables and herbs as organic, a move that will likely put many successful growers out of business, and limit the amount of organic produce available to the public at a time when demand is at an all-time high.
The Coalition formed out of urgency to counteract efforts by a select group of soil-based food growers who advocate for a change to the current standards to no longer allow organic containerized growing.
These soil-based food growers mistakenly argue that plants not grown in the ground are not organic, says Lee Frankel, Executive Director of the Coalition for Sustainable Organics. This is simply not true, adds Frankel.
“In reality, organic growing is and should continue to be defined by how the plants are nourished and protected from pests and disease,” Frankel says.
“This is not an issue that should be politicized. If a grower meets the USDA standards for organic certification, of which our growers do, they should be able to market organic produce, whether they grow in soil or other sustainable, certified organic growing media. Making organic food more accessible is how we will ensure everyone who wants organic can have it.”
Reasons to maintain current standards
Frankel said the Coalition believes there are three important reasons to maintain current organic certification standards:- First, containerized growing methods are sustainable and resource-efficient forms of organic growing. Containerized growing reduces water use by up to 90 percent per pound of fresh produce grown compared to open field systems, and growers can grow up to 10 times more organic produce per acre per year than open field growers. In addition, containerized growing significantly reduces, and in many cases eliminates, soil erosion and nutrient runoff to greatly reduce environmental pollution.
- Second, containerized growing methods rely on the same natural inputs as open field growers to nourish and grow crops. All certified organic container production systems are managed in accordance with the federal organic law, and adhere to the USDA organic standards under the National Organic Program (NOP). In fact, growers have been certified to grow and market organic produce in containers for more than 25 years, and containerized growing systems have been used by farmers for more than 2,000 years.
- And third, maintaining current standards for certifying organic containerized growing simply makes sense. After extensive review in 2010, the USDA through the NOP opted not to change the standards for certifying organic produce – and affirmed that organic produce can be grown through containerized methods. Changing the rules now would limit the amount of organic produce available to the public, just as the public demands more organic produce.
