Transforming Organic Agriculture into Industrial Organic Products: Reconsidering National Organic Standards

The 1990 National Organic Food Production Act was enacted to establish the criteria and certification regulations that would give uniformity and credibility to organic processes and products—to define the organic label across the U.S. The promulgation of these standards has been a contentious issue, with purists pitted against pragmatists and attention focused almost exclusively on the development of a materials list for growers and manufacturers. The "organic rule" proposed in December 1997 generated widespread public protest that was also largely materials- and technology-focused. Conspicuously absent from the debate has been a critical concern over the long-term structural impacts of national standards themselves, especially at the regional or local level. This paper questions whether national standards designed to increase national and international commerce and thus "grow the industry" can produce anything other than a slightly "greener" version of the existing industrial agrofood system. Under these conditions, will the codification of organic undermine its capacity to support a socially and environmentally sustainable agriculture and food system? Will national standards get in the way of diverse, locally based solutions and, in the process, will the organic mindset be represented by conforming commodities rather than by more intimate and varied connections to place?