Watering Down Organic

by Nicholas Smith - Community Market's Marketing Director 11/1/09

It’s safe to say that the term “organic” has finally hit mainstream America. At this very moment, American consumers can buy organic products in grocery stores that, not long ago, were completely devoid of any products with a USDA organic label. Proponents of organic foods have worked for over 20 years to educate the American public about growing foods sustainably, humanely, and environmentally, and they are seeing their hard work beginning to pay off. Yet, as much as we should be thrilled to see our views on food being acknowledged by the general public, we must continue to watch, with a skeptical eye, many of the companies we place our trust in to grow, package, and deliver our organic products. Two such companies who are currently being scrutinized are Aurora Dairy and Horizon Organics (Owned by Dean Foods).

Aurora Dairy, the company that provides milk to Horizon Organics, is our nation’s largest organic dairy company. (Marcus Peperzak, who is president of Aurora, is also chairman at Horizon Organics.) Based in Boulder, Colorado, the company has been at the center of controversy since 2006. During that time, the issue wasn’t the milk that came from more than 500 Holsteins at the Kent County farm; it was about whether the cows should be able to roam outside the barn, grazing in green pastures of grass, clover, and alfalfa. (1) Many organic watchdogs began accusing Aurora of ignoring USDA rules requiring that organic dairy cows have “access to pasture.” Of course, the rules don’t really spell out just what “access” means; therefore, Aurora was quick to exploit this lack of clarity.

In response to a legal complaint filed in 2006 by The Cornucopia Institute, career staff at the USDA found that Aurora was in violation of 14 tenets of the organic regulations, including confining their cattle to feedlots instead of grazing, and bringing thousands of illegal conventional cows into their organic operation. Although investigators found that Aurora had perpetrated one of the greatest scandals in the history of the organic industry, Bush Administration officials let the giant corporation off with minor adjustments and one year probation.(2)

Three years after the first round of allegations, Aurora Dairy and Horizon Organics is yet again the subject of another complaint filed by the Cornucopia Institute alleging that one of the five industrial-scale dairies operated by Aurora is failing to graze their dairy cattle as required by the federal organic standards. “Here we have an industry where 1800 family farmers, and the reputable organic brands they supply, are continuing to have their economic survival imperiled by this $100 million scofflaw that has been allowed to continue in operation,” said Mark A. Kastel, Senior Farm Policy Analyst for Cornucopia.

It’s not shocking to see a well-known company like Horizon Dairy ignoring multiple federal organic standard laws. Many of the family-owned businesses that once supplied consumers with organic food are being bought out by some of the nation’s largest commercial food corporations. While it may seem like a good thing to have multi-million dollar companies forced to switch from commercial to organic, we still have to be cautious about putting our faith in businesses like Horizon, considering their unscrupulous history. The question is, will these companies continue to get away with ignoring USDA rules and completely watering down organic standards?

"People are paying more for organic products because they think the farmers are doing it right, that they're treating animals humanely and that the quality of the product is different," says Ronnie Cummins, director of the Organic Consumers Association, a network of 600,000 buyers of organic food. "Intensive confinement of animals is a no-no," he adds. "This is Grade B organics."

If we as consumers can’t depend on the USDA to regulate, then it will have to be left to us to expose the illegal business practices of these so-called “organic” companies. We have yet to see what will happen with the second round of allegations; whether or not the Obama administration will be more aggressive at punishing the companies that break USDA rules and regulations. If the USDA doesn’t step in and do their job by fining corporations for being out of line, the recent interest in organic could slowly fade out of the mainstream, forever lost in an exodus of allegations.

*Community Market stopped selling Horizon’s products back in 2006 following the first round of allegations.*

1 Shore farm accused of skirting standards Facility at center of organic debate By Chris Guy, Baltimore Sun reporter
Baltimore Sun, August 28, 2006
2 Cornucopia Institute article online “Largest Organic Factory Farm Operator Once Again Accused of Illegal Activity”
www.cornucopia.org