Tell your Senators: Don’t make it easier for pesticide companies to poison our food system!

Bee-killing neonicotinoid pesticides. Monsanto’s monarch-harming Roundup®. Dow’s Agent Orange pesticide. All these toxic chemicals and more could soon find their way into organic agriculture -- if some members of the Senate get their way.

They’re trying to sneak this attack into the Farm Bill -- a massive piece of legislation that touches every aspect of our food system. Your Senators can stop this attack on organic agriculture in its tracks. But they need to hear from you today!

Dear Senator,

I am writing to urge you to fully support organic agriculture in the Farm Bill and to oppose any changes that would undermine the organic standards and the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB).

Consumer confidence in the integrity of the USDA organic seal is the driving factor in the exponential growth in the organic sector. The role of the NOSB in ensuring transparent and public input from all stakeholders into standard-setting is central to consumer trust in the USDA organic label.

Making changes to the authorities or composition of the NOSB could harm the integrity of the organic program, undermine consumer trust in the organic label, and severely damage the reputation of the industry as a whole.

The organic sector has flourished since federal organic standards were finalized in 2002 -- soaring from less than $10 billion to nearly $50 billion today. Organic is now the fourth largest food and feed commodity class in the U.S., with organic products offered in 75 percent of all categories on supermarket shelves.

Organic farming is a bright spot in the U.S. rural economy. Data show that organic farms are 35 percent more profitable than the average farm and that rural counties with a high level of organic farms and businesses have higher household incomes and reduced poverty rates by as much as 1.35 percent, even more than major anti-poverty programs. Domestically, the organic sector is home to nearly 24,000 certified organic family farms and other businesses.

Organic consumers are everywhere and their numbers are growing. Data show that over 80 percent of U.S. households buy organic food, and the demographics of organic buyers match the diversity of the American population. Organic remains the fastest-growing sector of the food industry -- while the overall food market experiences a stagnant 0.6 percent growth rate, organic sales grew 8.4 percent from 2016 to 2017.

Domestic production is not keeping up with consumer demand. The U.S. accounts for 44 percent of global organic sales, but just four percent of global farmland under organic production. Approximately 25 percent of organic corn and 75 percent of organic soybeans used in the country are imported. U.S. farmers are losing out on the chance to feed Americans’ growing appetite for organic food.

A growing body of research demonstrates that organic farming systems provide an impressive range of conservation benefits. Organic farms support 50 percent more pollinator species, sequester carbon in the soil, and deliver greater resilience in the face of climate-related weather impacts like drought and floods by improving soil structure and soil water-holding capacity.

At a time when so many farmers and rural communities across America are struggling, we need more policy support for organic agriculture.

First and foremost, I urge you to oppose any changes that would undermine the National Organic Standards Board in the Farm Bill.

I also urge you to:

Fully fund the National Organic Certification Cost Share Program (NOCCSP) and the Agricultural Management Assistance (AMA) program which help small and mid-size farmers transition to organic and afford organic certification;

Increase funding for the Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative (OREI) to $50 million annually. Organic and non-organic farmers alike benefit from this research. For example, cover cropping is standard practice on organic farms but has been widely adopted by non-organic farms as well;

Fully fund the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP), the nation's largest conservation program by acreage and a critically important program that supports organic farmers. CSP is the only Farm Bill program focused on advancing conservation systems to comprehensively protect natural resources, including soil health, water quality, and wildlife habitat;

Devote $50 million annually to public plant and animal breeding programs focused on developing regionally adapted cultivars and animal breeds that are suited to farmers’ local growing conditions, changing climates, and farming systems; and

Create a level playing field for U.S. organic family farms and stop organic import fraud by increasing funding for the National Organic Program, providing funding to improve import data tracking, and creating better mechanisms to ensure that all organic imports comply with U.S. standards.

These measures will help ensure that American organic farmers can keep pace with the growth of the organic sector.

Thank you,

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