Policy Statement

July 13, 2005

On January 26th, 2005, the First Circuit Court of Appeals issued a ruling in Harvey v. Johanns, a lawsuit brought by Arthur Harvey, an organic blueberry farmer from Maine, against the Secretary of Agriculture. Harvey claimed that several provisions of the USDA's National Organic Regulation were in conflict with the Organic Foods Production Act (OFPA). The U.S. District Court for the District of Maine issued it’s Consent Final Judgment and Order issued June 9, 2005. The court ruled in Harvey's favor on three counts.

While the Court ruling poses both significant dilemmas and opportunities for the organic community, we support the USDA revising its rules to be more fully in compliance with the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990 (OFPA). Because the court approved (based on the Consent Final Judgment and Order of Arthur Harvey, the United States Department of Agriculture, and the Organic Trade Association) a reasonable timeline for eventual compliance, we believe that regulatory changes are a viable means to resolve the inconsistencies between the law (OFPA 1990) and the National Organic Program regulations. Changes to the National Organic Program should be pursued and exhausted prior to any attempt to amend the law.

Weakening the law to match current rules is counter productive to the organic industry. Regardless of the merits of any specific legislative fixes, we believe that the risk of opening the law is too great, both in terms of risking other changes to the law (that may be unfavorable) and potential damage to consumer confidence in the integrity of the organic label. The long-term viability of the organic industry is based on consumer confidence and we hope this ruling can serve as an opportunity to further differentiate organic products in the marketplace.