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Organic group pursues national checkoff

The organic food industry plans to ask the USDA to establish the organic checkoff that was permitted under the 2014 farm bill.

The effort is being led by the Organic Trade Association (OTA). The group says the organic checkoff would be different from all other checkoff programs because it would cover a production process rather than a specific product.  It would also cover the entire industry, not just one level of production.

The organic community has been divided over the plan. The organic watchdog group The Cornucopia Institute claims the checkoff is being pushed by corporate interests and says OTA “does not necessarily represent the interest of farmers, growers, producers or ranchers”.

Another potential issue is how those checkoff dollars would be used to position organic food in relation to food produced with conventional methods. Some officials believe the organic industry by its very existence disparages conventional agriculture, but federal checkoff rules do not allow one sector of agriculture to be critical of others.

Photo courtesy ieatgreen.com