Organic Policy Commentary 2005-2010

While serving as national director of Americans for Safe Food at the Center for Science in the Public Interest in the late 1980s, Roger Blobaum organized national conferences that assembled a vibrant mix of organic farmers, farm group leaders, consumer activists, environmentalists, faith group representatives, and others to discuss the policies of the rapidly-emerging organic community. For many of us who participated these conferences provided the first opportunity to meet long-time colleagues from other regions of the country and to interact directly with players in the federal government. It was clear that Roger knew the ropes in Washington and also knew how essential it was to provide a venue where people could hash out the ideas that would later be codified to become the policies that regulate the U.S. organic industry.

Now, with more than twenty years of experience with regulatory issues as well as hindsight on positions taken in earlier days, Roger has written a serious of columns over a five-year period for publication in the MOSES Organic Broadcaster. These articles capture the excitement of creating the organic community’s visionary policies as well as the stumbles that are an integral part of building a new agricultural system against strong resistance. Roger’s experience and his concise writing style combine to produce clear, accurate explanations of the historical basis of the policies that regulate the production and marketing of organic food in this country. His insightful analysis results in a body of work that provides important background as well as practical lessons that will be of interest to organic researchers, policy makers, and historians for years to come. – – Lynn Coody, M.S., Organic AgSystems Consulting, Eugene, Oregon