1989-1993 Organic Food Production Act
This collection includes Congressional and state legislature testimony, texts of presentations made at workshops and conferences around the country, taped sessions of the four national conferences, legislative memos, materials used at state meetings, and other materials.
Roger worked to help shape the Organic Foods Production Act (OFPA) and push it through Congress through his full-time position as director of the Americans for Safe Food, an initiative of the Center for Science in the Public Interest.
For Immediate Release: April 30, 1998 Contact: Roger Blobaum 202/537-0191 Melanie Adcock 301/258-3111 Joseph Mendelson 202/547-9359 (Washington, DC). An Organic Watch independent review of over 93,000 of the first 130,000 comments received by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on its proposed National Organic Food rules shows that the rule has been overwhelmingly rejected by the public. The preliminary review covered all of the comments available to Organic Watch through last Friday, six days before today’s close of the public comment period. Andrew Kimbrell, an administrative law specialist and Organic Watch steering committee member stated, “The American people have dealt the USDA by far the worst beating any agency has ever taken on a proposed rule.” The number of comments filed with the agency is expected to top 150,000 before the end of the comment period, making it one of the largest public responses in the history of federal rulemaking. Organic Watch’s public docket review, underway since the USDA proposed its rule last December 15, found intense public opposition to allowing the use of genetically engineered organisms, sewage sludge, irradiation and factory farming methods in the production, processing and handling of organic foods. The review shows widespread opposition…
Read More...Introduction. The following material was created as an aid to organizations and individuals who are preparing comments concerning the United States Department of Agriculture (“USDA”), Agricultural Marketing Service’s, “National Organic Program; Proposed Rule” found at 62 Federal Register 65850 (December 16, 1997). Organic Watch encourages duplication and wide distribution of this material and no prior permission for such activity is required. All comments concerning the proposed rule should be submitted to: Docket Number TMD-94-00-2, Eileen S. Stommes, Deputy Administrator, USDA-AMS-TM-NOP, Room 4007-So., Ag Stop 0275, P.O. Box 96456, Washington, DC 20090-6456, and, if possible, electronically at http://www.ams.usda.gov/nop. The current deadline for comment submission is April 30, 1998. Please note that all comments submitted to the docket should be labeled by “comment topic heading” and include the specific section number and/or Federal Register page citation where a particular subject is discussed. Procedural Considerations. Issue Number 1. Commenters Should Seek Withdrawal of the Proposed Rule and Preparation of a New Rule Which Comports with the NOSB Recommendations. (Comment Topic Heading: General). Request that the USDA withdraw the current proposed rule for the establishment of a national organic program with the intent of having the agency prepare a revised proposed rule which comports…
Read More...For Immediate Release: December 12, 1997 THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE TO RELEASE PROPOSED NATIONAL ORGANIC FOODS STANDARDS ON DECEMBER 16 “ORGANIC WATCH,” A BROAD COALITION REPRESENTING MILLIONS OF AMERICANS, IS FORMED TO PROVIDE PUBLIC INTEREST ASSESSMENT AND OVERSIGHT OF PROPOSED STANDARDS “ORGANIC WATCH” ACTIVITIES TO INCLUDE UNPRECEDENTED NATIONWIDE OUTREACH TO ORGANIC FOOD PROVIDERS AND CONSUMERS WATCHDOG GROUP ESTABLISHES “TOP TEN” ISSUE LIST FOR IMMEDIATE REVIEW OF PROPOSED STANDARDS Washington D.C. On Tuesday December 16,1997 the United States Department of Agriculture will release its proposed national organic food standards. In response to the long-awaited publication of the rules, a wide-ranging coalition has announced the formation of “Organic Watch.” Organic Watch, working closely with other national coalitions, including the National Campaign for Sustainable Agriculture, will devote itself to providing public interest assessment and oversight of the proposed organic standards and other regulation of the organic industry. Organic Watch includes scientists, agricultural experts, lawyers, activists and many others in the public interest community who have dedicated themselves to the organic standards effort for the last decade. Its grass roots network outreach includes over 250 cooperating public interest organizations, hundreds of organic farmers, and over 2,500 natural food stores, co-ops,…
Read More...ATTACHMENT D This is the House debate on the DeFazio amendment. Congressman DeFazio lead the battle to include the Organic Foods Production Act in the House farm bill. Congressman Stenholm lead the opposition against inclusion of this amendment in favor of his organic study amendment. H6622 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE August 1, 1990 VIOLATIONS OF SUBTITLE (a) Misuse Of Label.—Any individual who knowingly sells or labels a product as organic, except in accordance with this subtitle, shall be subject to a civil penalty of not more than $10,000. (b) False Certification.—Any individual who issues a false certification under this subtitle to the Secretary, a governing state official, or a Certifying Agent shall be subject to the provisions of section 1001 of title 18. United States Code. (c) INELIGIBILITY.— (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in paragraph (2), any producer who— (A) issues a false certification: (B) attempts to have an organically produced label affixed to an agricultural product that such producer knows, or should have reason to know; to have been produced in a manner that is not in accordance with this subtitle (C) otherwise violates the purposes of the national organic…
Read More...The following document lists brief descriptions of key issues flagged by participants at the National Campaign’s January meeting. The rough notes contained sixty-six numbered items (hence the sinister title) but some were redundant and others were really several issues in one. The entries here have attempted to smooth out some of these rough spots, so there is not an exact correspondence to the original list of sixty-six.
Read More...Statement by Roger Blobaum, President. Blobaum & Associates, 907 North Tower, 1331 Penn. Ave.. N.W. Washington, DC 20004. Submitted April 4, 1994 In response to USDA Organic Livestock Hearing Notice Dated Dec. 30. 1993 My name is Roger Blobaum and I own and manage a Washington-based consulting firm that provides professional services to organic and sustainable agriculture organizations. I have many years of experience as a board member, staff member, or consultant with organic grower and industry groups and with nonprofit organizations that advocate adoption of organic methods. I appreciate this opportunity to submit a statement and request that it be included in the hearing record and considered in your deliberations. My specific comments on implementation of organic livestock standards are based primarily on my experience in 1989-92 as director of Americans for Safe Food, a project of the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI). During that time I co-chaired the Organic Food Act Working Group, a coalition of more than 25 consumer, environmental, and other organizations. The working group helped shape the Organic Food Act and push it through both houses of Congress in 1990. National organic standards remained a high priority at CSPI in 1991 and…
Read More...Biographical Sketch Roger Blobaum is the director of Americans for Safe Food, a coalition of more than 80 consumer, environmental, farm, and rural advocacy groups working to increase the availability of locally-grown, pesticide-free, and organically-grown food in the marketplace. Americans for Safe Food is a project of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a 200,000 member consumer and health advocacy organization. Blobaum began his professional career covering the Wisconsin Legislature for the Associated Press. His background includes experience as a staff member in both houses of Congress, as director of public relations for two national farm organizations, and as president of a consulting firm specializing in designing and managing alternative energy and agriculture projects. His professional activities include serving as a member of USDA’s Cost of Production Advisory Committee, a member of the Department of Energy’s Food Industry Advisory Committee, and as a panel member for the Congressional Office of Technology Assessment’s study of food and agriculture research. He grew up on a livestock farm in southern Iowa, holds a B.S. in Agricultural Journalism from Iowa State University, and has an M.S. in Communications from the University of Wisconsin at Madison.
Read More...Remarks by Roger Blobaum Eco-Farm Conference, Asilomar, California January 24, 1992 It feels great to get away from Washington, where nobody seems to be having any fun. Everybody is blaming everybody else for the deficit and the recession and the White House political staff has finally grounded the President and confiscated his passport. This follows a rash of reports from Capitol Hill of unpaid bills at the House Dining Room, bounced checks at the House Bank, fixed parking tickets, and scuttled campaign reform bills. Except for Ralph Kader and Common Cause, most of us in Washington are political realists who try to avoid getting too worked up over a little bipartisan hanky-panky here and there. It reflects the seamy side of the political process and isn’t anything that new. I like to illustrate that with the story about a news report Mark Twain sent to his paper in St. Louis a few weeks after he became a capitol correspondent. “Drinking, womanizing, carousing, gambling, and corruption are everywhere in Washington,” he reported. “It’s certainly no place for a Baptist … and I did not long remain one I” One thing that has changed since Mark Twain’s time is the drive to…
Read More...DECEMBER 31, 1990 From the Maryland Organic Food and Farming Association: ChristineJohnson:Own/Operate an Organic Farm Chesapeake Center Farm, Marion Station, MD Walter Ehrhardt Own/Operate an Organic Farm Ehrhardt Organic Farm, Knoxville, MD Roger Blobaum: Public Interest CSPI, Washington, DC Michael Heller: Environmental Protection & Resource Conservation Claggett Farm (Chesapeake Bay Foundation) From the Mississippi Organic Growers Association: Thomas Finlay Dana: Own/Operate an Organic Farm Lumerton, MS From OCIA: Bart Hall-Beyer: Own/Operate an Organic Farm Consulting Agronomist, Scotstown, Quebec Thomas Harding: Certifying Agent Agri-systems Int., Wind Gap, PA Ron Gargasz: Own/Operate an Organic Farm John Clough: Own/Operate an Organic Handling Operation Garden Spot Britt Eustis: Own/Operate an Organic Handling Operation Eden Foods Mark Squire: Retailer Steve Boese: Own/Operate an Organic Handling Operation Specialty Grains Margaret Scoles: Certifying Agent Inspector OCIA Mel Coleman Sr: Own/Operate an Organic Farm Coleman Natural Meats, Colorado From Organic Food Alliance: Thomas Harding: Certifying Agent Agri-Systems, Int. Wind Gap, PA Mel Coleman Sr: Own/Operate an Organic Farm Coleman Natural Meats, Colorado Fred Kirschenmann: Own/Operate an Organic Farm Kischenmann Family Farm, Windsor, ND Mr. Lundberg:Own/Operate an Organic Farm Lundberg Family Rice, CA Mark Retzloff: Retailer Alfalfa’s, Colorado Myron Cooper: Own/Operate an Organic Handling Operation Westbrae, California Bill Knudson:…
Read More...Statement by Roger Blobaum, Center for Science in the Public Interest Presented at joint hearing of the Domestic Marketing, Consumer Relations, & Nutrition Subcommittee and the Department Operations, Research, & Foreign Agriculture Subcommittee House Committee on Agriculture Washington, DC June 19, 1990 Mr. Chairman, I am Roger Blobaum, director of the Americans for Safe Food Project of the Center for Science in the Public Interest. CSPI is a nonprofit organization that has 210,000 members nationwide and advocates improved health and nutrition policies. We actively support policies that encourage the production and marketing of certified organic food, locally-grown food, and food grown with minimal use of chemical inputs. We appreciate this opportunity to present our views on the Organic Certification Program. We support this proposal and urge you to approve it. It provides benefits to consumers who want more organic food, and want to be certain that food sold as organic has actually been organically grown, and to the growing number of farmers who produce this value-added product. This legislation provides standards needed to develop a national marketing system for a fledgling organic food industry that is emerging as one of agriculture’s important new economic sectors. This legislation responds to a…
Read More...TRANSCRIPT: STATEMENT OF ROGER BLOBAUM, DIRECTOR, AMERICANS FOR SAFE FOOD, CENTER FOR SCIENCE IN THE PUBLIC INTEREST, WASHINGTON Mr. BLOBAUM. Mr. Chairman, I am Roger Blobaum, Director of the Americans for Safe Food Project of the Center for Science in the Public Interest. CSPI is a non-profit organization with about 210,000 members nationwide. We actively support State and national policies that encourage the production and marketing of certified organic food, of locally grown food, and of food grown with minimal use of chemical inputs. We appreciate this opportunity to present our views on the Organic Certification Program. I have submitted a prepared statement for the record and will summarize in the time allowed. We support this proposal and believe it is long overdue. It will provide benefits to consumers who clearly want more organic food and at the same time want to be certain that food sold as organic has actually been organically grown. It provides standards needed to develop a national marketing system for a fledgling organic food industry that is trying to keep up with growing consumer demand. Several national surveys have shown growing consumer interest in organic food. The two latest show this trend is continuing. There…
Read More...Organic Food Production Act TRANSCRIPTS of Testimony and Delivery of Petitions to US Senate Committee on Agriculture Nutrition and Forestry March 26, 1990 Mr. Blobaum. Mr. Chairman, the petitions are all here in these boxes and we will just make a token presentation here. These are petitions with 136,000 signatures gathered nationwide by individuals who, among other things, have expressed a strong interest in national standards for organic agriculture. Senator Leahy. I see a number of these petitions are from states where we have members on the committee, and I think we will make it a point to let the members know how people feel. Senator Daschle. When were these petitions collected? Mr. Blobaum. In 1989, in anticipation of this kind of event. Senator Daschle. And you said there are 100,000? Mr.Blobaum. There are 136,000 signatures. Senator Daschle. We really appreciate you making these presentations. Thank you very much. Senator Leahy. Thank you very much. I know that in the box there are even more. Mr.Blobaum. Thank you, very much, Mr.Chairman. I might: point out that CSPI is a 200,000 member, improved health and nutrition policy/advocacy organization. We really appreciate the opportunity to present the petitions in this way.…
Read More...Statement by Roger Blobaum, Center for Science in the Public Interest Presented to the Subcommittee on Research and General Legislation Senate Committee on Agriculture Washington, D.C. March 22, 1990 Mr. Chairman, I am Roger Blobaum, director of the Americans for Safe Food Project of the Center for Science in the Public Interest. CSPI is a nonprofit organization that has 200,000 members nationwide and advocates improved health and nutrition policies. We actively support policies that encourage the production and marketing of food grown with minimal use of chemical inputs, locally-grown food, and certified organic food. I appreciate this opportunity to present our views on S. 2108, the Organic Foods Production Act. Roger Blobaum presenting petitions to Senator Patrick Leahy, signatures of 136,000 consumers who support the Organic Production Act Bill. I want to begin by presenting petitions bearing signatures of 136,000 consumers who support the purposes of this bill. These signatures were gathered throughout the nation in 1989. Individuals circulated and signed the petitions to demonstrate their strong desire for a national program to set organic standards and to promote the production of organically-grown food. We commend Senator Patrick Leahy for proposing this comprehensive legislation, the first of its kind in…
Read More...Testimony of Roger Blobaum, Center for Science in the Public Interest Environment Matters Committee Maryland House of Delegates March 6, 1990 My name is Roger Blobaum and I direct a food and agriculture project at the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) in Washington. CSPI is a nonprofit public interest organization that has 200,000 members nationwide and advocates improved health and nutrition policies. The main activity of our food and agriculture project is working for adoption of federal and state policies that encourage production of both locally-grown and certified organic food. Almost all the progress in this area so far has been at the state level. Organic certification programs are now in place in 22 states. Several others, including the neighboring states of Virginia and Pennsylvania, have program proposals under active consideration. We support Delegate Hattery’s bill to direct the Maryland Department of Agriculture to establish a certification and labeling program for the production and marketing of organic food. The department has worked closely with Maryland organic growers, consumer representatives, and others for several months. I have participated in two meetings at the department and am aware of the positive attitude and working relationship established. I would urge…
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