Unearthing Organics: What the certification really means and why it makes sense for some farms and not others.

The concept of organics wasn’t always as ubiquitous as it is today. It began as a fringe movement in the 1940s as a reaction to the growing reliance on synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. By the 1970s, increased environmental awareness fueled the growth of the organic industry but the first certification programs were decentralized, meaning that each state or certifying agent could determine their own standards leading to a lack of clarity about what “organic” meant from state to state. There was a clear need for a national organic standard and in response Congress passed the Organic Foods Production Act (OFPA) in 1990 which mandated that the USDA develop regulations for organics to be used by producers, handers, and certifiers. The final rules were written and implemented in 2002.

In less than 2 decades the organic industry has become a 23 billion dollar powerhouse. It is the fastest growing sector of the overall food market, growing by double digits year to year. So it might come as a surprise that less than 1 percent of US farmland is certified organic (1). Consumers want more organic food than domestic producers can supply which forces retailers, feed companies, and packaged food manufacturers to fill the gap with imports. This supply imbalance is especially drastic for commodity grains. In 2016, 80 percent of organic soy and 50 percent of our organic corn was imported from countries such as India, Turkey, Ukraine, and Romania (1). So if there is so much demand why don’t farmers switch over? The answer is that organic is actually far more complex than the ubiquitous label might suggest.

First let’s get into what exactly organic is. Under USDA’s program the qualification of “organic” is not granted on the basis of the results i.e. environmental quality measurements on farms or nutritional content of the food but the rules govern the tools used in food production. The following are the standards that organic foods are required to meet:

• No synthetics: Put simply, if humans made the substance it can’t be used in organic farming. But to introduce a theme that will carry throughout this discussion on organics, it’s never that simple. It’s often impossible to distinguish between natural and synthetic compounds since the defining line can be subjective. For example the insecticide cryolite was phased out as an allowable substance because it was no longer being mined and its synthetic form was prohibited. And in some cases this favoring of natural over synthetic doesn’t always make sense. Organic farmers can use compost but not heated oil and Bt (a bacterial insecticide) but not urea (2).
• No GMOs: This one may seem straightforward but the definition of GMOs is more complicated than you would think. In terms of organic, “no GMOs” means no plant or animal is considered organic if it contains a gene from another species that has been put there by humans. It also means no dairy or meat from animals fed on genetically modified feed. But organic farmers can use plants that have been genetically modified using chemicals or ionizing radiation. There are several widespread crops made through this kind of mutagenesis such as organic brown rice (2).
• Fertilizer: Conventional farms often use fertilizer synthesized from the air and natural gas but organic farms mostly get it from composted manure. Interestingly, organic farmers can use nitrogen from South American mines which has the same characteristics as synthetic nitrogen but also contains salt which is problematic for soil health (2). Additionally, organic farmers cannot use biosolids or dried, composted human poop that has been treated from municipal sewage for fertilizer. The reason seems obvious — the threat of contaminants — but it would technically be more sustainable to close the cycle and reuse nutrients.
• Rotation: To be organic, farmers must rotate their crops on any given plot of land. This allows the soil to rejuvenate, breaks up pest cycles, and encourages biodiversity.
• Organic meat and dairy: Requirements include organic feed and no antibiotics or growth hormones. If it’s a ruminant animal it has to be on the pasture for at least 10 days a year. If it’s a nonruminant such as a chicken or pig it has to have access to the outdoors but this doesn’t necessarily mean much.

So what exactly are the benefits of organic? According to the Organic Trade Association the number one reason why consumers buy organics is because they believe organic products are healthier. So organic food sellers tend to promote organics by implying their products are more nutritious and safer, claims which are not supported by most of the evidence. Although organic farming does use fewer pesticides, most of the evidence indicates that the trace amounts found on food are not dangerous to human health (3).

The real benefits of organics lie in their environmental effects. The USDA has a farm in Maryland which tests five types of agriculture, three organic and two conventional. Results from analysis of these plots has shown that the organic systems have more fertile soil, use less energy, store more soil carbon, and are more profitable for farmers (3). Farm workers in organic systems are also exposed to fewer chemicals. That being said, certain tools that can reduce environmental harm are not available to organic farmers such as GMOs which can help cut pesticide use. It is also difficult for organic farmers to implement no-till because without herbicides, tillage is the best weed killing tool. Tilling leads to erosion and nutrient runoff, and can disturb the microbial communities in the soil. All in all though, organic systems generally nurture healthier soils and have some environmental advantages over conventional systems.

So if there is such high demand, though the reasons might be misplaced, why aren’t more farms getting organic certification? For big farms it could be due to the three years that a farm is required to be using organic practices before getting certification. Organic is seen as a more expensive production method which is usually justified by the premium paid for certified crops. But over those three years farms would be using organic methods without receiving the extra income (4). For small farms, the actual cost of the organic certification process shouldn’t be prohibitive. Depending on the size of the farm it only costs between $200 and $1500 for the USDA to survey the land. However, it is the required record keeping to maintain organic certification that can be impossible for small farms. Even though farms are only inspected by the USDA once a year they have to keep daily records of everything: from hours spent weeding to how often they irrigate (5). And the more diverse the crops a farm is growing, the more complicated the paperwork. Another issue cited is that if a farm shares equipment with a non-organic farm they can’t be certified organic. For a small farm, sharing equipment with other farms could be a necessary tool for survival (5).

Farmers have varying opinions about the advantages of organic certification; but just because a farm isn’t certified organic doesn’t mean they don’t have high standards, quite possibly they may have even better standards than organic, for their food production. Many small farms feel that the relationships they are able to build with their customers by being local are enough of a substitute for any official certification. They are able to have conversations with their customers and inform them about their practices and build trust in that way. For farmers who don’t want USDA certification but still want a way to formalize their sustainable practices there are other certification options. One is to join the “Certified Naturally Grown” program which is based on the USDA’s organic standards but minimizes the bureaucratic hurdles by using peer to peer inspection. Each farmer in the program is required to do at least one inspection a year for a fellow CNG farmer. The program has been around since 2002 and is constantly expanding with farms in 47 states and 300 applicants a year (5).

A new certification called “certified transitional” was created by the cereal brand, Kashi, and is meant to encourage larger farms to make the transition to organic. The idea is that this certification will help educate the public about the in between period for organics and convince them that transitional is worth more than conventional. If transitional can command a higher price, then a portion will return to the farmer, making the waiting period to become organic less costly (6). Farmers in the program are already seeing improved returns with transitional farmers securing better contracts with buyers. And by persuading more farmers to try organic it also introduces a new raw ingredient in an undersupplied organics marketplace — one that is not quite organic but might still be good enough for some products.

There is also a growing effort to move beyond organic and reward continuous improvement in agricultural practices instead of a stagnant certification. The Regenerative Organic Certification (ROC) which officially launched in March of this year requires products to be made with ingredients grown with regenerative farming practices that aim to boost biodiversity, build healthy soil, and draw carbon from the atmosphere through methods like minimum tillage and cover cropping. The label works as a tiered system designed to encourage constant improvement of practices. It is not intended as a substitute to USDA organic but rather as an add on. Products are only eligible if they already have USDA certification. Organic principles are really about continuously improving the soil health and the treatment of the people and animals involved in the system and while the organics program created a baseline standard it is not built for continuous improvement. This new certification recognizes that. Products with ROC labels won’t be on shelves until 2019 or 2020 (7).

If farmers and environmental scientists were to design a perfect system it might not be precisely the organic standards we have today. There are so many nuances to consider on a case by case basis, but when designing a set of rules, generalizations do have to be made. At the end of the day nothing is simple. We need to grow the raw materials to support a rapidly growing population, preserve wilderness, support natural ecosystems, and do it well with methods that won’t hurt us. The organic philosophy and program definitely get us part of the way there but we need more education, transparency, and innovation to create a system that can truly accomplish it all.

1. Fassler, February 28th 2017by Joe. “Less than 1% of U.S. Farmland Certified Organic. Why Don’t More Switch?” New Food Economy, 22 Nov. 2017, newfoodeconomy.org/kashi-certified-transitional-organic/.
2. Johnson, Nathanael. “What Does ‘Organic’ Actually Mean?” Grist, Grist, 19 May 2016, grist.org/food/what-does-organic-actually-mean/.
3. Haspel, Tamar. “Is Organic Agriculture Really Better for the Environment?” The Washington Post, WP Company, 14 May 2016, www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/food/is-organic-agriculture-really-better-for-the-environment/2016/05/14/e9996dce-17be-11e6-924d-838753295f9a_story.html?noredirect=on&postshare=2001463410030260&utm_term=.949edc03d59b.
4. Lazarus, David. “Is Organic Food Worth the Higher Price? Many Experts Say No.” Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 19 May 2015, www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-lazarus-20150519-column.html.
5. Smith, K. Annabelle. “For Many Small Farmers, Being Certified ‘Organic’ Isn’t Worth the Trouble.” CityLab, 14 Aug. 2014, www.citylab.com/life/2014/08/for-many-small-farmers-being-certified-organic-isnt-worth-the-trouble/375968/.
6. Fassler, February 28th 2017by Joe. “Less than 1% of U.S. Farmland Certified Organic. Why Don’t More Switch?” New Food Economy, 22 Nov. 2017, newfoodeconomy.org/kashi-certified-transitional-organic/.
7. O’Reilly, Katie. “‘Beyond Organic’ Food Labels Seek to Supplant the USDA Standard.” Sierra Club, Sierra Club, 23 Mar. 2018, www.sierraclub.org/sierra/beyond-organic-food-labels-seek-supplant-usda-standard.