Organic Standards Update: Finally Some Good News!

Our movement needed a win. We’re happy to report not one, but two recent wins in the battle to preserve organic standards.

New GMO technologies such as cloning, nanotechnology, synthetic biology—technologies sometimes referred to as GMO 2.0—won’t be allowed in organics, thanks to a recent decision by the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB). (And thanks also to the thousands of you who signed our “say ‘no’ to GMOs in organics” petition to the NOSB). The NOSB, which held its fall (November 16 – 18) meeting in St. Louis, Mo., home to Monsanto headquarters, also voted to get the controversial food additive carrageenan out of organics.

Keeping GMOs out of organic, and dropping carrageenan from the list of allowed substances in organic were two of the hot-button issues at the latest NOSB meeting. Both votes were big wins for consumers. The third and arguably hottest topic—whether hydroponic “container” production methods violate USDA organic standards—was kicked back to a subcommittee for further review.

Read OCA’s update from the NOSB meeting