What Organic is Becoming
Issue No. 317, December 2005
Joel McNair
The Milkweed

Five-thousand-cow Aurora Dairy, a Colorado feedlot/milk processing operation run by the people who founded Horizon Organic about 15 years ago, continues to play games with organic regulations.  Since opening in 2004, Aurora has flouted USDA organic rules that are supposed to require that lactating cows have “access to pasture.” 

Now, the Cornucopia Institute has filed a complaint to USDA, saying that even the dairy’s contract-raised heifers weren’t on pasture, and that the heifer ranch was not certified under organic rules. 

According to an article in the Capital Press, a farm newspaper in the Pacific Northwest, the owner of the heifer ranch says he was told by Aurora officials to briefly put the young stock out on pasture because of the public beating Aurora was taking over its confinement dairy operation.  Pictures of the grazed heifers then showed up Aurora’s web site as “proof” that the company was abiding by organic law. 

“All of a sudden, I realized that they used me because of the ground we own to create the illusion that they’re doing everything right,” ranch owner Steven Wells told the Capital Press.  Aurora has since cancelled its contract with Wells. 

That’s the problem with organic:  It’s a set of rules sanctioned by the federal political process—from USDA to Congress and right up to the White House—that is open to all the money-laden strong-arming that comes with all political processes. 

The Organic Trade Association, which represents big organic processors and marketers, recently persuaded Congress to pass a new law that allows a host of synthetic ingredients to be employed in organic foods.  That new law also takes power away from a citizen group, the national Organic Standards Board, to decide organic standards.  Now, the power resides with the ConAgras of the mega-food world. 

The day of organic Cheez-Whiz, made with contracted milk from huge confinement dairies with a fence running down the middle to separate “organic” cows from those getting rbGH injections, seems to be coming ever closer.  Maybe the health food stores will require something different, but this is what may be destined to rule the Wal-Mart version of organic. 

When something gets too popular, it gets bastardized by the big boys.  The little guy has to do something else.