Marbleseed Attends the National Organic Standards Board Meeting

Published: May 2024
By: Tay Fatke & Lori Stern

This April, Marbleseed staff members attended the National Organic Standards Board meeting in Milwaukee. As an organization founded alongside the inception of USDA certified organic, the work of the volunteer board that advises the National Organic Program (NOP) at the USDA has always been crucial to our work. The NOP is unique in that it uses an advisory board made up of farmers, certifiers, industry, and researchers to keep certification relevant and responsive to farming practices, technology, and consumer concerns. To facilitate this, the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) meets two times a year, rotating around the country so that farmers and others interested can attend when the meeting is nearby.

A key aspect of NOSB meetings is the inclusion of public comments. Since the pandemic forced virtual meetings, the NOSB has continued to offer the option of public comment ahead of their meetings virtually. This past meeting in Milwaukee hosted the first in-person public comments since the pandemic.

Because Marbleseed is still predominantly based in Wisconsin, we felt the pride of our local Wisconsin community in hosting the NOSB in Milwaukee. Marbleseed specifically uesd this opportunity to address both the organic community and the NOSB. We were able to support farmer attendance and presentations, co-sponsor an evening reception, highlight that Wisconsin has the second highest number of organic farms in the country, and even provide public comment. You can read our public comment below.

Problem Statement:

The regenerative narrative and climate concerns are eclipsing the value of true organic practices. These include practices of holistic, soil-based systems, third party verification, and auditable inputs that make up USDA certified organic, as well as commitments toward equity and farm viability for human scale farmers in the U.S.

In this spirit, we would like to propose the following:

Organic is “Climate Smart” agriculture.

Organic farmers are conservation and climate heroes; early adopters of many conservation practices.
Increasing biodiversity is foundational to organic production; from soil to beneficial insects and pollinators.
Climate mitigation, including natural seed and livestock selection, will be critical for farmers, along with access to organic seed supply.
We need to support current NOP policies and create new ones to fully demonstrate organic farmers’ role in climate and conservation AND continuous improvement in this area.

Organic as Regenerative

A truly regenerative farming system is organic at the foundation.
Regenerative involves using whole-farm, soil-based systems and diversified approaches including managing fertility, saving seeds, and generally reducing off-farm inputs.
We must uphold the organic standards that prohibit GMO and other technologies and inputs that consumers do not want or trust and support those that climate healing requires.
New policies need to demonstrate commitment to the environment, animal welfare, and farmworker rights within organic-to do the ‘right thing’ AND stay relevant to consumer concerns.

Increasing and Expanding Access to Certified Organic: Domestic Grower Groups

Amid concerns about group certification, we would like to frame it as access to organic certification.
Challenges of land tenure-use of incubators and collective spaces define the beginning farming experience in the U.S.
Beginning farmers are more diverse and most already have a deep commitment to organic practices and climate health.
Full time farming is a challenge due to lack of fair pay for farmers at smaller scales-the scale at which most enter agriculture.
Shared infrastructure and buying, along with centralized record-keeping make grower group certification more feasible. It also gives farmers the experience of what will be required to certify on their own should they have the opportunity.
We need to connect organic to value chains and local “food with dignity” efforts.

Closing

Although NOP is in Ag Marketing, third party verification of the practices that are intended to protect the environment, human health, and animal welfare are even more critical now. Beyond preserving consumer confidence in the organic market, verification is also about evolving the standards to address untested technologies, farm worker rights, and equity in accessing both the label and healthy food.