Vermont’s organic growers soon could have an easier time branching out into international markets, and that could be big news for the state’s maple syrup producers.
Early in 2012, U.S. and European agriculture officials announced a landmark agreement declaring U.S. and European Union standards for organic certification to be functionally equivalent. Starting on June 1, most U.S. organic-certified producers will be able to sell their products as organic in the EU marketplace, and vice versa, under the new reciprocal agreement. In the past, organic producers needed two sets of certification to sell in both regions. The move is being hailed by many organic stakeholders as an opportunity to expand the organic marketplace, but not everyone is convinced. At least one respected organic industry watchdog, the Cornucopia Institute, has expressed concerns that the move could weaken farming standards in both regions.
The agreement has been publicly praised by large organic food stakeholders, including Matt’s Organics, Amy’s Kitchen and California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF). There seems to be little concern among U.S. producers that European organic produce could flood the market. Many small-scale agriculture stakeholders see promise in the accord, as well.
Nicole Dehne, a certifier with the Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont, says there is potential that the agreement could even free up the marketplace for U.S. organic producers to import needed European organic ingredients.
“For example, our vegetable farmers will have more access to organic seeds, as the European Union has a strong organic seed industry,” Dehne said in an email interview.
The agreement could be a boon for the New England’s maple syrup providers, said Russell Libby, the executive director of the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association.
The agreement could be a boon for the New England’s maple syrup providers, said Russell Libby, the executive director of the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association.
Maple syrup is a popular organic sweetener in the European Union, but many maple farmers haven’t explored the possibility of exporting syrup, he said. Many of the farms are family-run operations, and have had neither the time nor the resources to go through a dual-certification process, Libby said.
“It hasn’t been so easy to ship overseas because of the standards difference,” Libby said.
The agreement most likely will be a game-changer, says Barbara Haumann, a senior science writer with the Brattleboro-based Organic Trade Association. The market for organic food in the EU’s 27 member states is as robust as it is in the U.S., with recent annual sales of just about $26 billion in the EU and $26.7 billion in the U.S. The U.S. organic market has created jobs at four times the national average, but that hasn’t always translated into international growth because of countries’ differing standards. Aligning the organic standards will encourage more organic farmers to export, Haumann said.
“There’s less they have to do,” says Haumann. “It’ll also be cheaper.”
Alexis Baden-Mayer, political director for the Organic Consumers Association, believes there’s potential for the agreement to improve organic standards on both sides of the Atlantic. For example, requirements for living conditions for organic poultry in the EU are far more defined than in the United States, with stricter metrics for space, access to outdoors and hens per house. The EU requires 43 square feet per laying hen and broiler; U.S. standards require just 2 square feet.
“Our standards for organic animal agriculture are very aspirational,” said Baden-Mayer.
But not every aspect of the two standards are in alignment, and agriculture officials have agreed to disagree on some differences. Rather than hold up an agreement because of sticking points, regulators have carved out some exceptions to the reciprocal agreement, with each side maintaining its own turf. For example, organic meat suppliers in the EU are allowed to treat their animals with antibiotics in some situations. This remains against the rules for meat sold as organic in the U.S. On the other hand, U.S. pear and fruit growers have long been allowed to treat their fruits with antibiotics to control fire blight, but they will not be able to sell any antibiotic-treated fruit as organic in the EU.
Mark Kastel, executive director of the Cornucopia Institute, worries that the efforts to align the two sets of standards is much like trying to fit a square peg into a round hole.
“We actually call it organic alchemy,” Kastel says. “It’s not equivalent, but they waved their wand and all the sudden it’s equivalent.”
He says the reciprocity agreement caught many organic advocates off-guard, with little public discussion before the change was announced. When the Cornucopia Institute learned of the agreement, Kastel and others created a two-page document filled with specific questions about the differences between the two sets of standards, on everything from bedding to permissible feed. Many of those questions have yet to be answered, he says, and these gray areas could make for a watering-down of organic standards in both regions.
“It really calls into question the integrity of the organic label,” he says.
