October 14, 2005
The undersigned companies and associations support immediate action by the Congress to restore the USDA's existing organic food rules to the status quo after three key parts of the federal organic program were altered this past June by a federal court ruling. An independent analysis of the economic impact of the ruling projected a significant loss in sales of organic ingredients and consumer products and widespread economic damage.
In order to maintain the use of the USDA's organic seal without causing major disruption to the booming market for organic farm and processed products and without loss of consumer confidence, clarification of the affected parts of the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990 ("OFPA") is required before the end of the year. The necessary changes will stabilize the marketplace for organic farmers, and businesses that contract with farmers for organic agricultural commodities, and do nothing more than restore the current interpretation of the statute by the USDA and the citizen advisory board that was created by Congress to advise the Secretary on organic matters, the National Organic Standards Board ("NOSB"). Carefully targeted amendments will also restore the rules that were carefully crafted following 10 years of notice and comment rulemaking based on the board's recommendations and make no new policy.
We support the work of the citizen advisory board created by Congress, and the Secretary's adoption of the board's recommendations as well as the board's ongoing role as the key oversight entity for organic standards.
We urge Congress to promptly act to remedy the unintended consequences of the court's June 2005 ruling.
8th Sea The Organic Seafood Company, Inc., San Juan, PR
Albert's Organics, Vernon, CA
Alvarado Street Bakery, Rohnert Park, CA
American Mercantile Corporation, Memphis, TN
Amy's Kitchen Inc., Santa Rosa, CA
Applegate Farms, Bridgewater, NJ
Ash Street Enterprises, Toronto, ON
Astarte Farms, Hadley, MA
Au Printemps Gourmet, Prevost, QC
Aurora Organic Dairy, Boulder, CO
Avalon Natural Products, Inc., Petaluma, CA
Baby's Best, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Bayliss Ranch, Biggs, CA
Bear Pond Farm, Glastonbury, CT
BIN Sales & Marketing, Inc., Torrington, CT
Bloom Organics, Inc., Sarasota, FL
Boothill Farms, Talpa, TX
BTSA - Biotecnologias Aplicadas S.L., New Haven, VT
California Natural Products, Lathrop, CA
Campbell Soup Company, Camden, NJ
Central City Co-op - Houston's Organic Food Co-op, Houston, TX
Ceres Organic Harvest, Inc., Boulder, CO
CF Fresh, Sedro-Woolley, WA
Change Your Food - Change Your Life, Edmonds, WA
Chic Eco LLC, Lexington, KY
Ciranda Inc., Hudson, WI
Claire's Pure and Natural Products, Lincoln City, OR
Clarkson Grain Co., Inc., Cerro Gordo, IL
Clover Stornetta Farms, Inc., Petaluma, CA
Coleman Natural Meats, Inc., Golden, CO
Cooperative Markets Inc. dba Fort Collins Food Cooperative, Fort Collins, CO
Cotton Plus, Inc., O'Donnell, TX
Country Choice Organic, Eden Prairie, MN
Crescendo Communications, Inc., Boulder, CO
Crofters Food Ltd., Parry Sound, ON
Dakota Beef Company LLC, Chicago, IL
DCI Cheese Company, Inc., Richfield, WI
Dean Foods/WhiteWave Foods/Horizon Organic/Silk, Longmont, CO
Del Velle Pecans, LLC, Mesilla Park, NM
Della Natura Commodities, Bayside, NY
Diane Joy Goodman Consulting, San Francisco, CA
Diversified Business Communications, Portland, ME
Diversified Risk Insurance Brokers, Emeryville, CA
Dole Fresh Fruit International, Ltd., Mexico
Dovex Marketing Company, LLC, Wenatchee, WA
Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps / Gertrude & Bronner's Magic Alpsnack, Escondido, CA
DS Marketing Solutions, Stuart, FL
Dynamic Imports Corp., Santa Monica, CA
Earth Island Natural Foods, Canoga Park, CA
Earth Mama Angel Baby ™, Clackamas, OR
Ehlert Organics, Aurora, CO
Elan Organic Coffees, San Diego, CA
Falcon Trading Company, Inc./ Sun Ridge Farms, Santa Cruz, CA
Faragher Family Farm dba My Family Farm/Our Family Farm, Fort Thomas, KY
Flavorganics/Elan Vanilla, Newark, NJ
Florestas Organic Botanical Inc., Long Island City, NY
Florida Certified Organic Growers & Consumers, Inc., Gainesville, FL
Florida Crystals Corporation, West Palm Beach, FL
Florida Food Products, Inc., Eustis, FL
Food Solutions, Inc., Greensboro, NC
Foods Alive, Waterloo, IN
ForesTrade, Inc., Brattleboro, VT
Frontier Natural Products Cooperative, Norway, IA
GAIA Services, St Johnsbury, VT
Gattuso, Inc., Montreal, QC
George's Organics, Ojai, CA
Gibbons Farm Organics, Fort Pierce, FL
Global Beans, Fayetteville, AR
Global Organics, Ltd., Arlington, MA
Goathill Organics, Washington, VA
Grain Millers, Inc., Eugene, OR
Grandpa Po's Nutra Nuts, Inc., Commerce, CA
Grandy Oats/Organic Trails, Brownfield, ME
Grant Family Farms, Wellington, CO
Green for Good, LLC, Pleasanton, CA
Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Waterbury, VT
Green Power Media, Marina Del Rey, CA
Greenlife Grocery, Asheville, NC
Grimmway Farms/Cal-Organic, Lamont, CA
Grocery Manufacturers Association, Washington, DC
Hain Celestial Group/Arrowhead Mills/Celestial Seasonings, Inc./ DeBoles,Inc./Earth's Best/Farm Foods/Garden of Eatin'/Health Valley Company/Imagine Foods/Jason Natural Cosmetics/Shari Ann's Organics, Inc./Walnut Acres/Westbrae Natural Foods/Yves Veggie Cuisine, Irwindale, CA
HerbAsia Corporation, Woodland, WA
HomeGrown Naturals/Annie's Homegrown/ Consorzio/ Fantastic Foods, Napa, CA
Human Resource Innovations, Montague, MA
Humboldt Creamery Association, Fortuna, CA
Huny Hunks LTD, Regina, SK
Indian Meadow Herbals, LLC, Eastbrook, ME
Integrated BioControl Services, Inc., Aurora, IN
Integrated Organic Services, Canada
Integrity Certified International, Inc., Lenox, IA
International Dairy Foods Association, Washington, DC
International Epicurean Alliance, Garrison, NY
InterNatural Foods, LLC, Paramus, NJ
It's Only Natural, Inc., Kansas City, MO
Jacob's Farm/Del Cabo Inc., Pescadero, CA
JFC International, Inc., San Francisco, CA
Jungle Products, Inc., Graton, CA
Kerry Food & Beverage, Waukesha, WI
Kraft Foods/Back to Nature/Boca Foods, Madison, WI
Kreamer Feeds, Kreamer, PA
Kushtush Organics, Round Lake Beach, IL
Land's End Farm, Santa Fe, NM
Late July Organic Snacks, Hyannis, MA
Le Naturel Secrets, West Alexandria, OH
Levlad/Nature's Gate, Chatsworth, CA
Lifekind Products®, Inc., Grass Valley, CA
Maggie's Farm, Pinckney, MI
Maine Coast Sea Vegetables Inc., Franklin, ME
Marcy & Partners, Boulder, CO
Marroquin International Organic Commodity Services Inc., Santa Cruz, CA
Maverick Organic, Orange, CA
Mediterranean Delights, Inc., Alexandria, VA
Mesa Verde Resources, Placitas, NM
Mesquite Organic Beef, LLC, Aurora, CO
Mia Mahalo LLC, Royal Oak, MI
Midwestern Bio-Ag Products & Services, Inc., Blue Mounds, WI
Milan & Murray, Inc. dba Dinner is Served, Ocean Springs, MS
Minnewashta Valley Organics Canada Inc./Pop's Farm & Organic Bread Basket, Winnipeg, MB
Missouri Northern Pecan Growers, LLC, Nevada, MO
Moore Ingredients, Hamilton, OH
Mountain Meadow Wool Co. Inc., Buffalo, WY
Musubi International, Reseda, CA
MycoLogical Natural Products, Eugene, OR
National Nutritional Foods Association (NNFA), Washington, DC
National Starch Food Innovation, Bridgewater, NJ
National Water Services, Inc., Santa Fe, NM
Natural Flavors, Inc., Newark, NJ
Natural Gourmet, Inc., Austin, TX
Natural Products Consulting Institute, Andover, MA
Natural Vitality Inc., Chico, CA
Nature's Equity, Inc., Chatham, NJ
Nature's Path Foods Inc., Richmond, BC
Nature's SunGrown Foods, Inc., San Rafael, CA
Neshaminy Valley Natural Foods Distributor, Ltd., Ivyland, PA
New England Natural Bakers, Greenfield, MA
North Pacific Group, Inc., Portland, OR
Northland Organic Foods Corporation, St. Paul, MN
Now Foods, Bloomingdale, IL
Numi Teas, LLC, Oakland, CA
Oasis Date Gardens, Thermal, CA
Oh, Oh Organic, Los Gatos, CA
ONE Group, Canada
Organic Beverage Marketing (OBM)/TSFI, Inc, Conoda Park, CA
Organic Essentials, Inc., O'Donnell, TX
Organic Networking, Ltd., Mount Prospect, IL
Organic Processing Magazine, Glendale, CA
Organic Provisions, Richboro, PA
Organic Valley/CROPP Cooperative, Inc., La Farge, WI
Organico Pane Company, Oceanside, CA
Otter Creek Brewing Co., Middlebury, VT
Pacific Organic Produce/Purity Juices, San Francisco, CA
Pacific Soybean & Grain, San Francisco, CA
PCC Natural Markets, Seattle, WA
Pepper Farms, O'Donnell, TX
Perricone Juices, Beaumont, CA
Petaluma Poultry Processors/BC Natural Chicken, Petaluma, CA
PlanTea, Inc., Kodiak, AK
Prairie Ventures LLC, Iowa City, IA
Purcell & Associates, Londonderry, VT
Quality Assurance International (QAI), San Diego, CA
Rainsweet, Salem, OR
Richard D. Siegel Law Offices, Washington, DC
Rincon-Vitova Insectaries, Inc., Ventura, CA
Road's End Organics, Morrisville, VT
Sakuma Brothers Farm, Burlington, WA
Santa Rosa Lavender/Anodyne Concepts, Santa Rosa Valley, CA
Savoury Systems International, Inc. (SSI), Branchburg, NJ
Shandiz Natural Foods, Markham, ON
Simon Candy Company/College Farm Organic, Elizabethtown, PA
Sjaak's Organic Chocolates, Eureka, CA
SK Food International, Fargo, ND
Sky Top Farms, Whitney Pt., NY
Small Planet Foods, Inc., Minneapolis, MN
Smucker Quality Beverages, Inc./Knudsen/Santa Cruz, Chico, CA
Sommars Ovens, LLC, Portland, OR
SoyFoods Association of North America, Washington, DC
SpiritLand Bistro, Santa Barbara, CA
Sproutman Publications, Barrington, MA
Steel's Gourmet Foods Ltd., Bridgeport, PA
Sterling Food Concepts, Inc., Sterling, MA
Steve Zoller Consulting Services, Mount Morris, NY
Stonyfield Farm, Inc., Londonderry, NH
Stretch Island Fruit, Inc., Allyn, WA
StrideStar Consulting, Boulder, CO
SunOpta, Inc./Beta Pure Foods/ Cleugh's Frozen Foods, Inc./ Distribue-Vie/ Kettle Valley Dried Fruit/ Organic Ingredients, Inc./ Organic Kitchen/ ProOrganics/ Pacific Fruit Processors, Inc./ Sigco Sun Products/ SunOpta Dairy Division/ SunOpta Ingredients/ SunRich, Inc./ Supreme Foods, Toronto, ON
Sustainable Seafoods LLC, East Providence, RI
Sustainable Strategies, Albany, CA
SymBio USA Ltd., Woodstock, NY
Talley's Green Grocery, Charlotte, NC
Terravita Organic, Manteca, CA
Tesoros Del Sol, St. Louis, MO
Texas Organic Cotton Marketing Cooperative, Lubbock, TX
The Boulder Strategy Group, Boulder, CO
The Fiberactive Quilt Company, Apex, NC
The Fresh Ideas Group, Boulder, CO
The Good Earth Natural Foods Company, Leonardtown, MD
The Great Spice Co., San Marcos, CA
The Synergy Company, Moab, UT
The Weetabix Company, Inc., Clinton, MA
The WholeSoy Company LLC, San Francisco, CA
The Wizard's Cauldron, Ltd., Yanceyville, NC
Townsends, Inc., Georgetown, DE
Trout Lake Farm LLC, Trout Lake, WA
Uncle Matt's Organic, Inc., Claremont, FL
United Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Association, Washington, DC
United Natural Foods, Inc., Dayville, CT
White Lotus Home, New Brunswick, NJ
Whole Foods Market, Inc., Austin, TX
Wholesome Sweeteners, Inc., Sugar Land, TX
Wild Oats Markets, Inc., Boulder, CO
Winterhaven Ranch/Nielson Citrus Products Co., Inc, Huntington Beach, CA
Wolf and Associates, Inc., New Castle, VA
Woo City Ice Cream Co., Wooster, OH
Wright's Handicrafts, Los Osos, CA
yaya's RAW Rah, LLC, Houston, TX
Additional signatures:
Happle Gourmet Foods, LLC
