A busy week on the Hill: GMOs and 2012 Farm Bill

It was another busy week last week in Washington, D.C., as OTA returned to Capitol Hill to educate members of Congress and their staffers about key issues in the organic industry, and advocate for funding for programs critical to the industry’s continued success.

Activities kicked off Monday morning with a House Organic Caucus briefing on the impact of GMOs on the organic industry. Speakers at the standing-room-only event included Lynn Clarkson (president of Clarkson Grain, managing director of Clarkson Soy Products, and former OTA Board member), William Tracy (Interim Dean at the University of Wisconsin-Madison College of Agricultural and Life Sciences), and Tadlock Cowan (an analyst with the Resources, Science and Industry Division, Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress).

Organic Caucus briefing
Clarkson’s presentation highlighted the challenges of balancing grain buyers’ demand for product purity and consistency with the reality of GE contamination. As an example, Clarkson reviewed the potential implications of USDA’s recent approval of GMO amylase corn on all—organic and non-organic—food-grade corn, which has been found to ruin processing properties of corn even when present at very low levels. He also provided suggestions on ways to better protect non-GMO farmers given the growing presence of GMOs, including considering the economic and market impact of new traits before approving their use, building better fences around the commercial seed pool, and improving regulation to address the fact that organic and identity-preservation supply chains currently bear the brunt of costs related to the prevention of contamination and trans-gene flow.

William Tracy focused on the importance of reinvigorating public plant breeding as a means to improve food security and sustainability. He also highlighted the need for federal research funding in this area in the next farm bill, and the threat to local and organic farmers if no improvements in this arena are made.

Tadlock Cowan concluded the briefing with a presentation on the current regulatory framework governing GMOs established in 1986. He discussed the roles of different government agencies, including the Food and Drug Administration, Environmental Protection Agency, and the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service in this framework, and the efforts they are making to work cooperatively to re-evaluate the framework to see if it remains applicable.

Following the House Organic Caucus briefing, OTA conducted Hill visits with Illinois congressional offices and House Agriculture Committee staffers who work on issues related to organic and biotechnology. Lynn Clarkson joined OTA’s Executive Vice President Laura Batcha, OTA’s Legislative and Advocacy Manager Will Telligman, and representatives from the Organic Farming Research Foundation and National Organic Coalition in these meetings, which focused on the impact of biotechnology on organic and identity-preserved markets.

Congressional hearings
On Thursday, OTA attended two hearings: one held by the House Agriculture Committee Subcommittee on Rural Development, Research, Biotechnology, and Foreign Agriculture on USDA research programs, and the other held by the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Forestry and Nutrition on opportunities for specialty crops and organic in the Farm Bill.

The House Subcommittee questioned USDA employees on the various research programs that the Department is involved in. The research discussed was wide ranging, from economic data, to biotechnology, to agricultural educational efforts. The statements of the witnesses can be read here.

The Senate committee hearing featured a panel made up of Ann Wright (USDA’s Deputy Under Secretary, Marketing and Regulatory Programs), and Dr. Catherine Woteki (USDA’s Under Secretary, Research, Education, and Economics), and a second panel featuring seven representatives from the organic and specialty crops industries. Among them was Kim Tait of Tait Farm Foods Inc. (Centre Hall, PA) who testified on behalf of small- and mid-sized organic farmers—we cannot thank Kim enough for traveling to Washington to tell her story and advocate for organic!

Organic recognized
In her testimony, Tait presented statistics showing that organic is the fastest-growing sector in the agricultural marketplace. She also highlighted the important role that USDA programs—including the Organic Cost-Share Program, Environmental Quality Incentive Program (EQIP), Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program (SARE), and the National Organic Program—play in supporting such growth and providing Americans access to fresh, healthy food. Additionally, she provided a list of suggestions on steps Congress can take to help ensure that the organic industry continues to expand. In closing, she reminded hearing attendees that “Organic agriculture is an important part of the future of food, from local to global,” and needs to be fairly supported in the 2012 Farm Bill. Read Tait’s full testimony here.

All of the Senators present commented on the importance of organic and specialty crops. Senator Gillibrand (D-NY) specifically asked how USDA is working to better educate its field staff on organic production because she has heard from organic producers that extension offices are not knowledgeable of organic systems and not helpful. Dr. Woteki said she was not aware of this issue and would provide more educational information to the field offices. Wotecki also said she is working with a non-profit to establish a training and certifying USDA website for educational purposes. Gillibrand commented that this is important because organic is now 4 percent of American agriculture and 12 percent of specialty crops.

As expected, this is turning out to be a very busy summer in D.C. as OTA continues to provide a strong voice for organic on the Hill on your behalf. Stay tuned to OTA’s US Government Affairs Forum for ongoing discussion of topics related to federal and state legislation and regulation having an impact on organic trade and agriculture.