New York Times Exposes USDA Sabotage of Organics

Posted at Organic Consumers Association

On August 19, the New York Times exposed the USDA for shortchanging organic programs. Journalist Andrew Martin pointed out that the National Organic Program, which regulates the entire organic industry, has just nine staff members and a puny annual budget of $1.5 million. In contrast, the New York Times went on to describe how chemical-agribusinesses have individually received more than that in subsidies, including $1.7 million in subsidies given to a single mega-farm in Florida. The article goes on to point out that the USDA (whose annual budget is $100 billion) spent $28 million on organic agriculture programs last year, which may sound like a lot, but, in comparison, the agency spent $37 million subsidizing farmers who grew dry peas last year. As a note of reference on those numbers, consumers spend only $83 million a year on dry peas, whereas consumers spent almost $17 billion last year on organic food. The New York Times noted, "It's not entirely surprising that organics are such a low priority at the department and in Congress. Both the agency and farm-state members of Congress are reliable cheerleaders for industrialized agriculture, and Big Ag has often viewed organics with suspicion, if not outright disdain."