Press Releases

WASHINGTON, DC—Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) recently sent Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue two letters advocating for the protection of organic integrity in food and livestock. 

“As an organic farmer, I know there can be absolutely no ambiguity when it comes to strong organic standards,” Pingree said of the urgency behind her correspondence to Secretary Perdue. “If consumers lose confidence in the organic label, farmers will lose market opportunities. Integrity is at the core of the organic label and I am deeply worried about the potential economic harm for both consumers and farmers if we do not address these issues.”

Pingree’s first letter, sent on May 2, 2019, asked Secretary Perdue to finalize the origin of livestock rulemaking. Pingree originally questioned the Secretary on the lack of a consistent origin of organic livestock standard and why the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has not finalized the origin of livestock rulemaking in a House Appropriations Subcommittee hearing on April 9, 2019. It is critical that USDA finalize the rule to give organic dairy farmers a fair playing field. Pingree asked that USDA provide information about any opposition to the rulemaking, which the Secretary referenced in the subcommittee hearing, because the organic community has expressed widespread support for the final rule. This letter is available online here.

Pingree’s second letter, sent yesterday, May 8, 2019, asks the Secretary to reaffirm to organic certifiers that glyphosate and other synthetic chemicals are not to be used in any certified organic operation. Pingree wrote in her letter that organic farmers have expressed concerns about the use of glyphosate in organic operations; under the Organic Foods Production Act, an organic product should not be produced or handled with synthetic chemicals and should not be cultivated on land exposed to any synthetic chemical substances within the previous three years. Pingree asked that the Department respond to her inquiry by May 15, 2019. This letter is available online here.

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