> Senate Passes Leahy Amendment
> To Repeal Anti-Organic Rider
>
> WASHINGTON (Fri., April 4) -- The U.S. Senate Thursday night voted to
> repeal a special-interest rider enacted in February that has
threatened to
> undermine the six-month-old national organic standards and labeling
> program run by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
>
> Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) offered the amendment to repeal the
> anti-organic rider. Leahy's bipartisan amendment was cosponsored by
51
> other senators, and the leading Republican cosponsor of the Leahy
> Amendment was Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho). It is identical to the
Organic
> Restoration Act (S.457), introduced by Leahy and Sen. Olympia Snowe
> (R-Maine), which currently has 69 Senate cosponsors (including Leahy,
the
> chief sponsor).
>
> "The swift and strong groundswell of opposition to that rider has
been
an
> eye-opener for many in Washington", said Leahy. "Getting the
organic
> standards right was a long and difficult process, but it was a turning
> point for the industry. This fight to keep the standards strong is
> another watershed moment for organic agriculture. It shows that
organic
> producers and consumers want the organic label to mean what it says."
>
> Leahy is the "father" of the national organic standards and
labeling
> program and the author of the legislation that chartered the program
in
> 1990.
>
> The earlier rider that the amendment would repeal was intended to
allow
> producers to label their meat and dairy products 'organic' even though
> they do not meet USDA's strict criteria, including that the animals be
fed
> organically grown feed, if USDA finds that organic feed is too
expensive
> or hard to find. The rider was intended to benefit one Georgia
producer,
> but it is written broadly enough that it essentially creates a
loophole
> for any livestock producer in the country to get around the organic
feed
> requirement.
>
> "We need to send a message to all producers that if you want the
economic
> rewards of selling organic products, you must follow the standards
that
> others are following," said Leahy. "If a few beef, poultry,
pork and
> dairy producers are able to label their products 'organic' without
using
> organic feed, which is one of the primary inputs, then what exactly is
> organic about their products? The anti-organic rider is particularly
> galling because so many producers have already made the commitment to
> organic production. For most, this is a huge financial commitment,
and
> the rider has put everyone in a legal limbo."
>
> The supplemental appropriations bill that includes the Leahy Amendment
was
> passed by the Senate Thursday night and now goes to a conference
committee
> next week where negotiators will reconcile different versions of the
bill
> passed by the House and the Senate. The House-passed bill does not
> include language similar to the Leahy provision. Counterpart
legislation
> to repeal the rider has been introduced as a bill in the House by Rep.
Sam
> Farr (D-Calif.) and Rep. Ron Kind (D-Wisc.) and others.