Hydroponics: The End of Organic?

Abstract

On October 31, 2017, the National Organic Standards Board voted eight to seven against a recommendation to prohibit hydroponic crops from being labeled organic under the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Organic Program (NOP). This vote, which outraged “hard-core” organic farmers, was viewed as a vote for corporate organics. Some have called this vote a “watershed” moment for the organic program. Others describe it as “killing” the NOP; organic farmers farm in soil, after all. Many farmers have threatened to leave the organic program they worked so hard to establish. Others have created new movements like The REAL Organic Project, to reclaim organic standards from the USDA. All question the future of the USDA organic label. Will the hydroponic vote result in the USDA going one way while the organic movement goes another? This article explores the statutory and regulatory background of organic labeling and the challenges, opportunities, and implications of fitting hydroponics into the organic framework.

Note: "©2016. Published in The Business Lawyer, Vol. 71, No. 4, Fall 2016, by the American Bar Association. Reproduced with permission. All rights reserved. This information or any portion thereof may not be copied or disseminated in any form or by any means or stored in an electronic database or retrieval system without the express written consent of the American Bar Association or the copyright holder."

Keywords: USDA, Organic, Hydroponics, National Organic Program