Priorities for the Organic Sector: Q & A with Organic Leader Kathleen Merrigan

Wolf & Associates had the opportunity to talk to organic leader Kathleen Merrigan, PhD about where the organic sector has been, and where it's going. Our September 2022 Newsletter included this Q&A:

What has gone well since the implementation of the National Organic Program?

A huge number of things have gone well! The USDA Organic label is the world’s eco-label of choice. The National Organic program has done a good job, and organic is gaining ground across the USDA. The 2017 Census of Agriculture showed that organic farming is luring in more new farmers and ranchers, compared to their counterparts that are not going organic. The agronomic and environmental benefits organic producers have witnessed on their land are being verified in scientific journals. The market has grown substantially, and 82% of Americans buy organic at least occasionally. Organic products are no longer a niche market, but are available in stores like Walmart, Costco, and Target—signs that organic is becoming more accessible to average people—and becoming instrumental in the way people grow and consume agricultural products.

What are the top priorities for the organic sector now? 

First, we have work to do at USDA. The organic sector has been challenged by inordinate delays in rulemaking. Rather than remaining the avant-garde sector of agriculture, organic agriculture has been held back by USDA and is now threatened by competing claims.

Second, we still have work to do with consumer education. I think organic is the original climate-smart label. In the early days, we dumbed down our message to focus on very few things—lack of pesticide residues, for example. With rise of interest in regenerative agriculture, I worry that some of our earlier messaging will trip us up. Not only do we need the positive messages about organic agriculture, but we need to be strategic in how we disassemble the negative messages about organic.

Third, we need to encourage the next generation of farmers and ranchers. The United States imports $2.3 billion of organic products per year—and that’s just for the 100 items tracked by the federal government. We know that figure is a huge undercount. When I see those import statistics, I think it is opportunity lost—we could be putting young people on the land, creating jobs, and benefiting communities. The new transition assistance will help, but land access is also a real challenge. Encouraging conversation, as the American Farmland Trust has been doing, on how important it is for people to preserve farmland and create urban agriculture, where housing is constructed around a garden or farm that provides food, can help. Finding ways to put organic farms on the land is not a priority for the USDA Farm Service Agency , but it could be.

The Swette Center for Sustainable Food Systems ’ report on The Critical To-Do List for Organic Agriculture included 46 Recommendations for the President—many of them address these priorities. 

Where do you see organic in the next five years?

There is a lot of innovation in the ag sector. The organic sector will have to figure out which innovations are compatible.

My team at the Swette Center is also finishing up two new reports—one with the Organic Trade Association and the Organic Farmers Association about the future of organic agriculture—and another with Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and Californians for Pesticide Reform examining organic agriculture’s contributions to health, the economy, and climate.

Kathleen A. Merrigan is a professor in the School of Sustainability and executive director of the Swette Center for Sustainable Food Systems at Arizona State University. From 2009 to 2013, Merrigan was Deputy Secretary and COO of the US Department of Agriculture, where she led efforts to support local food systems. She is known for authoring the law establishing national standards for organic food and the federal definition of sustainable agriculture. Merrigan is a board member of Stone Barns Center for Food & Agriculture , trustee of CIFOR-ICRAF, on the advisory committees for Organic Farming Research Foundation and the Heartland Health Research Alliance , and is a Venture Partner in Astanor Ventures. She holds a PhD in Public Policy and Environmental Planning from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Master in Public Affairs from University of Texas at Austin, and BA from Williams College.

#organicfood #organic #continuousimprovement #Nationalorganicprogram #organiclivestock #organicpoultry #organicagriculture #ranchers #farmers #climatesmart #sustainability