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Paul Mastronardi of Mastronardi Produce® And Caitlin Tierney of Mastronardi Produce West® Discuss CEA For Upcoming Organic Produce Summit
Now, with the Organic Produce Summit (OPS) on the horizon, Paul Mastronardi, President and Chief Executive Officer, Mastronardi Produce® and Caitlin Tierney, Business Director, Mastronardi Produce West®, join me to discuss the impact of a growing area of investment in organics—controlled environment agriculture (CEA)—and how it is primed to accelerate fresh produce’s advantages and benefits in organics, conventional, and the greater food industry.
By Jordan Okumura
July 28, 2021
KINGSVILLE, ON - The dynamic, challenging, and volatile nature of the recent year and a half has revealed quite a few things about fresh produce to me—and one of them is that organics are not only here to stay, but continue to be an area of incredible growth opportunities. Now, with the Organic Produce Summit (OPS) on the horizon, Paul Mastronardi, President and Chief Executive Officer, Mastronardi Produce® and Caitlin Tierney, Business Director, Mastronardi Produce West®, join me to discuss the impact of a growing area of investment in organics—controlled environment agriculture (CEA)—and how it is primed to accelerate fresh produce’s advantages and benefits in organics, conventional, and the greater food industry.
Caitlin Tierney, Business Director of Western Operations, Mastronardi Produce®
“Consumer demand for flavorful fresh produce that is sustainably and locally grown is rising. As our population continues to grow, so too does the need for fresh, nutrient-rich produce. Traditional farming simply cannot keep up with this increasing demand,” Caitlin reflects, adding that to meet supply and reduce dependence on imported goods, CEA in greenhouses offers a more viable solution. “Greenhouses are also ten to twenty times more efficient and use up to ten times less water than conventional field farms.”
Caitlin leads me down the CEA path, sharing how consumers have come to expect a “season-less” pantry, and as a result of high-flavor, year-round varieties like Campari® and Flavor Bombs™, the company is seeing more retailers and foodservice operators move toward greenhouse-grown produce grown with innovative methods.
“By increasing quality, reducing the use of pesticides, growing locally, and bringing year-round supply, we can meet the needs of both consumers and retailers. A great example of this is our greenhouse in Coldwater, Michigan. Here, we use CEA techniques—such as Integrated Pest Management (IPM)—which significantly reduce the need for pesticides and provides local retailers and foodservice operators high-quality, flavorful produce that is grown year-round and is closer to them and their consumers,” Caitlin asserts.
Consumer demand for flavorful fresh produce that is sustainably and locally grown is rising, and SUNSET is helping to respond to that need
Costs also play a major role in how the conversation around CEA has progressed—a big topic that will be at play during OPS' "Growth of CEA: What's Real and What's Hype? - Part 1" panel during the September 15-16 show, where Caitlin will be a panelist. To register for OPS, please click here!
“As we all know, produce has a shelf-life that impacts the entire supply chain. If you are a retailer located on the East Coast, your fresh produce could take up to a week to get to the closest distribution center. Transportation relies on liquid fuels, which are predicted to rise in price faster than the U.S. economic inflation rate,” Caitlin reveals. “Production in CEA facilities relies on electricity and natural gas, and these prices are predicted to remain on par with inflation. With CEA, you will get fresher, more reliable produce that’s not only grown closer to where consumers are buying it, but is also cost-sustainable for the supplier.”
A win-win, in Caitlin’s words.
To get an idea of the difference and the dynamic between greenhouse and CEA, Paul breaks it down for me this way.
Paul Mastronardi, President and Chief Executive Officer, Mastronardi Produce®
“CEA can be produced in several sectors of the agricultural industry: fish, dairy, produce, etc. It’s essentially the production of food while controlling certain aspects of the environment in order to reduce pest or disease, increase efficiencies, become more sustainable, and save costs,” he says.
Using technology and data, food can be produced with quality and flavor.
“Greenhouse farming does all of this with a focus on controlled variables. Variables like temperature, humidity, and sunlight are considered carefully when growing produce in greenhouses,” he adds. “And, while CEA and greenhouse growing are two separate methods of quality food production, CEA is regularly used in greenhouses because it adds significant benefits to crop production, sustainability, and increased quality and flavor.”
Mark your calendars for the Organic Produce Summit’s "Growth of CEA: What's Real and What's Hype? -Part 1" session where Caitlin Tierney will be a panelist.
It is at this point in the conversation that he pauses to bring in the impact of vertical farming as well.
“Vertical farming, which is the process of growing crops in vertically stacked layers, is a relatively novel concept and has some significant headwinds to overcome before commercially viable. It’s currently a very small part of the market with significantly higher pricing, so it won’t replace, but will complement, existing food production with local, sustainably grown food,” Paul expresses.
This leads me to inquire how one would define the differences between vertical farming and greenhouse, and Paul details how a primary difference between vertical farming and greenhouse growing is output costs.
“Fully automated vertical farms rely exclusively on artificial lighting, which results in higher operating costs and capital expenditures. Our greenhouses, on the other hand, provide nutrient-dense produce grown sustainably, year-round without the high costs associated with energy. Why? Because we draw a lot of value from the fact that the production surfaces are mostly illuminated by the sun,” he shares.
And as Paul Mastronardi always says to his team, “there’s something magical about the sun.”
As OPS draws near, mark your calendars, build your schedule, and add Educational Breakout Session: "Growth of CEA: What's Real and What's Hype? -Part 1" for September 15!
Take Action: Schools Must Provide And Encourage Organic Food
As yet another study, “Early life multiple exposures and child cognitive function: A multi-centric birth cohort study in six European countries,” draws attention to the benefits of organic food for the learning young mind, it is important that schools provide organic food to students.
July 19, 2021
As yet another study, “Early life multiple exposures and child cognitive function: A multi-centric birth cohort study in six European countries,” draws attention to the benefits of organic food for the learning young mind, it is important that schools provide organic food to students. The study, conducted by Spanish researchers based at the Barcelona Institute for Global Health, looks at a totality of all environmental hazards that children encounter, rather than individual lifestyle factors. As study co-author Jordi Júlvez, PhD, notes, “Healthy diets, including organic diets, are richer than fast food diets in nutrients necessary for the brain, such as fatty acids, vitamins and antioxidants, which together may enhance cognitive function in childhood.”
Researchers find that children who eat organic food display higher scores measuring fluid intelligence and working memory. Lower scores on fluid intelligence tests are associated with children’s fast food intake, house crowding, and exposure to tobacco smoke. Lower scores on working memory tests were associated with exposure to poor indoor air quality.
This study adds to prior research finding that eating a conventional, chemical-intensive diet increases the presence of pesticides and their metabolites in an individual’s urine, including higher pesticide body burden from eating foods grown in chemical-intensive systems. In fact, because of their smaller size, children carry higher levels of glyphosate and other toxic pesticides in their body. Coupled with this research are multiple studies showing that many common pesticides result in developmental problems in children. Most recently, a 2019 Danish study found that higher concentrations of pyrethroid insecticides corresponded to higher rates of ADHD in children. There is also strong evidence that organophosphate insecticides, still widely used on fruits and vegetables in the U.S., are dropping children’s IQs on a national and global scale, costing billions to the economy in the form of lost brain power.
Studies show children’s developing organs create “early windows of great vulnerability” during which exposure to pesticides can cause great damage. This is supported by the findings of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), which concludes, “Children encounter pesticides daily and have unique susceptibilities to their potential toxicity.”
Switching from a conventional diet of food produced with chemical-intensive practices to organic diet drastically reduces the levels of pesticides in one’s body, with one week on organic food showing a 70% reduction in glyphosate in the body, according to one study. Socio-economic factors play a large role in access to heathy organic foods, and the ability to provide the sort of environment that allows a child’s brain to flourish, so it is important that school lunches, which provide nutrition across socioeconomic classes, help to equalize learning potential. Pitting access and cost against the long-term success of a child’s development puts many parents in an untenable position. The preponderance of evidence points to organic food providing the nutrition needed to give young minds the start they need in life. But eating organic should not be a choice to make – all food should be grown with high quality standards that reject the use of brain-damaging pesticides and protect the wider environment.
VIDEO: Is Hydroponic Produce Organic?
The organic farming standards were created by the USDA in the 1990s when there was increased public awareness of the health and safety of our food. However, at that time, hydroponic farming wasn't as widespread as it is today
Aaron Fields, Eden Green Technology's Head of Horticulture
Photo from Eden Green Technology
The organic farming standards were created by the USDA in the 1990s when there was increased public awareness of the health and safety of our food. However, at that time, hydroponic farming wasn't as widespread as it is today. That leads us to question: is hydroponic produce organic?
Check out this great video from Eden Green Technology, a hydroponic farm based in Texas. Aaron Fields, their Head of Horticulture, explains what organic really means and how hydroponic growing can be sometimes cleaner and safer. (Did you know? I hate to burst the organic bubble, but produce that is grown organically can still have some level of pesticides.)
Upward Farms Launches First Organic Vertical Farm In The US Northeast
Upward Farms, an aquaponics vertical farming company, has opened its new headquarters in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, New York
MAY 19, 202
Upward Farms, An Aquaponics Vertical FarmingCompany,
Has Opened Its New Headquarters
In Greenpoint, Brooklyn, New York
The innovative new facility – which is Upward Farms’ first – utilizes the company’s next-generation technology in both commercial production and research and development.
The operation, powered by breakthrough end-to-end automation, is USDA Certified Organic, making Upward Farms the first and only Certified Organic vertical farm in the Northeast region.
It includes a fishery that is Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch “Best Choice” rated, and it sustainably farms mercury-free, antibiotic-free and hormone-free striped bass.
Upward Farms’ ready-to-eat microgreen mixes are currently available in all Brooklyn Whole Foods Market locations and are expected to be available in all New York City Whole Foods Market locations in the coming months.
Jason Green, Upward Farms CEO and co-founder says: “Upward Farms’ new facility successfully scales our vertical farming model. Controlled environments and ecological farming are not at odds, but are powerful compliments for the next generation of farming.
“We’re delivering higher yields, disease resistance, safety, and sustainability in a platform that can be deployed anywhere in the world, regardless of climate.
“The pandemic underscores the importance of shoring up supply chains to be more local for transparency, safety, and efficiency. Localized produce is especially important from a food safety standpoint.
“As vertical farms scale, we can create a supply chain that’s fundamentally more resilient than shipping produce around the country, if not around the world.”
As consumers continue to gravitate toward fresh, organic produce and purchase more groceries online, Upward Farms offers consistent product availability, quality, and scalability for locally grown greens.
According to the Organic Produce Network, US organic produce sales rose by 14 percent in 2020 compared to 2019, outpacing growth in conventional produce and highlighting the increased demand in a post-Covid world for organic fresh produce.
Previously sold under the brand names Seed & Roe and Edenworks, Upward Farms microgreens are a best-selling product in the salad category where sold.
Two Upward Farms’ microgreen blends – Mighty Microgreens Mix and Spicy Microgreens Mix – will soon be at Whole Foods Market stores across New York City.
The Company anticipates further growth to answer demand in the US Northeast and beyond. The Company has raised approximately $150 million to date from investors that include Prime Movers Lab, Tribe Capital, and strategic investors from the food, agriculture, and consumer packaged goods spaces.
Judge Rules In Favor of U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Certification of Organic Hydroponic Producers
The decision is a major victory for producers and consumers working together to make organics more accessible and the supply more resilient
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA March 19, 2021 – The Coalition for Sustainable Organics (CSO) is ecstatic with the ruling issued today by the U.S. District Court in San Francisco that affirms the legality of U.S. Department of Agriculture certification of organic hydroponic operations. Lee Frankel, executive director of the CSO, stated, “Our membership believes that everyone deserves organic.
The decision is a major victory for producers and consumers working together to make organics more accessible and the supply more resilient. The COVID-19 pandemic has further increased demand for fresh organic vegetables and fruits as consumers look to healthy foods to bolster their immune systems and protect their family’s health.
The court preserves historically important supplies of berries, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, mushrooms, leafy greens, herbs, sprouts and microgreens that are frequently grown using containers or other hydroponic organic systems. In addition, the lawsuit threatened the nursery industry that provides many of the seedlings used by organic growers planting both in open fields as well as greenhouses.”
The court in its written opinion stated that “USDA’s ongoing certification of hydroponic systems that comply with all applicable regulations is firmly planted in OFPA.”
Frankel was pleased that the court ruling clearly affirmed the legitimacy of hydroponic and container production systems under the Organic Foods Production Act that established the USDA National Organic Program. In addition, the ruling also confirmed that USDA was fully within its rights to reject the petition to ban the certification of operations and correctly followed procedures in its handling of the petition.
“We look forward to the organic industry coming together in the wake of this court decision to help strengthen the organic community, continue to enhance the cycling and recycling of natural resources and promote ecological balance,” continued Frankel. “We are eternally grateful to the teams at USDA and the Department of Justice in effectively defending the work of the National Organic Program.”
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Lee Frankel, Executive Director
info@coalitionforsustainableorganics.org
619-587-4341
EU: According To Marcell Kovacs "Hydroponics Should Be Labeled As Organic"
“We’re living in a time where environmentally-conscious decisions are imperative,” says Marcell
Earlier this year, many vertical farms, especially hydroponic farms and their investors received a cold shower after an EU decision. Although hydroponic farming offers high-quality, pesticide-free, green, nutrition products it hasn’t been acknowledged by the European Parlament’s Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development (AGRI) as “organic”.
Losing many benefits
“Agriculture technology progressed at a break-neck speed in the last 3 to 5 years, and we are only at the beginning of the trend,” says Marcell Kovacs, founder, and CEO at Maxellco an innovation agency. “The next EU budget will unleash millions of euros for the agriculture sector in the form of grants or investments for a more sustainable and greener sector. This is the time and place to witness the revolution for the next 5 to 7 years.”
The technology in novel growing solutions, such as automated vertical farms, hydroponics, and aquaponics, often fitted with Private Equity and Venture Capital investments, resulted that these products hit the market at scale. However, production at high-tech facilities is expensive as labor, electricity, and heating are major cost factors that need to be managed. Due to high CapEx and OpEx it is crucial for the sector to sell products at a premium price to keep the business afloat.
According to Marcell, one solution could be to classify indoor farming products as officially ‘organic’, using the approved logo set by the EU across all 27 countries.
The organic logo (Source: European Commission)
It appears that the labeling, such as ‘bio’, ‘organic’, ‘eco’ or ‘locally produced’ are crucial to justify a higher price for produce. The organic label has become an immediately recognizable statement for quality. “We track retail prices in several regions in the EU and we can clearly demonstrate a 30% or even in some cases a 50% price premium for organic labeled products, fruits, vegetables and greens,” Marcell says. “Therefore, the label is clearly a powerful designation and producers have a strong incentive to be included under the organic umbrella,” he adds.
Why rejected?
“It was unrealistic to assume that the Parliament would approve hydroponics as organic at one go says Marcell. He says that the European agriculture sector is one of the most heavily regulated and subsidized sectors. Only a handful of experts understand the entire Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) to its full extent. It took years of negotiation, industrial influence and compromise to develop the organic label followed by a decade of heavy marketing so the brand could easily be recognized by (potential) customers. It is a sacred protection tool to prevent European citizens from buying low-quality and unhealthy food from sources other than inside the EU,” Marcel affirms.
“Technology always progressed faster, whereas legislation and regulation followed the progress five to 10 years later to catch up with trends. The new agriculture is surely disruptive, but this is not a get-rich-quick scheme,” Marcell warns. “Farmers should embrace themselves for years of continuous investment in technology and marketing.” In order to pursue these classification goals, the AgTech sector must unite and push for legislative change together, or try to develop a new label as a standard for hydroponic and indoor farming production. Even with the best efforts, the process might take years, and maybe even decades for it to pass. So why not spend this effort in customer education instead?” Marcell suggests.
Photo 17690284 © Panpote | Dreamstime.com
Customer engagement
“We’re living in a time where environmentally-conscious decisions are imperative,” says Marcell. The change is not only a peak of the political centrum, but it’s present in industries, companies and customers. Customer's habits are now changing as many are becoming more environmentally conscious and are set to pursue a healthy diet. They prefer high-quality products as they’re able to afford it. Marcell says that the green aspect is part of the customer’s decisions as they want to become part of the story and have an emotional attachment to the food. Questions will arise such as, Where did come from? How was it produced? What is the environmental impact of this one?”
Marcell states that customers have the power to decide the future of the planet and the agriculture sector. On the other hand, producers have the chance to engage with customers across the supply chain, to better inform, educate and assist them to maintain their choice of lifestyle. Companies and producers should explore this field to begin developing a long-term customer relationship.
“An armada of digital tools are available for companies to take advantage and lead the changing customer habits. Think of QR codes to track down the source of vegetables (from Farm-to-Fork), or mobile apps to track eating habits or gamified waste collection. These are all easy to go answers and an important piece of this extremely complex situation.”
For more information:
Maxellco
Marcell Kovacs, Founder, and CEO
marcell.kovacs@maxellco.com
www.maxellco.com
Publication date: Fri 5 Mar 2021
Author: Rebekka Boekhout
© VerticalFarmDaily.com
Fifth Season Takes Vertical Farming to a Whole New Level
Fifth Season’s verdant baby spinach screams farm fresh even though it’s grown nowhere near traditional farmland. The sweet and slightly crunchy greens are grown in a Braddock warehouse on racks stacked 30 feet high. Located just a stone’s throw from U.S. Steel’s Mon Valley Works Edgar Thomson Plant, it is urban farming at its core
Image from: Pittsburgh Post-Gazzette
Fifth Season’s verdant baby spinach screams farm fresh even though it’s grown nowhere near traditional farmland. The sweet and slightly crunchy greens are grown in a Braddock warehouse on racks stacked 30 feet high. Located just a stone’s throw from U.S. Steel’s Mon Valley Works Edgar Thomson Plant, it is urban farming at its core.
What makes the vertical farming operation especially unique is that it is automated and robots call the shots. About 40 to 60 machines are involved in every step of the life of the spinach and other leafy greens, from planting the seed to providing nutrients to the final packing.
Fifth Season does employ local “farm workers” to assist the robots in seeding, harvesting, packaging, quality assurance and control using computer software, but there is no human touch involved through it all.
“The first time someone ever touches the spinach leaf with a finger is when the package is opened,” says Grant Vandenbussche, chief category officer.
Co-founded by brothers Austin and Brac Webb and Austin Lawrence, Fifth Season started a year ago. Within months it was rolling out its baby spinach, leafy greens and salad kits.
“We wanted a name that represents what we are doing,” says Austin Webb, 32, who also is the CEO. “It is a call to the fact we have created an entirely new season. It is 24/7, 365 with the technology we have built.”
None of them planned to become modern farmers, says the Carnegie Mellon University grad, but they turned to vertical farming because it was an efficient, economically sustainable way to solve land and water woes.
Image from: thespoon.tech
‘Fields’ of Greens
Fifth Season grows an equivalent production of 200 acres in 25,000 square feet of grow space. Its “fields” are stacked on top of one another in vertical shelves. When you add up all that surface area of grow space, it is more like 126,000 square feet.
“We also quickly turn crops at the farm,” Mr. Vandenbussche says.
While spinach takes about 40 days to grow outdoors and can be harvested only twice during its peak season, it takes the crop only three or four weeks to grow in the controlled environment and is harvested 19 times. Once the plants are harvested, a new cycle of reseeding begins with fresh media, seeds and nutrients.
“That’s why we get so much more productivity,” he says. “We are immediately reseeding our ‘land.’”
This controlled environment yields quality produce because it is always peak season at Fifth Season, says Chris Cerveny, who heads the Grow R&D division. Greens are grown in the same conditions year-round, getting the exact amount of nutrients and water they need. Because pests and airborne toxins also are kept at bay, crops can be produced without pesticides.
All that TLC comes through in the slightly curled baby spinach, which is sweet and not grassy. The leaf doesn’t wilt or get slimy or lose its slight crunch even after two weeks of refrigeration.
A lot of thought was given even for the curl, which gives the spinach a stronger volume, making it look full and bountiful. The curl also makes the spinach more forkable unlike its flat-leaf counterpart that is hard to stab on a plate.
Other leafy greens such as kale, mustard, Chinese cabbage, green tatsoi and purple pac choi are featured in two blends — Bridge City and Three Rivers. Fifth Season plans to roll out its Romaine lettuce in spring.
The greens also are found in four types of salad kits — Sweet Grains (blended greens, quinoa, chickpeas, corn, feta and poppy seed dressing), Crunchy Sesame (blended greens, farro, sesame sticks, dried cranberries and ginger-mandarin dressing), Toasted Tuscan (spinach, lentils, sun-dried tomatoes, bagel chips and vinaigrette), and Spiced Southwest (blended greens, black beans, pepitas, cotija cheese, corn-salsa sticks and chipotle ranch dressing) — which are available online and in Giant Eagle stores. A fifth salad kit is in the works and is being called “a shakeup of one of the most classic salads.”
While machines are a big part of what Fifth Season does, it seeks to keep human connection alive. It recently launched a recipe blog for those who have an appetite for cooking and writing, The Green Room is devoted to cataloging personal memories, dream meals and recipes via short stories.
Fifth Season also has partnered with the Penguins and is providing greens for the team’s pregame meals for the 2020-21 season.
“We want people in Pittsburgh to be able to eat the exact same delicious blend of greens that Sidney Crosby and company are eating,” Mr. Webb says. “We want people to know that there’s a new way to grow food and to eat and experience it.”
Image from: Next Pittsburgh
It’s All Under Control
Everything from seeding to packaging is done in four rooms. The process starts in the seeding and processing room, where seeds and growing media are placed inside black planter-like boxes called inserts. Each has a unique code that’s traced by a software system. The inserts go on white trays that pass through a photo station, feeding information to the computer system, and then glide into the bio dome.
There are two rooms in the bio dome, each with a grow space of 12,500 square feet. They’re lit up with a pinkish-purplish glow from high-efficiency LED light bulbs that mimic the different seasons of the year.
“They are positioned over the plants at different heights depending on stage of growth,” Mr. Cerveny says. “This is partly how we can provide consistently ideal growing conditions.”
As the plants grow, they are moved by a robot to optimize their growth cycle. Full-grown crops are transferred to the harvesting room by another robot.
“Harvesting is where it becomes like a Willy Wonka factory,” Mr. Vandenbussche says.
Long rows of trays filled with tiny plants are sent on a conveyor system to a station where workers inspect them for quality with surgical tools. After inspection, the plants are harvested by a robot and then immediately ride up a tall conveyor to be packaged and sealed in a 34- to 36-degree room so they remain fresh.
“Every crop we grow gets evaluated for maximum flavor, volume, crunch and color,” he says.
The plants’ intense, dark color is controlled by LED light bulbs, which are dialed up or down to get the correct hue. Although they never see the sun, the greens don’t get into a funk as humans might.
“What humans see in terms of light and how chlorophyll responds during photosynthesis are two different things,” Mr. Cerveny says. “Plants really only need red and blue light to grow effectively. We include some additional colors to help bring out other quality aspects of our crops, but providing the full sunlight spectrum is effectively a waste of energy, especially indoors.
“To the human eye, it looks like the plants live in a land of purple and pink lights, but they are perfectly happy there.”
Even though the environment is controlled and the software system is constantly updated, no two plants are exactly the same. Some fight for light more than others. Some might fail the quality control test and end up in a compost waste facility if their flavor is off or their color is not right.
“That is what is so amazing. We have more control than any other farmer, and yet we have limitations. Every seed is different,” Mr. Vandenbussche says. “They are plants. They are real living organisms.”
US: Public Oral Argument In Hydroponically-Grown Organic Food Lawsuit
CFS filed a petition requesting USDA to prohibit organic certification of hydroponic operations that do not work with or build soil in 2019
Source: Vertical Farming Daily
On Thursday, January 21st, the United States District Court for the Northern District of California will hear arguments in Center for Food Safety's (CFS) ongoing lawsuit challenging the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) "soil-less" loophole that permits the labeling of hydroponically-grown foods as USDA Certified Organic, even though the Organic statute and regulations clearly mandate all organic crop producers foster soil fertility in order to obtain organic certification.
WHAT: Oral Argument in Center for Food Safety's Lawsuit Challenging the Labeling of Hydroponically-Grown Foods as Organic
WHEN: Thursday, January 21, 2021, at 1:30 PM PST
(Note: the Court's afternoon session starts at 1:30 PM and is currently listed as the first of the two cases scheduled for hearing that afternoon, but the Court can hear the cases in any order it wishes).
WHERE: District Judge Richard Seeborg's Virtual Courtroom via Zoom.
CFS filed a petition requesting USDA to prohibit organic certification of hydroponic operations that do not work with or build soil in 2019. After USDA denied the petition, CFS, along with a coalition of organic farms and stakeholders, filed a lawsuit challenging USDA's decision to allow hydroponic operations to continue to be certified organic in March 2020. The lawsuit claims that hydroponic operations violate organic standards for failing to build healthy soils, and asks the Court to stop USDA from allowing hydroponically-produced crops to be sold under the USDA Organic label.
Hydroponic operations, or "hydroponics," describes methods of growing crops using water-based nutrient solutions without any soil. CFS's lawsuit cites the federal Organic Foods Production Act, which requires farms to build soil fertility in order to be certified organic. Hydroponics cannot comply with federal organic standards because hydroponic crops are not grown in soil. Allowing hydroponics to be certified organic is another attempt to weaken the integrity of the Organic label, and has resulted in market confusion and inconsistent organic certifications.
Thursday's hearing on summary judgment will be the only time the Court will hear oral arguments on whether hydroponic operations that do not work with soil meet the mandatory requirements to be sold under the USDA Organic label, and whether USDA violated the federal Organic Foods Production Act when it decided to exempt hydroponic operations from the Organic Label's soil-building requirements.
The plaintiff coalition in the lawsuit includes some of the longest-standing organic farms in the United States, including Swanton Berry Farm, Full Belly Farm, Durst Organic Growers, Terra Firma Farm, Jacobs Farm del Cabo, and Long Wind Farm, in addition to organic stakeholder organizations, such as organic certifier OneCert and the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association.
Publication date: Wed 20 Jan 2021
Is A Rainwater Harvesting System Suitable For Hydroponic Lettuce Cultivation?
The aim of this study was to determine the suitability of a rainwater harvesting system to cover the water demand for indoor hydroponic lettuce cultivation located in Wrocław, Poland
The aim of this study was to determine the suitability of a rainwater harvesting system to cover the water demand for indoor hydroponic lettuce cultivation located in Wrocław, Poland.
The analysis was performed on the basis of the recorded rainfall in Wrocław in 2000–2019. The analyzed cultivation is located in a hall with an area of 300 m2, where the lettuce is grown vertically by the hydroponic method.
The calculations of the rainwater harvesting (RWH) system were carried out considering the selection of the tank capacity for the collected water. The operation of the water storage is simulated using a yield after spillage (YAS) algorithm.
It was evident that the proposed system might be an auxiliary system that relieves the water supply network or supports other water recovery systems (e.g., the water vapor condensation in a cross-flow heat exchanger operating as an element of the air conditioning system, proposed in Part 1 of this study).
The harvesting system for the selected vertical farming indoor hall covers an average of 35.9% of water needs and allows a saving of 146,510 L of water annually for the cultivation. An average water demand coverage increases up to 90.4%, which allows a saving of 340,300 L per year when the RWH system is combined with water recovery from exhaust air from the hall.
Click here to access the complete study.
4 Jan 2021
CSO Pleased With Schedule For Lawsuit Asking To Restrict Supplies of Organic Foods
Lee Frankel, executive director of the CSO, stated, “The sooner growers can be sure that the rules established by Congress, the US Department of Agriculture and the National Organic Standards Board that allow for growers to use containers in their operations will remain in place, the more quickly growers can get back to focusing on providing nutritious and delicious organic fresh produce to consumers looking for ways to strengthen their immune systems during the COVID-19 outbreak.”
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA June 12, 2020 – The Coalition for Sustainable Organics (CSO) is pleased with the schedule set by Judge Seeborg in the lawsuit seeking to strip growers of their rights to incorporate appropriate and legitimate growing techniques in their organic operations. The CSO continues to oppose the efforts of the Center for Food Safety and a handful of growers to limit the availability of fresh organic berries, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, leafy greens, herbs, microgreens, and mushrooms.
Lee Frankel, executive director of the CSO, stated, “The sooner growers can be sure that the rules established by Congress, the US Department of Agriculture and the National Organic Standards Board that allow for growers to use containers in their operations will remain in place, the more quickly growers can get back to focusing on providing nutritious and delicious organic fresh produce to consumers looking for ways to strengthen their immune systems during the COVID-19 outbreak.”
Under the Scheduling Order, USDA has until July 15 to provide the Administrative Record supporting its decision to deny the petition of the CFS to revoke certification of organic growers incorporating containers on their farms. A series of briefs will be filed culminating in a hearing currently scheduled for January 21, 2021, to present what will likely be the final arguments in the case prior to the judge’s decision.
The Department of Justice on behalf of the USDA stated in the case management order filed prior to the judge’s order that “The agency properly concluded that the OFPA [Organic Foods Production Act] does not prohibit hydroponic production systems. It properly determined that organic hydroponic systems cycle and conserve resources in a manner consistent with the vision for organic agriculture expressed by the OFPA, that hydroponic organic systems produce food in a way that can minimize damage to soil and water, and that hydroponic organic systems can support diverse biological communities. USDA fully explained these reasons and others in its decision denying the petition—a decision that courts review under an extremely limited and highly deferential standard.”
Frankel continued, “The CSO agrees with the USDA. We look to broaden the coalition to other producers, marketers, and retailers that support bringing healthy food to more consumers because we believe that everyone deserves organics.”
Show Gives Grower a Chance to Show Off its Uniqueness
We want to be able to talk to a wider span of people with this show,” says Don Helms of Rockingham, VA-based That’s Tasty. “It’s new territory so we’re looking at interesting and unique ways to interact with people.”
For one vertical indoor organic grower, this year’s United Fresh LIVE! is a chance to potentially reach a broader audience.
“We want to be able to talk to a wider span of people with this show,” says Don Helms of Rockingham, VA-based That’s Tasty. “It’s new territory so we’re looking at interesting and unique ways to interact with people.”
The show, taking place this year June 15-19, gives That’s Tasty a chance to share with participants how it differs from others in the marketplace. “We call our facilities BioFarms because unlike other indoor growers, we are USDA Certified Organic and grow in a soil medium” says Helms. “It’s vertically growing in soil and it’s different in that regard. It makes the plants heartier with better flavors and colors and shelf life is also improved.”
Leafy options
That’s Tasty will be part of the Controlled Environment Pavilion where it hopes to display its line of culinary herbs that are living plants and fresh-cut as well as its leafy greens including large-leaf lettuce filets, cut-leaf iceberg, a red and green lettuce mix and more. The show is timed well in that these leafy greens, which are in limited distribution currently and grown in That’s Tasty’s Elkwood, VA BioFarm will be moving into the next phase of distribution.
Helms says that while demand recently for herbs and leafy greens had been erratic due to the pandemic-related shift in the way consumers were buying food, it’s more recently leveled out. “Overall, business is back on a similar track to where we were,” he says.
In fact, the recent spike in home cooking that North Americans have taken to during the pandemic may be something for That’s Tasty to tap into. “We think a lot of those behaviors are going to continue as people are more into cooking at home and being more adventurous with culinary creations involving fresh herbs and greens,” says Helms.
For more information:
Don Helms
That’s Tasty
Tel: +1 (540) 896-6939 ext. 2130
dhelms@thatstasty.com
www.thatstasty.com
Publication date: Tue 26 May 2020
Author: Astrid Van Den Broek
© HortiDaily.com
Justice Department Responds on Behalf of USDA Against Lawsuit to Restrict Supplies of Organic Foods
As USDA acknowledges in its response to the complaint, “certifiers have certified organic hydroponics operations since the beginning of the program and continue to certify organic hydroponics operations.”
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA
May 19, 2020
The Coalition for Sustainable Organics (CSO) is heartened by the initial response of the Department of Justice to defend organic growers’ rights to incorporate appropriate and legitimate growing techniques in their organic operations. The CSO opposes the efforts of the Center for Food Safety and a handful of growers to limit the availability of fresh organic fruits, vegetables, herbs, and mushrooms.
Lee Frankel, executive director of the CSO, stated, “The lawsuit takes aim at all container systems. The requested decertification of organic growers would include everything from microgreens grown in a tray using soil to tomatoes grown with plastic lining under the planting bed to berries grown in a pot to leafy greens grown in a circulating water system.”
“Demand for organic produce has grown even stronger in recent weeks as consumers are looking for ways to strengthen their immune systems by avoiding unwanted chemicals, hormones, and antibiotics in their diet,” Frankel continued. “We oppose this lawsuit and support the most recent vote of the National Organic Standards Board to not make containers and hydroponic production methods prohibited practices.
As USDA acknowledges in its response to the complaint, “certifiers have certified organic hydroponics operations since the beginning of the program and continue to certify organic hydroponics operations.”
Frankel continued, “If producers, marketers, and retailers truly support bringing healthy food to more consumers, especially in light of the pressures many households are facing as a result of the recent economic contraction, they must speak out against these efforts to restrict supplies.”
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Lee Frankel, Executive Director
info@coalitionforsustainableorganics.org
619-587-4341
Is Indoor Farming A Solution? UF/IFAS Scientists Explain
As an industry in the early stages, experts indicate that the market has seen more start-ups fail than succeed. Nonetheless, proponents of indoor vertical farming continue to tout it as a food production method with multiple added environmental and social benefits which drives technology in favor of its existence
At one time, the concept of vegetables growing inside a temperature-controlled facility where LED lights and advanced technology set the pace for year-round harvesting, promoted photosynthesis and water use efficiency, and required no pesticides, was considered a scene from the future.
Today, the concept of indoor vertical farming is increasingly becoming a reality. As an industry in early stages, experts indicate that the market has seen more start-ups fail than succeed. Nonetheless, proponents of indoor vertical farming continue to tout it as a food production method with multiple added environmental and social benefits which drives technology in favor of its existence.
Jiangxiao Qiu is an assistant professor of landscape ecology at FLREC
In the latest EDIS publication entitled ‘Indoor Vertical Farming Systems for Food Security and Resource Sustainability’, UF/IFAS scientists give consumers an inside look at the current status of the industry globally.
“The publication explains what we have learned so far about indoor vertical farming, the different techniques and innovations available, as well as the benefits, limitations, and challenges with this young industry,” said Jiangxiao Qiu, Assistant Professor of landscape ecology at UF/IFAS Fort Lauderdale Research and Education Center. “As we seek ways to curb food insecurity and advance sustainability, we also look at the current state of the methods for their economic, environmental, and social viability.”
Indoor vertical farming is the practice of producing food on vertically inclined surfaces. Instead of farming vegetables on a single level, such as in a field or a greenhouse, this method produces vegetables in vertical layers inside structures including skyscrapers, shipping containers, repurposed warehouses just to name a few. The method relies on artificially controlling temperature, light, humidity, and nutrients to promote the growth of food, and uses much less space. Examples of production methods include hydroponics, aeroponics, aquaponics, vegetable towers, modular container systems, and cubic production systems.
“The primary goal of indoor vertical farming is to maximize crop output of healthy organic food in a limited space such as an urban environment, while promoting water and nutrient use efficiencies, eliminating chemicals, and ultimately reducing energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions through reducing reliance on external food transports,” he said. “One of its goals is to enhance the connection of local food production to consumption.”
The other side of the message for indoor vertical farming systems is that in urban food production, it can be an important piece of the puzzle to finding solutions for global food insecurity and environmental challenges like climate change and sea-level rise, notes Qiu.
“The methods can serve to promote sustainability and community resilience in the face of situations like COVID-19, hurricanes, and environmental crisis,” he adds.
Now that consumers have experienced first-hand the vulnerability of a supply chain when confronted by natural and man-made disasters like hurricanes and COVID-19, Jiangxiao noted, consumers are starting to ask about the potentials of this method. Meanwhile, UF/IFAS Extension office statewide reports an increase in consumer requests for information, webinars, and videos on how to set up indoor gardens.
Contributing scientists to the publication provides some insight into the constraints and challenges that vertical indoor farming currently experiences. For example, production methods limit the range of crops suitable for growing in vertical indoor farms. Those crops include lettuce, tomato, strawberries, peppers, and microgreens. Staple crops, such as corn, soybean, and rice, at least with the current technology, are not ideal for indoor production at present. Costs related to start-up along with a lack of pervasive incentive or policy initiatives, and technical training for workforce development that can facilitate the adoption of vertical indoor farming at a large scale are also barriers to promoting success in the industry.
However, for residents interested in learning about vertical indoor farming, a series of Sustainable Urban Agriculture Workshops is in the works for August at the Fort Lauderdale Research and Education Center. The program, now in its second year, is organized by Qiu, in partnership with UF/IFAS Extensions in Broward and Collier counties. The series covers a variety of sustainable practices through informational and hands-on training on how to establish indoor farming on a small-scale. More information will be forthcoming in the next few weeks as executive orders continue to lift facility lockdowns throughout the state.
Meanwhile, the publication cites environmental and social benefits. For example, indoor farming serves as an enterprise that can create jobs, it can also create a sense of community by providing a variety of urban environments with local places to obtain healthy food.
“This reduces the social inequality among communities targeting food desserts. Having a farm in an urban center revives some of the less developed and neglected neighbors by transforming abandoned warehouses, buildings, and vacant lots into a source of food production and while creating jobs and revenues,” added Qiu. “Ultimately, if the industry gains momentum it will eventually create jobs in sectors of engineering, biotechnology construction, and research and development.”
Publication date: Thu 14 May 2020
DOJ Assigns Team To Prevent Decertification of Organic Containers
The lawsuit does not exempt any container systems, and the ban would include everything from microgreens grown in a tray using soil to tomatoes grown in a planting bed with plastic lining to berries grown in a pot to leafy greens grown in a circulating water system
The U.S. Department of Justice has assigned the team and selected a primary attorney at the Federal Programs Brach of the Civil Division in Washington, DC to lead the defense of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the National Organic Program and the long-standing policy that allows for the organic certification of farms that incorporate container production methods.
The lawsuit does not exempt any container systems, and the ban would include everything from microgreens grown in a tray using soil to tomatoes grown in a planting bed with plastic lining to berries grown in a pot to leafy greens grown in a circulating water system.
Attorneys from the U.S. Department of Justice with support from the U.S. Department of Agriculture will take the lead in defending your right to choose the most appropriate and sustainable organic production method on your farm. The CSO expects that they will do a wonderful job to show how the USDA followed all the correct procedures in establishing the policy supporting container and hydroponic production systems. However, neither Departments are subject matter experts, and they will depend on growers like you working through the CSO to support their efforts to build a fact-based record to increase the chances of winning the lawsuit.
Your membership in the CSO will allow us to fully engage with expert attorneys to strengthen our efforts in the courts in California and with officials in Washington, DC to preserve your organic certification. If you are not yet a member, please consider joining today.
Organic Hydroponics vs. Soil And The USDA Lawsuit
The organic hydroponic vs. soil lawsuit claims that hydroponic operations violate the 1990 Organic Foods Production Act that mandates the need for organic crop production in order to build healthy soils
April 15, 2020
Tags: organic certification, organic hydroponics, organic hydroponics vs soil, soil, soilless systems
Co-authored by Tinia Pina and Riyana Razalee
BackgroundThe contentious issue of organic hydroponics vs soil certification remains at the forefront of the agriculture industry. In 2017, the National Organic Standards Board voted in favor of hydroponics being certified organic. However, just a few months ago, a lawsuit was filed by a group of organic farmers and advocates against the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) over this decision. Although a number of the organic farmers had positive thoughts on the hydroponic industry, as a whole there was consensus that hydroponics should not fall under the organic category.
Pro-Lawsuit Perspective
The organic hydroponic vs. soil lawsuit claims that hydroponic operations violate the 1990 Organic Foods Production Act that mandates the need for organic crop production in order to build healthy soils. Since hydroponic farming is soilless, the argument is that these standards cannot ever be met. Therefore, organic certification should not be allowed. Organic farmers also highlight increased competition in an unfair manner. Larger hydroponic farms usually incur lower costs to grow the same food, thereby capturing even higher margins through their produce sales, while offering more value to the consumers for the same products. From a consumer and market perspective, claims have also been made that this certification weakens the integrity of the term “organic”, creates a lot of confusion, and opens up loopholes for inconsistent organic certifications.
"[The lawsuit] claims that hydroponic operations violate the 1990 Organic Foods Production Act that mandates the need for organic crop production in order to build healthy soils."
Anti-Lawsuit Perspective
For proponents of hydroponic organic certification, they stress that irrespective of whether food is grown in soil or not, it does not necessarily fully indicate whether the food is organic or not. The National Organic Program (NOP) also disagrees with the plaintiffs, stating that the 1990 statutory and regulatory provisions which require soil cultivation applies specifically to systems that use soil. In other words, the regulation was not created to exclude soilless (“hydroponic”) systems. Instead, its purpose was to ensure best practices within soil-based farming, first and foremost. If food is grown in other sustainable, certified organic growing media, they should still be eligible for organic certification. Anti-lawsuit proponents also pressed on the issue of limitation of fair competition by organic farmers, claiming that this exclusion is being done in order to monopolize the premium organic market, thus driving prices up further.
"[I]rrespective of whether food is grown in soil or not, it does necessarily fully indicate whether the food is organic or not."
Organic Hydroponics vs. Soil: Finding Common Ground
Ecologically speaking, it cannot be denied that fertile soil promotes healthy interaction between beneficial microorganisms. These microorganisms are incredibly important for crop production as well as the environment, and ultimately, this enhances the land's ability to sequester carbon and retain nutrients and water. However, do we limit ourselves by saying that this is the only input that necessitates an environment for organic production? Interestingly enough, a 2017 poll by the health food store chain, Natural Grocers, found that over 90 percent of respondents cited pesticide avoidance as their key reason for purchasing organic products. Yet, we fail to acknowledge that the organic hydroponics vs. soil debate should be more multi-faceted than just focusing on one key factor such as “pesticide-free” or soil-only growth.
To do this, we need to look even bigger – How is every step of the food production process using inputs which come from an organic source and /or growing method? There are plans by the NOP to integrate new provisions from the 2018 Farm Bill related to oversight, enforcement, data reporting, and technology into the USDA organic regulations. In addition, the NOP will prioritize farm-to-market traceability for the global organic supply chain, ensuring an even more holistic view of what the organic term should constitute, which undoubtedly should include soil, but in reality also includes various inputs along the supply chain. In soil, compost and other organic fertilizers are typically added directly to this media during cultivation. The organic fertilizer is subsequently degraded by soil microorganisms, which make organic compounds readily available for absorption by the plant.
"[W]e need to look even bigger – How is every step of the food production process using inputs which come from an organic source and /or growing method? "
Re-Nuble’s mindset has always been about how we can bring back closed-loop food again, realizing that nobody has been able to efficiently take organic nutrients and turn it into a viable nutrient solution at a scale that makes it competitive with commercial grade synthetic fertilizers for soilless farms. However, if the microbial community that degrades organic fertilizer can be cultured in a soilless system, it should be possible to meet the organic growing standards that those representing the pro-lawsuit perspective are seeking.
This is something we have not only spent the last 5 years researching but have also been very intentional about. Using our approach of organic cycling, and having developed a nutrient delivery system, we can achieve what we recognize as missing in this lawsuit within the soilless community, by employing a myriad of methods, including composting technology, which is essentially decomposed organic matter. Every stage of our production is viewed as circular, ensuring that we are not only carbon neutral, but also relieving our land (and soil) of further environmental stress.
So really, could the solution be as simple as asking ourselves, “Is the organic hydroponic vs soil conversation really just about soil, or should we hold ourselves to higher standards and, instead, focus on optimizing for efficient food production systems, especially as providers of nutrition to entire communities?”
Photo source
Food Grown Without Dirt Isn’t Organic, Farmers Say in Lawsuit
The Center for Food Safety and farmers from Maine to California say in the lawsuit that the decision “undermines the very integrity” of the country’s organic food label -- “that consumers trust and that organic farmers rely upon.”
Bloomberg by: Robert Burnson
March 3, 2020
(Bloomberg) -- Food activists and farmers sued the Trump administration over its decision to let hydroponic operators use the prized “organic” label.
The Center for Food Safety and farmers from Maine to California say in the lawsuit that the decision “undermines the very integrity” of the country’s organic food label -- “that consumers trust and that organic farmers rely upon.”
Hydroponic operations grow plants that have their roots in water or air and receive nutrients from solutions created by the operators. Under federal rules, organic crops -- aside from being grown without pesticides and other harmful chemicals -- must foster “soil fertility,” according to the lawsuit filed Monday in U.S. District Court in San Francisco.
But how can you foster soil fertility without soil, the farmers asked.
The farmers want a judge to declare that the hydroponic operations don’t meet the soil fertility mandate and to order the U.S. Department of Agriculture to comply with the requirements for organic certification.
The USDA had issued a statement saying certification of hydroponic operations is allowed and has been since the program began, according to the lawsuit.
“USDA offered no supporting rationale for its statement,” the farmers said. “USDA made the statement in a website announcement, without any opportunity for public input.”
To contact the reporter on this story: Robert Burnson in San Francisco at rburnson@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: David Glovin at dglovin@bloomberg.net, Joe Schneider
For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com
©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
Hydroponic Growers Defend Their Use of Organic Label From Outside The Courtroom
A federal civil action brought by soil-using organic growers does not name any of the hydroponic growers they want to prevent from using USDA’s organic label
By Dan Flynn on March 11, 2020
A federal civil action brought by soil-using organic growers does not name any of the hydroponic growers they want to prevent from using USDA’s organic label.
But that does not mean hydroponic growers are going to remain silent as the litigation proceeds against Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue and other USDA officials.
The lawsuit was filed on March 2 against USDA by the Center for Food Safety and several prominent organic growers. Hydroponic growers, represented by the Coalition for Sustainable Organics (CSO) said the CFS roll-out was misleading.
Current policy as determined by Secretary Perdue permits hydroponic growers to use the official USDA organic seal. Perdue gets advice on such issues from the National Organic Standards Board, an appointed body that meets twice a year.
Lee Frankel, the executive director of the CSO, said the press release and legal complaint “contains incorrect information regarding the final 2017 NOSB vote on whether to recommend making hydroponics, containers, and aquaponic systems as prohibited practices.”
Frankel said the NOSB voted in the majority to reject that proposal. “It is false to state that USDA ignored the NOSB proposal when in fact the NOSB vote indicated that the majority of NOSB supported the existing USDA policy,” he added.
The CFS-led Plaintiffs in the lawsuit charge that current policy permitting hydroponics to use the USDA certified organic seal violates the Organic Foods Production Act (OFPA). That’s because standards for implementing the act encourage organic growers to “foster soil health.”
Frankel says the CSO “is saddened by the latest attempts by the Center for Food Safety and their allies to limit fair competition and organic supplies in the market through legal action.”
“It is disappointing to see groups target pioneering organic farmers that use the most appropriate organic growing methods adapted to their site-specific conditions on their farms to meet the needs of consumers,” Frankel said.
Hydroponics has been called the “indoor agriculture evolution” by USDA, with the potential to offer a food safety advantage for growing lettuce and other leafy greens. Hydroponics grows plants in water using specific mineral nutrient solutions, not soils.
Frankel says his members are committed to the integrity of organic standards and the organic label. He says the groups behind the lawsuit failed to convince NOSB members that hydroponic and container production should be prohibited and there was significant industry debate by the organic community.
Frankel says the CFS “is seeking to eliminate public input to achieve their goals of restricting competition to drive up the price of organics for organic consumers to allow favored producers to increase their profit margins.”
While Perdue’s most recent decision favoring hydroponics occurred on June 6, 2019, the USDA policy is not new. “Growers using containers adhere to the USDA organic standards under the National Organic Program (NOP) and have been allowed to grow certified organic produce since the initiation of the nOP more than 25 years ago,” Frankel added.
Federal Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler with U.S. District Court for Northern California is hearing the case.
Sylvia Wu, senior attorney for CFS, says “federal organic law unequivocally requires organic production to promote soil fertility.” And CFS Executive Director says “healthy soil is the foundation of organic farming.”
As for the soil-using organic growers who are Plaintiffs in the lawsuit, price competition from hydroponic growers is causing economic damages, according to their complaint.
(To sign up for a free subscription to Food Safety News, click here.)
Tags: Center for Food Safety (CFS), Coalition for Sustainable Organics (CSO), hydroponics, Lee Frankel, National Organic Standards Board
Coalition For Sustainable Organics Disappointed in Latest Attempts Center For Food Safety To Restrict Supplies Organic Foods through Lawsuit
Lee Frankel, the executive director of the CSO stated, “It is disappointing to see groups target pioneering organic farmers that use the most appropriate organic growing methods adapted to their site-specific conditions on their farms to meet the needs of consumers
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA March 3, 2020 – The Coalition for Sustainable Organics (CSO) is saddened by the latest attempts by the Center for Food Safety and their allies to limit fair competition and organic supplies in the market through legal action.
Lee Frankel, the executive director of the CSO stated, “It is disappointing to see groups target pioneering organic farmers that use the most appropriate organic growing methods adapted to their site-specific conditions on their farms to meet the needs of consumers. The members of the CSO are strongly committed to the integrity of organic standards and the organic label. The groups behind the lawsuit failed to convince the members of the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) to prohibit container and hydroponic production methods after significant industry debate and submission of public comments. Instead of unifying the industry after the decision made by representatives of the organic community at the NOSB, the CFS is seeking to eliminate public input to achieve their goals of restricting competition to drive up the price of organics for organic consumers to allow favored producers to increase their profit margins.”
Frankel continued, “Growers using containers adhere to the U.S. Department of Agriculture organic standards under the National Organic Program (NOP) and have been allowed to grow certified organic produce since the initiation of the NOP more than 25 years ago. After extensive study in 2010, the USDA through the NOP opted not to change these high standards for certifying organic produce – and affirmed that organic produce can be grown through containerized methods. After additional review in 2015-2017, the National Organic Standards Board voted to reject a proposed prohibition on container and hydroponic systems.”
Karen Archipley of Archi’s Acres of Escondido, California added “Our production systems are managed in accordance with the federal organic law. We chose to incorporate hydro-organic methods at our operations since it is the most appropriate way to promote ecological balance by drastically reducing our water use, conserve biological diversity by preserving valuable habitat while still incorporating the microbial processes described by organic pioneers to recycle nutrients to nourish our crops. Every choice we make and every input we use must be audited and approved by USDA-accredited certifying agents like any other Organic Farmer.”
Archipley continued “Changing the rules now would limit the amount of organic produce available to the public – just as the public is demanding more organic produce. This is not an issue that should be settled in the courts or politicized. If a grower meets USDA standards for organic certification, they should be able to market organic produce, whether they grow in soil or any other sustainable, certified organic growing media.
Farmers, Nonprofits Sue USDA, Saying Hydroponics Can't Be Organic
Center for Food Safety (CFS), along with a coalition of organic farms and stakeholders, filed a lawsuit challenging the United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA's) decision to allow hydroponic operations to be certified organic
Center for Food Safety (CFS), along with a coalition of organic farms and stakeholders, filed a lawsuit challenging the United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA's) decision to allow hydroponic operations to be certified organic.
The lawsuit claims that hydroponic operations violate organic standards for failing to build healthy soils, and asks the Court to stop USDA from allowing hydroponically-produced crops to be sold under the USDA Organic label. The plaintiff coalition includes some of the longest-standing organic farms in the United States including Swanton Berry Farm, Full Belly Farm, Durst Organic Growers, Terra Firma Farm, Jacobs Farm del Cabo, and Long Wind Farm, in addition to organic stakeholder organizations including organic certifier OneCert and the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association.
"Healthy soil is the foundation of organic farming," said Andrew Kimbrell, executive director of plaintiff Center for Food Safety, "Organic farmers and consumers believe that the Organic label means not just growing food in soil, but improving the fertility of that soil. USDA's loophole for corporate hydroponics to be sold under the Organic label guts the very essence of 'Organic'."
CFS's lawsuit cites the federal Organic Foods Production Act, which requires farms to build soil fertility in order to be certified organic. Hydroponics cannot comply with federal organic standards because hydroponic crops are not grown in soil, the CFS claims.
"The federal organic law unequivocally requires organic production to promote soil fertility," said Sylvia Wu, senior attorney at the Center for Food Safety and counsel for plaintiffs. "USDA's decision to allow mega-hydroponic operations that do nothing with soil to be sold as 'Organic' violates the law."
"Healthy soil is critical to producing nutrient-dense foods that benefit both people and the environment," said Paul Muller, one of the farm owners of plaintiff Full Belly Farm in Guinda, California, a diversified family farm that has been farmed organically since 1985. "Healthy soil increases and improves the availability of soil nutrients and beneficial microorganisms, and enhances the land's ability to sequester carbon and retain nutrients and water."
"While I welcome the work that my friends in the hydroponic industry are doing, hydroponic production does not conform to the soil-building precepts of organic farming," said Jim Cochran, owner of plaintiff Swanton Berry Farm, one of the oldest certified organic strawberry farms in California. "I would be perfectly happy to have my strawberries compete with properly distinguished hydroponically-grown strawberries, without the latter piggybacking on an Organic label that has taken more than 30 years to develop and establish in the minds of consumers. Certifying hydroponically-grown crops as organic devalues that label."
"The USDA's claim that hydroponics can be certified as organic is disingenuous and false," said Sam Welsch, president of plaintiff organic certifier OneCert, Inc. "Until the USDA started telling certifiers that they could ignore the parts of the law and rules that required fertility to come from organic matter in soil, no one was certifying hydroponic systems as organic."
For more information:
Center for Food Safety
www.centerforfoodsafety.org
Publication date: Tue 3 Mar 2020
Can New Agriculture Technology Grow Food That is Better Than Organic?
New technologies are changing the landscape of food in America. Now, there is the ability to grow food that may be better than organic. How is this possible?
January 28, 2020
Written by: Randy Huft
New technologies are changing the landscape of food in America. Now, there is the ability to grow food that may be better than organic. How is this possible?
It helps to understand that there are some huge misconceptions about organic food.For starters, despite popular belief, organic farms can use pesticides. The difference is that they only use naturally-derived pesticides, rather than the synthetic pesticides used on conventional farms. Natural pesticides are believed to be less toxic, however, some have been found to have significant health risks
Some studies have indicated that the use of pesticides—even at low doses— can increase the risk of certain cancers, such as leukemia, lymphoma, brain tumors, breast cancer and prostate cancer.
Children and fetuses are most vulnerable to pesticide exposure because their immune systems, bodies, and brains are still developing. Exposure at an early age may cause developmental delays, behavioral disorders, autism, immune system harm, and motor dysfunction.
Pregnant women are more vulnerable due to the added stress pesticides put on their already taxed organs. Plus, pesticides can be passed from mother to child in the womb, as well as through breast milk.
The widespread use of pesticides has also led to the emergence of “superweeds” and “superbugs,” which can only be killed with extremely toxic poisons like 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (a major ingredient in Agent Orange).
Rinsing reduces but does not eliminate pesticides. It is important to wash your fruits and vegetables, but in most cases, this will not eliminate all traces of pesticides. Even organic foods can use certain pesticides, and outdoor-grown organic food can pick up pesticide residue from nearby farms.
According to the Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit organization that analyzes the results of government pesticide testing in the U.S., the following fruits and vegetables have the highest pesticide levels:
Apples
Sweet Bell Peppers
Cucumbers
Celery
Potatoes
Grapes
Cherry Tomatoes
Kale/Collard Greens
Summer Squash
Nectarines (imported)
Peaches
Spinach
Strawberries
Hot Peppers
There is also confusion about organic food labels:
Organic foods are described on product labels in a variety of ways, but they mean different things:
100 percent organic. This description is used on certified organic fruits, vegetables, eggs, meat or other single-ingredient foods. It may also be used on multi-ingredient foods if all of the ingredients are certified organic, excluding salt and water. These may have a USDA seal.
Organic. If a multi-ingredient food is labeled organic, at least 95 percent of the ingredients are certified organic, excluding salt and water. The nonorganic items must be from a USDA list of approved additional ingredients. These also may have a USDA seal.
Made with organic. If a multi-ingredient product has at least 70 percent certified organic ingredients, it may have a "made with organic" ingredients label. For example, a breakfast cereal might be labeled "made with organic oats." The ingredient list must identify what ingredients are organic. These products may not carry a USDA seal.
Organic ingredients. If less than 70 percent of a multi-ingredient product is certified organic, it may not be labeled as organic or carry a USDA seal. The ingredient list can indicate which ingredients are organic.
Is there something better than organic?
Yes. Recent developments in agtech provides the ability to grow food without any pesticides or harmful ingredients. Controlled Environment Micro-Farms allow growers to cultivate fruits, herbs, and vegetables in a sealed environment that virtually eliminates the need for pesticides and harmful chemicals.
These tightly managed ecosystems use much less water and fertilizer than on conventional farms and allow growers to cultivate throughout the year, regardless of the season or weather.
A 40-foot Controlled Environment Farm can yield about 3,500-4,000 heads of lettuce every ten days. The greens are priced competitively with traditional produce, yet the process uses 97 percent less water than a conventional farm and no pesticides or herbicides since bugs and weeds are much less likely to get in. In fact, some say that produce grown in a Controlled Environment Farm is actually “better than organic,” noting that organic growers can still use certain pesticides.
Closer to Consumption
The Controlled Environment Farm (CEF) provides higher quality food that’s grown closer to where it will be consumed, which means food arrives ripe and ready to eat, with less cost and environmental impact. CEFs are also resource-friendly and use less water, energy, space, labor, and capital than other methods of farming.
Shipping containers are ideally suited to be repurposed into Controlled Environment Farms. There are millions of shipping containers in the world, but only a fraction of them are in service and used actively. Many of the remaining containers are wasting away in ports and storage yards across the world.
Repurposing these gentle giants into robust farms is not only good for producing clean, healthy food, but it is also good for the environment.
Real-World Uses
When Michael Bissanti opened Four Burgers in Cambridge, Massachusetts, he knew he wanted to create a restaurant with a strong sense of sustainability. Initially, that meant procuring only ingredients deemed natural, as well as sourcing from organic and local farms. But Bissanti quickly realized that the “natural” label wasn’t a panacea for a sustainable food system — and so he went looking for a way to bring sustainable, local ingredients even closer to his kitchen.
Today, those ingredients could hardly be closer — Bissanti only needs to walk out the back door of his restaurant to pick all the fresh lettuce, arugula, mustard greens, and herbs he needs. Even in the cold Boston winters, Bissanti is merely feet away from fresh produce, in spite of the fact that his restaurant is located right in the middle of an urban thoroughfare between Harvard and MIT.
That’s because Bissanti is one of the hundreds of farmers across the country growing produce in Controlled Environment Farms built into repurposed shipping containers.
Companies that manufacture these farms, such as GP Solutions and Freight Farms, say that even traditional greenhouses and rooftop gardens require the expertise of an engineer, a plumber, an electrician, and a horticulturist. And, rooftop greenhouses are also expensive, costing between $1 million to $2 million to get started. A “GrowPod” from GP Solutions or a Freight Farms unit, by comparison, costs only around $48,000-$100,000.
One of the key differences in these Controlled Environment Farms is that everything is included. Everything from water to the LED lights in the units are digitally controlled, and each unit is also connected to the internet so that it can be monitored and managed from anywhere in the world.
“Everything is fully contained within the GrowPod so that it arrives as a turnkey product, ready to grow,” said George Natzic, President of GP Solutions.
These containers allow growers to generate local food production in any location. And manufacturers point out that unlike other indoor growing operations, the shipping container farms are scalable. You can locate the system in a parking lot or the corner of a warehouse and expand incrementally.
Meeting the needs of a changing world
With 54 percent of the world’s population residing in urban areas—expected to increase to about 66 percent by 2050, Controlled Environment Farms allow growers to reduce their agricultural footprint on the environment and address food security of the urban population.
Kimbal Musk (brother of Elon) says that these high-tech shipping container farms are creating “a real food revolution.”
What do you get by growing hyper-local to the end consumer? The answer is that the food you are eating right now at the restaurant was grown right outside and picked minutes ago. This is in stark contrast to traditional agriculture that often supplies produce that was picked when still hard, could sit in a warehouse for weeks, and has chemicals applied that allow ripening just prior to distribution to stores and restaurants.
In summary, there is a great need for controlled-environment agriculture as it allows produce to be grown locally and delivered to the final consumer very shortly post-harvest.
Consumers have a desire for locally-grown clean produce during all periods of the year which they can buy at a competitive price. Controlled Environment Farms are a solution that are sustainable, easy to implement, affordable to acquire, simple to operate, and produce high-quality food that can be considered better than organic.