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Maine Organic Farmers Group Joins Lawsuit Against USDA

UNITY, Maine - The Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association has joined groups across the country in a federal lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In the suit, the groups charge that the department changed a key rule, without public comment, governing how synthetic and prohibited natural substances can be used in the production of organic food.

This story begins with the Organic Foods Production Act. Congress passed the measure in 1990. It set standards for organic certification. It also created the National Organic standards Board to oversee - in the absence of healthier alternatives - which synthetic materials could be used in the production and processing of organic food.

Under USDA rules, these materials would automatically exit a National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances after five years - unless, after considering public comment, two-thirds of the members of the organic standards board voted to keep them there.

But in September 2013, the department tweaked the process, without public input. Synthetic materials now stay on the national list, unless the standards board says they have to go.

"It's our feeling that that action violates a basic principle within the organic movement," says Ted Quaday. That principle, Quaday says, is that there always be robust public participation in organic policy making.

Quaday, who heads the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association, or MOFGA, says the USDA made this key rule change without any input from organic groups or members of the public.

"So, we're deeply concerned that this public process is being undermined by the USDA with this rule change," Quaday says. "So we feel it's necessary to challenge that action to ensure that organic farmers and consumers are able to guide organic food production in the future."

MOFGA and other groups are suing the USDA. asking that a federal court force the department to return to the original process for listing and de-listing substances.

Officials at the USDA would not agree to a taped interview. But in an e-mail, a spokesperson for the department wrote, "Public participation and comments are vital to USDA’s work in organics, and we always encourage all members of the public to take part in formal comment opportunities."

The September 2013 rule change, the message went on to say, actually increased engagement and transparency, allowing for more opportunities for public input.