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the USDA authority to oversee the organic industry. While organic cheerleaders appear to have much to celebrate, some unfinished business will soon tell us more about which direction the USDA is really headed, and how much the public’s hands are guiding it. Public comment just ended on the USDA’s December 2009 determination that Monsanto’s GE alfalfa seed meets USDA standards. The determination came despite the agency’s acknowledgement that the GE alfalfa is likely to cross-contaminate with non-GE alfalfa.
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‘There is no place in organic agriculture for the confinement feeding of animals.’ And finally, the burning item of business that Access to Pasture leaves unresolved for another 60 days: “We are requesting comments on the exceptions for finish feeding of ruminant slaughter stock.� As it stands, the USDA exempts beef cattle from the requirement that 30 percent of nutrition come from forage for a period of 120 days prior to slaughter. In practice, this exemption allows organic beef cattle to be confined and fed grain for four months prior to slaughter, a practice known as feedlot finishing. Access to Pasture notes, “The sentiment among most of the commenters is that there is no place in organic agriculture for the confinement feeding of animals, nor should there be any exception for ruminant slaughter stock.� If that sentiment holds, the organic feedlot exception should end. But if the exception is upheld and “organic� beef is allowed to be “finished� in confinement, that would not only cast doubt on what appears to be a newly inclusive and democratic USDA, it would arguably violate several key aspects of organic livestock production. Confined feeding goes against the organic tenet that animals be allowed to express their true nature, and feeding grain to animals not only produces a different kind of meat that’s much less healthy, it’s also much more energy-intensive and environmentally destructive. Perhaps the real discussion shouldn’t even be about whether organic beef cows can be confined and grain fed for the last 120 days of their lives. The discussion should be about whether organic cattle should be fed any grain at all.