Consolidation in Organic Agriculture - CCOF

public and conventional farmers on the benefitsof organic food and farming. Uponreceipt of the tax-deductible non-profit statusfrom the IRS for the new arm of CCOF, thereorganization to meet the USDA’s demandswas nearly complete after nearly three years ofwork, with members still retaining a largemeasure of control over the organization andits branches.Another threat to agriculture appearedearly in the new millennium—one thatcould not be resolved by those it mostaffected. The California energy crisis of 2001impacted agriculture more than most urbandwellers realized. While urban home electricitycosts rose, and they were rightly upset byit, California farmers, processors, and retailerswere hit much harder. Some CCOF certifiedbusinesses were forced to scale back productiongreatly that year due to the high cost ofgas and electricity, while still trying to earnenough to pay those bills and keep food onthe table. At least one CCOF certifiedprocessor notified the CCOF Home Officein Santa Cruz that it was closing its businessas a direct result of the high energy costs.Another told of many conventional peers inhis region who were locked into contracts butcould not meet obligations due to high costs.The chain reaction of financial woes frombusiness to business led to a sharp increase inbankruptcies in the agricultural sector in California.There was little that CCOF could do(and little that the State would do) in theshort term to alleviate the pain quickly. Agriculturewas hurting all over California. Theonly option, short of closing down, was topinch pennies in the extreme and ride thewave until the powers that be brought itunder control. The cost shockwave eventuallyreached the rest of the country, resulting inhigher prices from coast to coast on mostCalifornia agricultural products.OUTREACH AND EDUCATIONOnce reserved for farmers, and later toinclude processors, CCOF certification wasextended to two new businesstypes in the new millennium—thefirst certifiedorganic retailer in thegreater San Francisco BayArea—New Leaf Marketsin Felton and BoulderCreek, in 2000—andthe first certified organicbrew pub in the UnitedStates—Ukiah BrewingCompany, in 2001.Increased recognition ofthe CCOF name at thestate and national level wasimportant for the organization, but it wasalso an indication of the worldwide growingpopularity of organics. In recent years,research from multiple countries has emergedto show that organic food is more nutritiousin content, and that organic food productionis in fact healthier for the environment.Organic sales have increased on average 20%each year since the early 90s, indicating thestrong and steady growth of consumer consciousnessof how our food is produced.Responding to this growth of and changewithin the organic trade, CCOF reached furtherinto the consumer sector to help educatethe general public during this confusing time.CCOF joined the internet age by merging itswebsite and the annual Membership Directoryto create the Find-A-Farmer Search Engine.Later expanded to include all farmer andprocessor members, and renamed theOrganic Directory, this marketing tool allowsanyone with access to the World Wide Webto search for CCOF members and view theircrops, products, services, sales methods, andcontact information. The Newsletter of CCOFalso expanded its outreach to more consumers,thanks in large part to MichaelSteinberg of Flying Frog Farm. AfterMichael hosted a one-weekproduct promotion atWhole Foods Markets inSebastopol, customersreturned to request morecopies of the Newsletter.Whole Foods contactedCCOF and made plans topurchase the quarterly publicationfor their customerson a regular basis. Becauseof this great customerresponse, the renamedCCOF Magazine is nowavailable at all 15 Whole Foods Marketsin Northern California.With the new growth in organic camethose who sought to ride the coattails of itspopularity, and capitalize on the word“organic”. To ensure the further protectionof the word, the process, and the fundamentalbeliefs, committed members of the Californiaorganic community decided it wastime to update the California Organic FoodsAct (COFA), to protect organic everywherein the state. With the public’s increasedinterest in organic products, companies werecreating “organic” body care and other nonfoodproducts not covered by the COFA ’90.Organic proponents, most notably GayTimmons, worked tirelessly with legislatorsto rewrite the law. Large multinational conglomerateswere also interested in helping—to ensure the defeat of any limits on the useof the word “organic” on non-food products.Their powerful lobbying, at this time, did. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . continues next page1989Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) hosts the first conference of itskind to bring organic groups together with consumer groups from throughout thecountry. Coming right after the Alar scare, this conference enables CCOF to joinwith other groups to make organics known on a national level.Organic Food Alliance and Organic Farmers Association Council forms. Togetherwith OFPANA, they begin to lobby for federal regulation to define and protectorganic production practices.CCOF starts pioneering review of Brand Name Products. Oregon Tilth joins in thisproject two years later.1990US Senator Patrick Leahy submits a bill to define and regulate organic productionpractices as part of the Farm Bill. The bill is not approved by the SenateAgricultural Committee as part of the Farm Bill.Organic Foods Production Act, as originally proposed by Senator Leahy, passes asa separate piece of legislation not attached to the Farm Bill. This is considered anincredible success in light of the Senate Ag Committee’s earlier refusal of the bill.The revised California Organic Foods Act of 1990 is passed.Winter 2003–2004 Page 23