USDA Withdraws Interpretation of Organic Standards

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has rescinded an interpretation of organic rules that ignited a firestorm of criticism last month from organic farmers.

Secretary of Agriculture Ann Veneman announced Wednesday her department would appeal the interpretation that effectively would have allowed antibiotics in dairy cows, certain chemical pesticides and the presence of non-organic fish meal in livestock feed.

“There has been a tremendous amount of interest in this, of concern about what it does,” Veneman said. “This is an issue that has come up in the media over the past couple of days…We are taking action to rescind what the AMS (Agricultural Marketing Service) had done.”

Posted by Jim Langcuster at May 28, 2004 10:05 AM | TrackBack