This summer, Organic Trade Association members banded together to defend the process by which organic regulations are created and implemented against an outside attack from Congress and the powerful livestock industry.
In 1993, a group of farmers on the high plains of Texas planted thousands of acres of organic and transitional cotton. After finding a very underdeveloped market with only one or two potential customers, they formed the Texas Organic Cotton Marketing Cooperative (TOCMC).
With no paid staff, the organization worked out of co-founder Jimmy Wedel’s home trying to develop a totally unknown market.
Twenty-three years later, the farmers who make up TOCMC are receiving OTA’s Farmer of the Year Organic Leadership Award.
Organic is one of the fastest growing segments of America agriculture and consumer demand for organic products continues to rise. The vibrant U.S. organic sector is creating jobs and opportunities in communities across the nation. OTA's 2016 Infographic tells the story of Organic: a Bright Spot for our Farms, our Food, and our Future.
By now, you’re probably familiar with the pie chart illustrating the major categories within the organic food sector. The largest share of sales belongs to fruits and vegetables— accounting for more than 36% of the total $39.7 billion U.S. shoppers spent on organic food in 2015. Fruits and vegetables are more than double the size of the next largest category, according to OTA’s 2016 Organic Industry Survey, and it is the only organic food category to have experienced double-digit growth every year dating back to 2005.
For over a decade, including six years as Chief Scientist of The Organic Center, I have focused on new science from around the world on the impacts of organic farming on food safety, food nutritional quality, and agriculture’s environmental footprint.
One of OTA’s strongest assets as an organization is the diversity and breadth of its membership.
2015 was an exciting year for organic research, with multiple cutting-edge studies revealing scientific breakthroughs on the environmental and human health benefits of organic food and farming.
In 2015, The Organic Center released almost a hundred study summaries and blogs about scientific breakthroughs of interest to organic stakeholders. Research covered environmental issues such as soil and pollinator health, health issues such as pesticide exposure, and several other critical categories.
OTA’s Farmers Advisory Council (FAC) enters into its third year stronger and broader than ever. Its membership includes OTA farmer members and organic farmer- governed organizations from coast to coast and across all sectors of the industry. Discussions at FAC meetings are going more in-depth than ever before, eliciting thinking and solutions to some of the world’s most pressing agricultural related issues. With the strong and diverse participation, 2016 is shaping up to be an ambitious year for FAC.
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