The Cornucopia Institute has called upon USDA
Secretary Tom Vilsack to make public all candidates for appointment to
fill the four vacancies on the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB).
The NOSB, a 15-member board of organic stakeholders representing farmer,
consumer, environmental, retail, scientific, certifying and organic
food processing interests, was established by Congress to advise the
USDA on organic food and agriculture policies and review materials
allowed for use in organic food production and processing.
Past investigations by
The Cornucopia Institute, a Wisconsin-based farm policy research group,
found that prior appointments, during the Bush and Obama
administrations, violated the letter of the law, and congressional
intent, by appointing agribusiness executives to fill slots on the NOSB
reserved for farmers and other independent stakeholders. Public interest
groups have suggested that these extra agribusiness representatives on the board have voted in favor of weakening the organic standards.
from here
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