The Coalition for Sustainable Organics, which supports the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s organic regulations allowing hydroponic and container growing systems to be certified organic, is pleased a schedule for a lawsuit on the issue has been set.
The USDA has until July 15 to provide the court with records on its decision to deny the Center for Food Safety its petition to revoke the organic certification of companies who grow organic food in containers, according to a Coalition for Sustainable Organics (CSO) news release. A hearing is scheduled for Jan. 21 to present arguments before the judge’s decision.
The Center for Food Safety and organic growers filed the suit in response the National Organic Standards Board’s decision not to change the regulations allowing the use of containers and hydroponic systems in organic production.
“The CSO agrees with the USDA,” Lee Frankel, executive director of the CSO, said in the release. “We look to broaden the coalition to other producers, marketers, and retailers that support bringing healthy food to more consumers because we believe that everyone deserves organics.”
Frankel said the sooner the lawsuit is settled, the quicker growers can return to focusing on producing fresh organic food.
The Department of Justice filed a court document agreeing with the USDA, that “organic hydroponic systems cycle and conserve resources in a manner consistent with the vision for organic agriculture expressed by the (Organic Foods Production Act), that hydroponic organic systems produce food in a way that can minimize damage to soil and water, and that hydroponic organic systems can support diverse biological communities,” according to the release.
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