THE SELLING OF THE O WORD

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They do some product testing but also inspect farms, delineate strict standards for which soil amendments and pest controls are considered organic, and demand strict record keeping of every field and storage practice. CCOF members, for instance, must hew to its 20-page Certification Handbook, an admirably specific guide that even lists which of 165 different materials may be used on crops. The group also requires that before being certified, all applicants must go through a one-year transition—a soil cleansing and soil-building period during which the grower uses only organic methods.

Grower-based groups like CCOF are doing their best to maintain integrity. Indeed, it's striking to attend one of their meetings and hear farmers suggest increasing their record-keeping paperwork. As Idaho grower Dick Ihler puts it, "If you spit on the ground, you'd better write it down!" The reason is obvious. They want to protect not only consumers but also themselves from conventional growers who might reduce pesticide use and then declare their foods organic.

But what happens when someone cheats? CCOF had to face that challenge last summer: A food distributor, Pacific Organics (PO), was marketing organic carrots during the off-season, when no one else had any to sell. Someone from a rival company infiltrated PO and, sure enough, both found and photographed employees repackaging con ventional carrots into organic-labeled bags. The Great Carrot Caper made headlines all over the state. CCOF then pressured the California Department of Health Services to act, and Pacific Organics was shut down.

Organic advocates felt redeemed; the Carrot Caper proved that the industry can successfully police itself. But that conclusion seems overstated. A better one might be that certification groups generally do a good job of policing their members—and may catch some nonmember violations as well.

To widen the range of enforcement, two states, Washington and Texas, do their own certifying. Jim Hightower, Texas's colorful commissioner of agriculture, has put together a very promising Texas Certified Organic program to set and enforce standards for those growers he likes to call "the freedom fighters of agriculture."

All in all, there are now more than 40 organic-certification groups in America. Most are run by growers. CCOF, Minnesota Organic Growers and Buyers Association (OGBA) and the northeast chapters of the National Organic Farmers Association (NOFA) are prominent examples. The proliferation of groups, the differences between respective standards, and the potential for confusing the food-buying public are all making this an intolerable situation. Clearly, the organic industry needs to move through these growing pains and come to a national consensus. But how?

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