Agribusiness As Usual

Huge organic dairy farm skirted organic rules, agrees to behave

Posted at 12:11 PM on 30 Aug 2007

One of America's largest organic dairies has agreed to alter its operations to comply with national organic standards after the U.S. Department of Agriculture threatened to remove its certification for skirting the rules. Aurora Organic Dairy, which sells milk under the label High Meadows and also makes milk for private-label brands including Wild Oats and Wal-Mart, was accused of not providing its cows with enough access to pasture in 2005 to qualify as organic. The subsequent investigation uncovered other rule-breaking such as the improper transitioning of cows from conventional to organic status. The company yesterday agreed to a consent decree with the USDA to clean up its practices, including not renewing the organic certification for one of its dairies; selling off a number of cows at a separate dairy; and increasing the pastureland available to its cows. Aurora will be closely monitored by the USDA for a year to ensure compliance. Critics maintain that the punishment was too light considering the company theoretically could have been fined up to $10,000 per violation for selling conventional milk as organic.

sources: Houston Chronicle, Environment News Service, The New York Times

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Comments: (1 comment)

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money money money

Why penalize anyone with a monetary fine? Simply stop the practice of wrongdoing and help produce the right actions. Monitor the situation and help the wrongdoers back on track. What are right actions? Ethical actions and environmentally sustainable actions. Any good farmer can tell you.

The organic standards need to be the rule not the exception in the food industry. Let's get back to a pre-pesticide reality, expand and grow the ecosystem and penalize the real criminals treating animals inhumanely. Not with a fine, but with jail or at least siezing the inhumane business and taking it away from them until they comply to ethical treatment.

Let's get down to the real issues; ethics on the one hand and the environment on the other. Monetary fines don't solve anything and are merely a slap on the wrist for big corporations. Its like if someone gets a ticket for parking illegally, it doesn't matter to them if they have money. They can afford a ticket once in awhile, so they can afford to take the chance.

Someone else might get seriously set back by a parking fine. Like someone who parks illegally out of desperation because they are late for a job interview. This person can be hurt by a simple fine.

Corporations do not change their tactics because of fines when they are making money hand over fist. This country simply must have rules and guidelines with ethical and environmental consideration.

by lotus at 8:27 PM on 06 Sep 2007

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