Cornucopia Institute Lawsuit Challenges “Unqualified Individuals” on NOSB
Public-interest group Cornucopia Institute has filed a lawsuit against
Tom Vilsack in his capacity as Secretary of Agriculture alleging that he
and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) violated the Organic
Foods Production Act of 1990 by appointing “unqualified individuals”
to the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB), which develops a list
of synthetic substances allowed in the production of organic food, the
National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances. Cornucopia Inst. v.
Vilsack, No. 16-0246 (W.D. Wis., filed April 18, 2016).
Federal law requires the composition of the NOSB to be “balanced
and independent,” Cornucopia argues, but USDA “inappropriately
influenced” the board in a number of ways, including (i) disbanding its Policy Development Subcommittee, (ii) allowing the self-appointment
of the board’s co-chairperson, and (iii) removing the board’s ability to
set its own work plan. “USDA’s unlawful meddling with the composition
and rules governing the NOSB has created a NOSB hostile to the public
interests it was created to protect,” the complaint asserts. Cornucopia
also echoes arguments from a lawsuit it filed in partnership with several
other consumer groups in April 2015 alleging that USDA violated the
Administrative Procedures Act by not following the notice and comment
process before changing the Sunset Review Rule, which dictates how
often a substance is reviewed for removal from the National List. Details
about the complaint appear in Issue 561 of this Update.
Cornucopia specifically challenges the appointment of Carmela Beck
and Ashley Swaffar, who were employees of Driscoll’s and Arkansas Egg
Company, respectively, at the time of their appointment. The organization
asserts that their “votes do not align with the interests of owners
or operators of organic farm operations over half the time” despite
occupying seats reserved for people representing those interests. The
complaint also quotes an email purportedly written by former NOSB
chairperson Jean Richardson suggesting that the board change its voting
process to “simple hand voting” “so that Cornucopia won’t be able to rate
our voting record!”
Cornucopia seeks to vacate Beck and Swaffar from the NOSB and
requests that the court orders the removal of substances affected by the
Sunset rule change. “This type of appointment is part of a pattern of
actions taken by the USDA to make the NOSB and the National Organic
Program friendlier to the needs of big business interests,” Cornucopia’s
co-director said in an April 19, 2016, press release. “Not only are farmers
being denied their voice and right to participate in organic decisionmaking,
but statistics illustrate the corporate representatives sitting
in farmer seats have been decisively more willing to vote for the use of
questionable and controversial materials in organics, weakening the
organic standards.”
Issue 601
