NOSB Votes to Continue Allowing Hydroponics

The National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) has reportedly voted to continue allowing food grown in water-based nutrient solutions to be labeled “organic,” rejecting a challenge brought by organic-food producers. The board will also allow aquaponics, which combine hydroponic systems with farmed fishing operations, but will prevent products grown with aeroponics—plants suspended in air with the roots exposed—from carrying the “organic” label. The 8-7 vote was reportedly criticized by farmers who argue that some of the benefits of organic farming are its effects on the ecosystem, while hydroponics separates plants from their natural habitats.