Organic News

New research reveals measurable benefits of organic cotton production

Study by Iowa State University with The Organic Center finds important environmental benefits Conventional cotton is a chemically intensive crop with serious consequences for the Earth’s air, water, soil, and climate—as well as the health of farm workers and cotton processors. By contrast, organic cotton is grown, processed, dyed, and finished with methods that focus […]

National Organic Program ends Organic Recognition Agreement with India

Indian organic exporters to the U.S. must now be USDA-NOP certified The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Organic Program (NOP) recently ended its Organic Recognition Agreement with India due to concerns over the organic integrity of Indian products coming to the United States. In announcing the change on its website, NOP said: “Currently, USDA does […]

Number of organic farms continues to grow in the U.S. and worldwide

The number of organic farms and processing facilities certified to the National Organic Program (NOP) rules continues to grow in the United States and the world, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In 2020, there were 28,454 organic operations in the U.S. NOP-certified, a growth of less than 0.69% over the 27,494 certified organic […]

GOTS uncovers organic cotton fraud in India

The Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) has identified 20,000 metric tons of fraudulent organic cotton. Bogus raw cotton transaction certificates, false QR codes, and a fictitious Indian government website were used to authenticate the cotton fiber as “organic.” GOTS-approved bodies will cancel transaction certificates that rely on these inaccurate documents, so the affected goods will […]

Quebec dominates organic farming growth in Canada

While organic acreage in Canada overall is slowing down, the province of Quebec increased organic acreage 65% between 2017 and 2019. Organic acres jumped from 314,000 to 570,000 during that period—a jump in organic livestock producers partially accounts for the increase. Quebec now represents over 40% of organic farmers countrywide, with 2,337 producers in 2019. […]