Members of Congress attack organic, aim to block organic animal welfare rules

A Republican congressman and senator are trying to weaken organic rules by blocking the advancement of organic welfare regulations, which are supported by the organic industry.

Congressman Keith Self, a Republican from Texas, offered an amendment to the House Agriculture Appropriations bill that would effectively block the U.S. Department of Agriculture from adopting critical regulations that update key organic animal welfare provisions. More recently, Republican senator Roger Marshall introduced a similar amendment to the Senate Agriculture Appropriations bill.

The organic animal welfare regulations, formally known as the Organic Livestock and Poultry Standards, are widely supported by the organic sector and the public at large.

The Organic Trade Association is urging Congress to oppose efforts to stop the advancement of the regulations. OTA recently issued a statement:

“Efforts on Capitol Hill to block the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) from adopting critical regulations to update key organic animal welfare provisions are a blatant attack on organic. The Organic Trade Association is launching an all-out effort to fight this attack. Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS) has introduced an amendment to the Senate Agriculture Appropriations bill to effectively block USDA from moving forward with the nearly finalized Organic Livestock and Poultry Standards. This follows a similar amendment offered earlier on the House side by Cong. Keith Self, (R-TX). The action by these lawmakers is unjust and unwarranted and represents a broader attempt to dismantle the National Organic Program. The OLPS regulations have been under discussion and review for over twenty years and are widely supported by the organic sector and the public at large. Adoption of these amendments would set a dangerous precedent for organic rule-making and threaten the future of organic.”

Organic & Non-GMO Insights October 2023