USDA moves organic standards board meeting online

In response to the coronavirus pandemic, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Organic Program (NOP) recently announced that the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) meeting, which was scheduled for April 29 and 30 in Crystal City, Virginia, will instead be held online as a webinar.

The NOSB said the move to a webinar format “will allow the Board to move forward with deliberations as scheduled in an open and public setting, without the need for travel.”

The NOSB also said it was “working on a plan to accommodate participants across different time zones.”

Meeting access information will be added on the meeting’s website, which also has the tentative agenda, proposals and discussion documents.

Check out the proposals and discussion documents on the NOSB’s subcommittee pages for crops, handling, livestock and materials/GMO.

The NOSB will also hold two public comment webinars on Tuesday April 21 and Thursday April 23. Times for these meetings will be announced.

The NOSB is a 15-member industry panel that recommends policy to the NOP. The board is comprised of four organic farmer/growers, two handlers, three environmentalists/resource conservationists, three consumer advocates, a scientist, an organic retailer, and an organic certifier.

Sources: USDA, Sustainable Food News

To view source articles, visit:

https://www.ams.usda.gov/event/national-organic-standards-board-nosb-meeting-crystal-city-va

https://sustainablefoodnews.com/usda-scrubs-venue-for-organic-policy-meeting-moves-it-online/