At its three-day spring meeting in Denver, the National Organic Standards Board delayed, until fall at the earliest, a decision on whether hydroponic crops should be classified as organic production, said The Packer magazine. As a result, “hydroponics will be considered organic for a while longer,” as they have for 15 years.
Although USDA, which operates the National Organic Program, has decided that hydroponic production can be sold as organic, critics argue that organic agriculture requires the use of soil to grow crops and that hydroponics, along with aeroponics, aquaponics and container production, don’t meet the criteria. The NOSB sent the question back to a subcommittee last fall for more study.
USDA has certified 52 hydroponic/aquaponic operations, and 69 operations that grow crops in containers, as organic. The Cornucopia Institute, a self-described organic watchdog group, filed a complaint with USDA last fall saying it “has quietly allowed a flood of hydroponically produced fruits and vegetables, largely imported, to be illegally labeled and sold as ‘organic,’” to the detriment of U.S. producers.
A USDA official told The Packer that public comments at the NOSB meeting, along with a discussion document from a subcommittee that studied the bioponic issue, “will inform NOSB deliberations on this topic.” The document “seems to suggest it supports banning produce from organic certification if grown using hydroponics, aeroponics or aquaponics,” said the magazine.