The organic food industry has grown tremendously over the past few decades, but concerns about the integrity of organic labels and certifications still remain. In this eye-opening interview with organic industry watchdog Marc Castel, he discusses the challenges facing organic consumers and farmers, and offers insight into how to find truly healthy and ethically produced food.
Castel co-founded The Cornucopia Institute, which celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2024, and is the executive director and founder of OrganicEye. He points out that while the Organic Food Production Act of 1990 was well-intentioned, its implementation was flawed.One
“Congress passed the Organic Food Production Act in 1990. That law put the responsibility on the USDA to protect industry stakeholders: farmers, ethical business owners, and consumers—to protect against unfair competition and fraud. And the bill itself is really solid and well-intentioned.
Unfortunately, like so many things, it gets handed over to Washington bureaucrats and political appointees of both parties. Something gets lost in translation.”
Kastel explains that the USDA initially opposed regulating organic foods, seeing it as nothing more than a “marketing ploy.” But as the U.S. organic food industry grew to $61.7 billion annually,2 Many leading organic brands have been acquired by large agribusinesses.
This has led to efforts to make organic certification less stringent and more profitable. Globally, the organic industry is currently a $205.9 billion industry and is expected to reach $532.72 billion by 2032.three
The Two Faces of Organic
According to Kastel, there are two basic types of organic labels that consumers encounter:
One. Organic products produced directly from local farms – This includes farmers markets, community supported agriculture (CSA) and independent local retailers who source directly from farms they know. “At that local level, we’ve seen very little fraud,” Kastel says.
2. Large scale commercial organics – These include major brands sold in supermarkets and big box stores. These products may come from overseas or from large industrial operations with less oversight.
The graphic above was created by Phil Howard, a professor at Michigan State University.4 It shows how big companies have bought up a lot of small organic brands. “It’s actually almost all the major brands and it’s very deceptive,” explains Castel.5
“You won't see General Mills in a Cascadian Farms breakfast cereal or a Muir Glen tomato product. You'll see Small Planet Foods. Sounds good, right? But Dean Foods bought the Horizon label and has been sold several times now… Smuckers is a huge company. They own Santa Cruz juices and Knudsen juices.”6
Castell emphasizes the benefits of buying local, organic food: “You’re buying more nutritious, fresher, more flavorful food, and your money is being recycled back into your pantry… We call it the multiplier effect.”7
The challenge of imported organic matter
One of the biggest concerns in the organic industry is the integrity of imported organic products. “We once worked with the Washington Post to help break up a major import scam,” Kastel explains. “We’ve worked with The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal.”8 He describes two main types of fraud:
One. Complete Fraud or “Organic Alchemy” – Existing products will be re-labeled as organic during shipping.
2. Regulatory loopholes – Large-scale industrial farms have weak oversight, especially over animal products such as dairy.
Kastel is particularly concerned about a practice called “group certification” for imported goods.9
“Instead of certifying every farm and inspecting every farm, they would allow certain groups to band together. When it was conceived, it was still illegal, but it was meant for very small landowners who did things like bananas, chocolate, coffee on half an acre.”
He says big agribusiness is now exploiting this loophole to avoid proper inspection of their suppliers. Grower/producer groups began as a way to help small farmers and indigenous groups in developing countries, but have morphed to include commercial-scale farms that avoid USDA oversight.
Only about 2% of farmers participating in these grower/producer groups are inspected annually, meaning the vast majority (98%) are either not inspected at all or do not do so at all.
“While compliance is almost universal in domestic production, the system has completely broken down when it comes to imports,” Castel said in a news release. “A significant portion of all foreign imports, which constitute a significant portion of the organic food Americans eat, come from ‘producer groups,’ whose grower members are exempted by the USDA from certification requirements.”10
For example, our research shows that there are no certified organic hazelnut growers in Turkey in the USDA’s Organic Integrity Database. Nevertheless, Turkey is the largest importer of organic hazelnuts to the United States, and the price is similar to that of conventionally grown hazelnuts.11
“We can grow hazelnuts in the United States,” Castel said. “But they can’t compete with the hazelnuts coming from Turkey, which is group-certified and the farms aren’t even inspected. That’s putting nut growers in Oregon out of business.”12
Nutrition Facts: Beyond the Organic Label
Organic certification is important, but even organic practices do not always align with optimal nutrition. It is important to look beyond the organic label and truly understand the health impacts of food choices. This includes feeding practices even within organic systems. For example, feeding chickens grain is a common practice on organic farms, but the ideal food for them is insects and worms.
Finding enough insects for this purpose can be difficult, but many organic farmers supplement with grains loaded with harmful omega-6 polyunsaturated fats. Truly health-conscious organic farmers should consider alternatives such as sprouted peas or barley, which produce eggs with a healthier fat profile. Ideally, organic standards should evolve as our understanding of nutrition improves.
I generally do not recommend eating chicken, even if it is organic and locally produced, because it is usually high in linoleic acid. This is a result of eating grains rich in omega-6 fatty acids. Ruminants (such as cows and sheep) are a better choice for meat consumption because they have an additional digestive chamber with bacteria that can saturate the polyunsaturated fats.
This allows ruminants to eat grains without the high levels of linoleic acid in their tissues. Even a seemingly simple food like rice has important nuances to be aware of for optimal health. Castel mentions eating brown rice, but I recommend white rice instead.
Because the fiber in brown rice can negatively affect the gut microbiome, especially in people who are 99% insulin resistant. Insulin resistance causes mitochondrial dysfunction, which reduces energy in cells, which affects the gut’s ability to stay healthy.
White rice is a healthier choice because it doesn’t contain the problematic fiber found in brown rice. However, whatever rice you eat, make sure it’s organic. As Castel points out, rice is often grown with a lot of chemicals. He also points out that both organic and inorganic arsenic can be present in rice, depending on the soil it’s grown in and the past farming practices in the area.
How to Find Truly Organic Foods and Take Control of Your Food Choices
By integrating these nutritional insights into the broader discussion of organic certification and agricultural practices, we can make more informed dietary choices that support both healthy and sustainable agricultural systems. The bottom line is that while organic certification is a valuable starting point, truly health-conscious consumers need to dig deeper to understand the full nutritional impact of their food choices.
In general, you should be cautious about embracing trendy alternatives like fake meat and instead focus on whole, organic foods. So how do you find truly organic products?
OrganicEye is a valuable resource for anyone interested in making healthier food choices and understanding the organic food industry. The website provides a wealth of resources on organic foods, farming practices, and industry regulations. Kastel and his team do not sell products. Their mission is purely to educate and inform consumers. Kastel also suggests that you do the following to find organic, high-quality foods:
One. Buy local products whenever possible. Farmers markets, CSAs, and independent stores that source their ingredients directly from the farm offer the highest level of integrity.
2. Use online resources – Websites like Local Harvest, Eat Wild, and state Department of Agriculture databases can help you find farms and markets near you.
three. Verify the authenticator name — The Cornucopia Institute plans to publish a list ranking organic certification bodies according to their reliability.
4. Look for 100% grass-fed and finished meats. Beware of misleading claims such as “grass-fed”, which do not guarantee full pasture farming.
The organic landscape can be confusing and sometimes deceiving, but you have the power to make informed choices. By finding local sources, understanding labels, and staying informed about industry practices, you can find truly healthy and ethically produced food.
Taking Action to Protect Organic Farmers and American Organics
After OrganicEye supported a federal lawsuit demanding that the USDA stop its practice of allowing foreign agribusinesses to inspect their own suppliers (a serious conflict of interest), the industry’s corporate lobbying group, the Organic Trade Association (OTA), suggested that if the USDA lost the lawsuit, it would simply go to Congress and lobby for a law change to legalize “group certification.”
Don’t let that happen to you! Current federal law requires all organic farms to be certified and inspected annually by an independent, accredited third-party certification body, not a foreign company with a financial interest.
Click the button below and take 2 minutes to send a private message directly to your representative and two U.S. Senators, asking them to honor the spirit and letter of the laws that protect organic farmers, ethical businesses, and consumers. To make your voice heard even more, forward or share this action alert on social media with your friends, family, and business associates.
