The Organic Trade Association announced a lawsuit against the Department of Agriculture over its failure to advance new organic livestock standards. The suit alleges USDA violated the Organic Foods Production Act, and unlawfully delayed the effective date of the final livestock standards.
The trade association further contends that the Trump Administration’s regulatory freeze order issued to federal agencies in January should not apply to organic standards because they are voluntary and are required only of those farms and businesses that opt in to be certified organic. OTA CEO Laura Batcha says: “Failure to move ahead with this fully-vetted regulation calls into question the entire process by which organic regulations are set.” The Association also alleges that USDA violated the Administrative Procedure Act because the repeated delays were issued without any public process.
From the National Association of Farm Broadcasters.