“The battle to force the USDA to hold factory farms masquerading as “organic” accountable has had its ups and downs over the years.” – J Wilson
Expected to reach an estimated $35 billion in profits this year, the organic market has become attractive to food companies on all sides of the spectrum, opening up the door for potential abuses.
Under-the-table financial contributions to politicians in Washington have allowed Big Food companies to hijack the organic industry by selling products blatantly in violation of strict organic standards set by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
The USDA fails to prosecute violators due to giant corporations’ lobbyists pressuring the agency to “favor their preferred industrial model of food production,” according to Mark Kastel, the Senior Farm Policy Analyst at The Cornucopia Institute.
Considered one of the “largest fraud investigations,” the Wisconsin-based farm policy research group has worked diligently to uncover persistent violations, filing formal legal complaints against livestock operations producing milk, meat and eggs, accusing them of fraudulently marketing such products as organic.