Press Releases

The Organic Center is pleased to announce that famed restaurateur, organic food activist and healthy-eating pioneer Alice Waters will be the keynote speaker at The Center's 13th Annua

WASHINGTON, D.C.

The recent announcement that all organic farmers and handlers in the United States would be able to choose whether to pay into and participate in conventional commodity check-off programs or opt out of those programs and put their dollars into a proposed organic research and promotion order now under review by the U.S.

2015 was a big year for the U.S. organic sector. Organic demand flourished. Organic products of all types sprouted up everywhere--at our local supermarkets, online, even at our favorite fast-food restaurant. Major organic policies--including the drive for an unprecedented organic research and promotion check-off--advanced in Washington.

In 2015, numerous studies revealed scientific breakthroughs on the environmental and human health benefits of organic food and farming -- from improving soil health and supporting water quality, to reducing our exposure to pesticides and mitigating climate change.

Since 2009, the United States has entered into international accords with Canada, the European Union and major Asian trade partners to promote the trade of organic products. But have these arrangements lived up to their promise? A new report released by the Organic Trade Association shows these trade understandings have significantly boosted overseas business for U.S. organic.

By the time Andy Wright displayed his organic barbeque sauces at the big Anuga Food Show in Germany this fall, he'd already participated in two other international organic promotion events coordinated by the Organic Trade Association (OTA) during the year, and this novice in the export market had learned quite a bit.

The first-ever Organic Day in Japan had something for everyone: an organic “market” showcasing hundreds of American organic products, a briefing for the Japanese business community on the U.S.

Rarely has so much been on the plates of the 15 volunteers charged with deciding what organic producers and processors can have in their toolbox.

Fact: You can eat organic on a budget. Fact: Organic agriculture can help feed the planet. Fact: There are proven health benefits of organic. These are three of the more than 30 research-backed facts that the Organic Trade Association (OTA) and partners digitally disseminated each day in September (Organic Month) as part of its highly successful “Myth-Busting Month” social media festival.