Certified Organic is Not the Only Path to Toxic-Free Food
Recognizing all producers using Sustainable Pest Management practices in California
One of the hardest parts about championing a future that doesn’t rely on pesticides is the seemingly sluggish rate of progress. Only 9% of California cropland is USDA Certified Organic, and the top prohibitive factors for producers seeking organic certification are cost and excessive paperwork. What if the future we want to see is accelerating at a much faster rate; it’s just not adequately recognized by our markets and power structures?
Pesticide Action and Agroecology Network (PAN) recently facilitated a meeting to discuss how the state can recognize small-scale non-Certified Organic producers. One avenue to recognize these growers is through the Peer Review Certification for ecological farmers and beekeepers named Certified Naturally Grown. The meeting was led by Certified Naturally Grown (CNG) and attended by the Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR), and Sustainable Pest Management (SPM) procurement advocates.
DPR is in the process of determining which certifications constitute compliance with Sustainable Pest Management (SPM). SPM is a holistic, whole-system approach to pest management that builds on integrated pest management (IPM).
SPM includes three additional sustainability pillars:
- human health and social equity
- environmental protection (water conservation, biodiversity, soil health, and climate impact)
- economic vitality
Verifiable SPM compliance is critical for PAN’s state institutional procurement efforts advocating for state institutions (e.g., hospitals, prisons, senior care homes, etc.) to procure from SPM-compliant operations. Since CNG focuses on small-scale organic producers, DPR’s recognition of this certification for SPM-compliant procurement would ensure small-scale, Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC)growers have the opportunity to secure state institutional procurement contracts.
What is Certified Naturally Grown?
Certified Naturally Grown was established in 2002 by Ron Khosla, an organic farmer in New York who recognized how challenging it was for small-scale producers to meet the requirements of the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Organic Program. Steep costs and significant paperwork resulted in many small-scale growers struggling to attain or keep up with the certifications requisites. USDA’s National Organic Program is a fantastic avenue for many large-scale farms and well-resourced small-scale farms, but its cost and time commitments are prohibitive to many BIPOC, young, or beginning farmers with fewer resources.
Out of this frustration grew Certified Naturally Grown, where small-scale producers were able to be recognized for their sustainable growing practices without needing to pursue the USDA’s Certified Organic Program. CNG is a Participatory Guarantee System whereby small-scale growers apply to be certified in one or more of CNG’s certification options, including Mushrooms, Produce and Flowers, Livestock, Aquaponics, and Apiary. CNG uses an equivalent set of requirements as USDA’s Certified Organic Program, but with reduced costs and paperwork. Once the initial application is approved, growers elect to participate in a thorough, highly detailed inspection performed by a fellow CNG grower or extension agent familiar with CNG’s requirements. Upon successful completion of the inspection, the grower is granted permission to use the CNG label on all relevant items for sale.
With over 600 CNG members across North America, CNG farms are held to similar standards as the Certified Organic program, but the process and perks differ. CNG members are provided a profile on the CNG website which offers an opportunity to showcase their offerings. This platform also cultivates transparency with the nation’s consumer base, as the public has access to as many as five years of inspection records and grower applications for each participant. Growers consult with inspectors about how to address problems on their farms. This demonstrates that the CNG certification process not only facilitates compliance, but catalyzes the success of small-scale organic producers.
Synthetic pesticides are prohibited in the CNG certification process, and growers must report all inputs to CNG annually and participate in annual inspections. Further, growers are not allowed to use synthetic fertilizers, genetically modified (GMO) seeds, or any other synthetic inputs. Also, operations must enhance soil and ecosystem health, emphasize biodiversity, and uphold sustainability—all elements of SPM.
In the movement for ending reliance on pesticides, it’s not that there aren’t many producers growing food using sustainable methods. The problem is that we don’t recognize every producer that uses organic practices.
Stay tuned as we continue to advocate for CNG to be an acceptable certification for SPM procurement! Our hope is to help DPR achieve the goal that “by 2050 SPM has been adopted as the de facto pest management system in California.”
