Recirculating Farms Coalition Executive Director Marianne Cufone: National Organic Standards Board Should Approve Hydroponic and Aquaponic Farms as "Organic"

NEW ORLEANS, Oct. 26, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- During the week of November 14th, the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB), an advisory committee to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), will meet to determine whether certain hydroponic and aquaponic agricultural methods and products should be certified as USDA Organic. Ahead of that crucial meeting, Marianne Cufone, executive director of the Recirculating Farms Coalition, issued the following statement:

"Our industrial agricultural system has created major problems. Various practices contribute to ecological damage, including excessive water use, monocropping, genetically modified seeds and toxic pesticides use, so we see changes like decreased biodiversity and thus varieties, and less nutrients in our food, among other impacts.

Recirculating aquaponic and hydroponic farms are sustainable options that can have controlled inputs and known outputs, like other existing organic farms. In fact, many recirculating farms not only meet, but can exceed current organic standards. They can be eco-efficient and have versatile designs, and reduced use of water, fossil fuels, fertilizers and electricity.

The NOSB should not miss the opportunity to support and promote good farming practices simply because they are different than what their original notion of organic farming looked like."

The NOSB is taking written comments on the matter until today, October 26^th, and people can also reserve a slot for oral comment at the meeting in St. Louis, MO here by the the same deadline.

About Recirculating Farms:
A recirculating farm uses nutrient rich, recycled water, as a basis to grow food. These farms can grow vegetables, flowers, fruits, herbs and other plants (hydroponics), fish (aquaculture), or both plants and fish together (aquaponics). These are mostly contained, land-based farms that are able to re-use water and can recycle waste too. Well-designed farms can run without antibiotics or other drugs or chemicals and use renewable energy. These farms do not need to be connected to any natural waters for sourcing or drainage, and can therefore grow a wide range of products without the threat of releasing them into the wild, or creating competition with fishermen who make their living selling popular local fish.

To learn more about the Recirculating Farms Coalition, visit: http://www.recirculatingfarms.org/

Contact: Michael Pauker, [email protected], 646-335-0330

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SOURCE Recirculating Farms Coalition

Related Links

http://www.recirculatingfarms.org