Posted on 11/14/2017 2:31:39 PM PST by nickcarraway
The National Organic Standards Board voted last Wednesday to reject proposals prohibiting hydroponic and aquaponic production methods from being certified USDA organic. This decision followed intense lobbying efforts by groups in the organic community to urge the Board to vote to restrict certification to soil-based systems.
“It was sad, because the rally speeches and all the testimonies of the farmers were so moving,” says Dr. Linley Dixon, lead scientist at the Cornucopia Institute, an industry watchdog organization that was quite vocal in its support of the ban. “Everyone did such a good job explaining the situation, and it didn’t matter. It was very sad. There were a lot of tears.”
The 15-person Board voted eight to seven to reject the proposal. There are approximately 100 certified organic hydroponic operations in the United States.
This issue has been debated within the organic industry for years. Those against the continued certification of soilless systems argue that such techniques violate the basic principles of organic, which Abby Youngblood, executive director of the National Organic Coalition, told NPR “are really about soil health, regenerating the soil.”
Dixon agrees, noting that hydroponic systems do not cycle nutrients back into the soil to build soil health, an important tenant of organic.
Those in favor of certified organic hydroponics, however, argue that these techniques can be quite sustainable and energy-efficient. Hydroponic systems are also generally devoid of pesticides, even those permitted by the organic label, due to their indoor nature.
In 2010, the Board recommended against permitting soilless systems to be certified organic, but the USDA elected not to follow the recommendation at the time.
Dixon hopes that the USDA will put “rigorous” standards into place for container farming, though she notes that outgoing Board member Francis Thicke attempted to present a plan for such standards at the meeting, recommending the adoption of a rule requiring container growers to use compost.
“It was clear that nobody on the hydroponic side was going to be okay with it,” says Dixon.
Those who are disappointed with this ruling blame industry influence for their loss, saying that big soilless growers such as Driscoll’s and Wholesum Harvest have too much clout with the NOSB. In his closing statement, Thicke said that “industry has an outsized and growing influence on USDA — and on the NOSB (including through NOSB appointments) — compared to the influence of organic farmers, who started this organic farming movement.”
Dixon believes that the organic farmers who started the movement should have the final word on what constitutes organic. “You don’t come into something and say, ‘What I’m doing should be organic,’” she says. “You come into it and say, ‘Do I fit here?’ And we’ve clearly said you don’t, because you’re not cycling nutrients.”
The NOSB did vote to ban aeroponics from being certified organic; there are currently no certified organic aeroponic operations in the U.S., though several firms were researching the technology for organic production before the vote.
Note: A previous version of this article indicated that Driscoll’s was a hydroponic grower. Driscoll’s does not grow hydroponically but rather in containers. The article has been modified to reflect this.
The real benefit of hydroponic growing is that you are feeding nutrients directly to the root ball. Why is this important?
When a plant grows in soil, the root ball needs to continually expand to search out new sources of nutrients as the soil becomes depleted. As a result, the plant's energy is focused mostly on root ball development. With hydroponics, the nutrients are fed directly to the roots, so the majority of the plant energy and growth is expended above ground. The result is much more flavorful fruit, and more intense resins on herbs. Cooking with hydroponically grown herbs will really wake up the flavors you have been missing.
Hydroponic plants are best consumed immediately after harvest. Those in the supermarket have traveled many miles and have sat for a long time. Most of the plant flavonoids and oils have oxidized and are gone by the time you purchase them. So at that point, "hydroponic grown" becomes a marketing phrase rather than any real benefit to flavor.
Well then, the hydroponic and aquaponic production industry should come up with their own, even better, classification and symbol. I’d purchase their products, and others most likely would, as well.
I don’t see why the heck the government should be involved in determining what is or is not organic. Leave the government out of the process... Problem solved.
“Id be more impressed with the usda if they hadn’t approved that high fructose corn syrup crap. Just follow the money.”
Follow the money is exactly right. High fructose corn syrup is an excellent example. It is a major contributor to weight gain, increases in blood pressure, etc. Disgusting the USDA thinks its ok to drink or eat in any form.
Generally, more people in the Midwest favor the way that many of them have farmed in the past: by using properly prepared, safe compost and rotating crops, even in greenhouses. The weather is very suitable in the Midwest for that.
Many in the West lack natural rain and manure, so more of them tend to favor hydroponics.
Trace nutrients IMO are absorbed differently in a fully active soil based system. You avoid loss of nutrients that are heavy and poorly soluble in water. You also have the natural organisms that grind, refine and bind specific nutrients to enhance the rootzone. Over millions of years, they adapted to actively work together to constantly improve the soil and make the plants stronger for all their benefit.
You don’t get that with a fluid based system. I’ve travelled extensively, grow most of my own food and tour farms everywhere I go. All the best tasting and strongest plants I’ve tried have all been in soil outdoors.
Hydro can taste great though and is much easier for growing indoors in winter. It also gives you ability for aquaponics. I just prefer to stick with mostly soil-grown food “just in case”.
What if the root ball stays too small to absorb less-soluble micronutrients that need a large surface area to slowly absorb?
Things the plant maybe doesnt even need to grow but in nature it is incidentally given to animals that eat it.
My rootballs do not get larger than comparable hydro plants. Likely because my soil is very loose and I have a huge amount of critters constantly moving the soil around the roots.
There is too much about nature that we do not yet know about and I try to stay as natural as I can for that reason
Not wearing my glasses. First read:
Organic Farmers Lose Battle Over Soulless Hydroponic Growing
This is certainly true, though keeping your fluid pH correct and TDS levels proper (along with temperature) will help mitigate precipitation. That said, there are hearty debates out there as to what trace nutrients are necessary for plant development and which ones aren’t. Nutrient manufacturers who cater to the cannibas industry and growers like to tout their “secret” ingredient list of trace nutrients, but taste tests (for culinary herbs) and potency tests for cannibas have yet to bear out the value of these special mixtures.
“The National Organic Standards Board voted last Wednesday to reject proposals....”prohibiting”.... hydroponic and aquaponic production methods from being certified USDA organic.”
Sloppy copyright here...but, it is a double negative so...kinda an affirmative.
How about...””The National Organic Standards Board voted last Wednesday to reject proposals....”for”.... hydroponic and aquaponic production methods from being certified USDA organic.”
Just saying.
Bfl
No, stinking hippie, Organic Chemistry should.
Dude...it is the chemistry of life. A study of carbon-based molecules and compounds. So almost anything made from petroleum is, like, Organic....Man.
The ones I ate were taken directly from the grower’s greenhouse. They were ones he could not sell because of cosmetic reasons........................
And they say Billions are gonna starve to death because we will run out of food....pssssshaw!
If Earth runs out of food, it wasn’t because we ran out of resources. Earth and humans have been given brains and knowledge enough to feed our whole population and clothe ourselves with much left over. It is our sin, greed, and corruption that keeps us from reaching our potential. We as a race have no excuses...the science and tech exists but we will have to be directly ruled by Christ in order for us to put it all together.
When I read your post It just clicked. We have the means to build a great world, we simply just don’t have the purity of heart to do it! And when we all stand before God, that will be the greatest indictment laid before us, especially those living in the 20th and the 21st century....”I had blessed you with the knowledge enough to feed your poorest and clothe your poorest, the very stars beckoned for you to explore...but you, humanity turned your world into a damnable Sodom and Gomorrah...if you had just turned to me the living God even Satan would have had no power over you, to muddle your thinking and to deceive you!”
I have consumed hydroponic pot and it is great yield-wise, but the flavor is lacking.
There is something “just not there” compared to pot grown in soil.
I posit that it is the beneficial bacteria/fungus that cannot be replicated in a hydro setup that is the crucial missing link, a link that will never be found.
It’s the TYPE of soil that differentiates the soil grown pots from all over the world.
Hawaiian, Mexican, Nepalese, etc.
Just as with coffee, there is something to be said for natural flavors.
Hydroponics would be great for germophobes and the like..................
The advances in LED technology in just the last 2 years are astounding.
Fun fact: Spiral CFL bulbs are no longer made. All the ones you see in the store are simply back stock or whatever it is called, and all major bulb companies (Phillips, GE) have already retooled their factories to make LED bulbs solely.
When I was younger I tied to grow pot. OK, “try” is the wrong word. I grew pot. There, I said it.
All I had were seeds from horrifically bad Mexican dirt weed. As you know, mexi-weed is planted by broadcasting -
That is, the farmer just casts the seeds by hand.
No rows, no love, no individual attention. Males and females cohabitating together, which is a strict no-no.
I went to the hydro store and bought a $20 bag of dirt. I gave my babies lots of love. I catered to their needs.
Lo and behold, the final product was nothing like the parent plant(s). It was awesome!
It wasn’t wholly genetic. The outcome was due to all the other stuff.
It solidified my view of Mexican farmers.
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