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60 61 “The top priority,originally,was to develop a set of unified guidelines for organic standards.The vision was to establish a national definition that could form the basis for a consistent message to the public about themeaning of ‘organic’on a food label.OFPANA founders envisioned that establishing an endorse- ment programwould address the growing problem of competing certification programs with conflicting organic standards.The intent was to set up a process for evaluating the various certification programs and allowing those that passed to claim the legitimacyof OFPANA’s endorsement. “Over time,the organization dropped its plan to develop an endorsement program.Instead,it created the important document,Guidelines for theOrganic Food Industry,which outlined the certification process to use to verify standards.The open,transparent,and democraticprocess bywhich drafts were circulated and approved by themembershipwas a crucial factor in establishing broad consensus and credibility for the guidelines.This was a keyachievement that helped set the groundwork for theOrganic Foods Production Act adopted by the U.S.Congress in September 1990 as part of the 1990 FarmBill,and amajor step for the organic sector,as it set up the framework for National Organic Standards. “With the growing organic foodmovement,by the THE ORGANIC TRADE ASSOCIATION end of 1995,OFPANAhad changed its name to theOr- ganicTradeAssociation to better reflect the broad scope of associationmembership.During the 1990s,theOr- ganicTradeAssociation expanded its activities,includ- ing being involved in the evolution of the benchmark national organic standards published as a final rule in December 2000 by the U.S.Department of Agriculture. Manyof the provisions of the final National Organic Programwere shaped by theOrganicTradeAssociation’s AmericanOrganic Standards--the trade association’s latest iteration of organic standards developed through sector input and consensus.” BVM: What is the current man- date and vision of theAssociation? Batcha: “TheOr- ganicTradeAsso- ciation’smember organicbusinesses work together through network- ing,advocacy,and other initiatives to encourage and protect organic farming practic- es,and to share messages about the positive attributes of organic products with consumers,themedia,and policymak- ers.TheAssociation’smission is to promote and protect ORGANICwith a unifying voice that serves and engages its diversemembers from farm tomarketplace.Its vision is to growORGANICto achieve excellence in agriculture and commerce,protect the environment and enhance communitywell-being. “The vision of theOrganicTradeAssociation is bold, AT A GLANCE THE ORGANIC TRADE ASSOCIATION WHAT: A membership-based business association that focuses on the organic busi- ness community in North America. WHERE: Washington, D.C. WEBSITE: www.ota.com