OTA.COM 15 to back down from a challenge, DeFazio said he’d offer the bill as an amendment during the floor debate, a highly risky endeavor given that both the Chair and Ranking member of the Committee opposed the amendment. To everyone’s shock, the amendment was adopted with a final vote of 234-189, ensuring that OFPA would become the law of the land and kickstarting the development of the National Organic Program. DeFazio has remained a steadfast champion of organic agriculture over his long career, founding the House Organic Caucus in 2003. DEFENDER OF FAMILY FARMS Much more than just a cheese head, Congressman Ron Kind from Wisconsin came to Congress determined to save the small family dairy farm. After the farm crisis of the 1980s ripped apart the fabric of many rural communities across the Midwest, Kind became a staunch defender of supporting the little guys. A native of La Crosse, he also represented the world’s largest organic farming cooperative, Organic Valley. Along with DeFazio, he co-chaired the House Organic Caucus for more than a decade. In addition to his support for organic agriculture, Kind was one of the first farm state lawmakers to advocate for reforming our nation’s broken agriculture subsidy system that unfairly propped up large agribusiness and cash crops at the expense of family farmers. He was the loudest Congressional critic of crop insurance policies and direct cash payments that flowed to a handful, and successfully fought to eliminate harmful programs and reimagine the federal support system for American farms. A NEW GENERATION OF LEADERS The retirement of these public servants who were early supporters of organic mirrors what is happening in the sector overall, where some of the original founders of the organic movement are also retiring. The loss of these giants and their knowledge no doubt will have an impact, but it also presents the movement with a critical opportunity to pass the baton to a new, more diverse generation of leaders. There’s a new crop of young, passionate Congressmembers who have seen the benefits organic brings to their communities. Many of them are devoted consumers of organic themselves and are raising their kids on organic food. Let’s seize on this opportunity and enthusiasm to bring organic into the future. We’ve come a long way, but in reality, we’re just getting started. Megan DeBates is Vice President of Government Affairs at the Organic Trade Association. “Ron saw the potential organic agriculture offered farmers in the Midwest and nationally. By visiting dozens of organic farms and organic businesses over the years, it ’s part of his lived, truly authentic experience,” says Adam Warthesen, Director of Government and Industry Affairs for Organic Valley. “He’s been a steadfast champion of organic agriculture and family farmers. He understood organic as a movement but also a business opportunity to foster. A huge thanks to Representative Kind for his contributions and leadership as a cochair of the House Organic Caucus over the years. He’s been such a go-to-guy for organic that we are really going to miss him.”
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