There is an Arab proverb that states, “When the king puts the poet on his payroll, he cuts off the tongue of the poet.” A recent New York Times article may have mistakenly led some to believe The Cornucopia Institute receives funding from “the king”—the federal government. Not true!
Responding to the USDA’s announcement of a new $52 million program to support local and organic farming, I was quoted in the September 28 NYT article as saying, “It’s a really nice bump for us because we’ve been getting chump change for research.” By “we” I was referring to the organic community, but at least one Cornucopia member understood it differently. This farmer-member let us know that, while he wholeheartedly supported our work, he would not be financially contributing in the future since, he believed, Cornucopia was receiving federal funds (after I responded that wasn’t accurate he reaffirmed his ongoing commitment to financially support our work).
Although we applaud the increase in funding for research by the USDA, it should be noted that we are still not getting our “fair share.” Organics is over 4% of the market, organic milk at about 6% and produce industry experts estimate organics share of fruits and vegetables at over 11%. We will be happy when the federal government supports organic agriculture at a commensurate rate — many European countries, recognizing the societal value of shifting away from using toxic chemicals to produce food fund at a much higher level.
I can assure you, The Cornucopia Institute serves as an independent organic industry watchdog—in both overseeing agribusiness and governmental activities. In the ten years since Cornucopia was founded, we have never received one dime of funding from the federal government, or from any state or other public funding source. The majority of Cornucopia’s funding comes from individuals, folks like you who care about preserving the integrity of organics and the good food movement. We get smaller but a meaningful amount of funding from selected nonprofit foundations and organic businesses (the largest contingent being the nation’s member-owned food cooperatives).
We remain, thanks to our 10,000 members, an independent voice fighting the corporate takeover of organic agriculture—which, unfortunately, the USDA aids and abets.
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| Mark Kastel Cofounder |
