Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/108963
���I think it���s a very good system of having stakeholders that represent various perspectives look at the information and use their best judgment to make a determination of whether it fits into the organic system or not,��� he said. ���Having a board of this diversity of interests making the decision, I think, is one of the beautiful things about the way that the organic program is set up.��� ��� NATIONAL Organic Standards Board members Producers: ��� Carmela Beck, organic program manager, Driscoll���s Strawberry Associates, Inc., Watsonville, California. ��� Colehour Bondera, owner, Kanalani Ohana Farm, Honaunau, Hawaii. ��� Dr. Wendy Fulwider, animal husbandry specialist for Organic Valley/CROPP Cooperative, La Farge, Wisconsin, which is the nation���s largest organic farmers��� cooperative. ��� Nick Maravell, owner of Nick���s Organic Farm, Potomac, Maryland. Environmentalists: ��� Tracy Favre, consultant in pasture management and former chief operating officer for Holistic Management International,Woodland Park, Colorado. ��� Jay Feldman, cofounder of Beyond Pesticides/ National Coalition Against the Misuse of Pesticides, Washington, D.C. ��� Dr. Francis Thicke, an organic dairy farmer and former national program leader for soil science for Cooperative Extension. He is a member of the Cornucopia Institute���s Policy Advisory Panel and has been active in many environmental organizations. Consumer/Public Interest: ��� Dr. Jean Richardson, professor emerita in environmental studies and environmental law at the University of Vermont, independent inspector of organic farms and processors, and producer of organic maple syrup, North Ferrisburgh, Vermont. ��� Dr. Jennifer Taylor, coordinator of small farm programs and associate professor at Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University, Tallahassee, Florida. ��� Dr. Reuben Walker, professor and program leader in animal science at Southern University Agricultural Research and Extension Center, Lafayette, and Southern University-Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Handlers: ��� Harold Austin, director of orchard administration, Zirkle Fruit Company, Selah, Washington. ��� John Foster, senior manager of organic integrity for Earthbound Farm, McMinnville, Oregon. Scientist: ��� Zea Sonnabend, policy specialist and farm inspector for California Certified Organic Farmers, Watsonville, California. Certifying agent: ��� Mac Stone, executive director of the Kentucky Department of Agriculture���s Office of Marketing and Product Promotion, and organic farmer, Frankfort, Kentucky. www.goodfruit.com GOOD FRUIT GROWER FEBRUARY 15, 2013 23