Carcinogens in Organics — ActionAlert to USDA

WASHINGTON, DC — When Congress passed the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990 (OFPA), it established a unique advisory panel, the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB). The NOSB was designed to act as a buffer between agribusiness lobbyists and the community of farmers and eaters who had built the nascent industry. But the nation’s most prominent industry watchdog, OrganicEye, alleges the USDA has consistently ignored the intent of Congress by stacking the NOSB with food industry insiders and allowing dangerous food additives, benefiting processed food production.

Case in point: the NOSB subcommittee charged with reviewing food ingredients and additives, which federal law requires be safe for the environment and human health, is recommending the full board vote to continue the approval of carrageenan, a seaweed-derived substance extracted with toxic compounds. Carrageenan is used as an emulsifier, preventing the separation of food ingredients and giving low-fat dairy and imitation dairy products a positive “mouth feel.”

The NOSB Handling Subcommittee described the collection of published research on the subject as “mixed” and, in a split vote, recommended that the full board reapprove carrageenan use at its upcoming meeting in late October.

This despite an extensive body of research, mostly funded by the US Centers for Disease Control, concluding that food grade carrageenan is a potent human inflammatory agent and precursor for cancer. Additional studies also indicate carrageenan could promote prostate and breast cancer along with type 2 diabetes.

OrganicEye points out that the studies suggesting carrageenan is safe have been almost exclusively funded by agribusiness interests.

“The NOSB is charged by Congress with protecting organic food as the last bastion of safe, unadulterated nourishment for families in this country,” stated Mark A. Kastel, OrganicEye Executive Director. “Calling the research ‘mixed’ is not only overly generous, it illegally puts the health of American organic eaters/consumers at risk.”

OrganicEye stated they intended to reach out to HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and key members of the MAHA (Make America Healthy Again) movement, assuming they will share the organization’s concerns about this risky food ingredient.

Organics was initially commercialized in the 1980s by organic farmers across the country and supported by consumers who were hungry for safer food. Many stakeholders would never have agreed to hand over what was then an unregulated industry to the USDA without the safeguards included by Congress, via the NOSB, designed to prevent corporate hijacking.

However, over the course of subsequent Democratic and Republican administrations, the composition of the NOSB has shifted from the diverse group that Congress mandated to one that is almost exclusively affiliated with agribusiness — with many members, or their employers, belonging to the powerful industry lobby group, the Organic Trade Association (OTA).

“What has happened to the NOSB as corporate interests have become increasingly over-represented is commonly referred to as “regulatory capture,” Kastel added.

In their critique of the Trump/Rollins administration at the USDA, OrganicEye contends that this has never been more apparent than this year.

In January, Secretary Brooke Robbins failed to appoint five new members to fill the open seats on the 15-person panel. In conflict with federal law, the NOSB operated without a full complement of members for over eight and a half months, including during the Spring 2026 meeting.

“The NOSB is different because it has specific statutory requirements and, unlike most advisory committees, was created by Congress, not the USDA Secretary. The size of the committee is not optional. It has a very heavy workload and dividing the necessary technical analysis between fewer members is onerous and opens the industry to the possibility of erroneous decision-making, such as on carrageenan,” Kastel stated.

Congress did not leave the size of the working board up to the discretion of the Secretary. Because it has specific legal authority to review new petitions for synthetic and non-organic materials, and examine all compounds on the list of approved substances every five years for essentiality and health and environmental impacts, OrganicEye contends that any business that transpired at the spring meeting could very well be challenged in court — as could any votes this fall that are based on testimony, discussion, and deliberation that occurred then with a partial board, or in subcommittee meetings that took place during 2026 before the full board was seated.

Furthermore, OrganicEye maintains that, instead of respecting the spirit and letter of OFPA, the law governing organic regulations and establishing the NOSB — which earmarked, very specifically, certain seats to represent industry constituency groups — Secretary Rollins appears to have subverted the congressional mandate with both the delay and with some of her subsequent appointments.

“The two members who were appointed to represent farmers are anything but typical agrarians. One owns an agribusiness that acts as a service provider to farmers, in addition to producing grain, while the other owns a vertically integrated poultry processor and brand doing hundreds of millions of dollars in business each year,” added Kastel.

And according to OrganicEye, the appointments of two individuals to the seats that Congress set aside for public interest/consumer representation are even more objectionable — and possibly illegal.

“One is a real stick in the eye, considering there are many qualified public interest groups and individuals who have applied to serve on the board,” Kastel said. “Jed Murray is a lobbyist with the Texas International Produce Association (TIPA), an industry trade group representing the interests of 400 growers, shippers, importers, and distributors.”

“I can’t imagine a job description — representing a ‘special interest group’ — that is further from being an advocate for rank-and-file organic consumers,” added Kastel.

The other consumer representative, Bradley Hines, PhD, is an academic at the University of Minnesota with expertise in organic dairy management. But he is also affiliated with the OTA’s research arm, The Organic Center, and acts as an “ambassador” to an agricultural technology/supply company.

According to Kastel, “Public interest representatives on the NOSB should be devoid of employment or involvement with corporations or lobby groups representing business interests in the organic industry. Their loyalties could be divided, and their priorities might sometimes differ from those of the people they have been appointed to represent.”

NOTE: OrganicEye was very clear that their criticisms of the new NOSB appointees are directed toward USDA leadership, not the individuals who have been appointed to the board. They noted that, in many cases, the new members would have been appropriate choices if they had been appointed to one of the two “handler” seats set aside by Congress for businesses involved in organic processing and marketing.

“Why should the USDA’s National Organic Program be any different than any other regulatory scheme in Washington?” asked OrganicEye Executive Director Mark Kastel. “Because the organic community says so — and the federal law we lobbied for and got passed in 1990 mandates it!”

OrganicEye stated it contacted the USDA Office of Inspector General to request an investigation of the Secretary and the National Organic Program over alleged illegalities in managing the NOSB.

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MORE:

OrganicEye has created an ActionAlert and easy form to comment on the carrageenan matter.

The USDA’s National Organic Program has opened up a docket enabling interested organic stakeholders to comment on the NOSB’s full fall agenda, including the relisting of carrageenan.

Brief bios of new NOSB appointees:

Scott Sechler Sr. has been the Owner and Chairman of Bell & Evans, a large-scale commercial organic poultry processor and marketer based in Pennsylvania, for 40 years. It contracts for production with numerous independent contract farmers. In addition, they operate a 194,000 square foot hatchery (described on their website as the “world’s first organic-certified, animal welfare-focused hatchery”) that can hatch up to 3 million chicks per week. Mr. Sechler has been appointed to one of the two Farmer/Organic Producer seats.

Jerry Matzner is a Co-owner of Century Farm Organics, a 2,500-acre operation focused on organic row crop and solid seeded grain farming in Minnesota. Century Farm Organics also owns Century Farm Poultry, growing turkeys for Jennie-O, and Century Farm Ag Solutions, providing specialty organic equipment, corn seed sales, and other custom services.

It appears that a key part of Mr. Matzner’s holdings, the turkey production operation, may be conventional, as he does not hold a USDA organic livestock certificate.

He is a member of Organic Valley Cooperative (an Organic Trade Association member with an employee on their Board of Directors) and the Minnesota Farm Bureau. His educational background includes a BA in Management Information Systems and a BA in Computer Science from Augustana College. Mr. Matzner has been appointed to one of the two Farmer/Organic Producer seats.

Jed Murray is the Director of Government Relations at Texas International Produce Association (TIPA), which represents over 400 companies including growers, shippers, importers, distributors, material and service providers. He is also a Managing Partner at 9 Kids Compost, an organic waste management and carrier service. The International Fresh Produce Association, a member of the Organic Trade Association, provided a letter of reference.

He holds a BS in Agribusiness and Marketing from California Polytechnic State University. Mr. Murray has been appointed to one of the two Public Interest/Consumer Interest Representative seats.

Dr. Bradley Heins, Professor of Organic Dairy Management at the University of Minnesota, has been engaged in certified organic farming since 2010. He is a member of CROPP/Organic Valley (an Organic Trade Association member), has served as a Science Advisory Board member at the Organic Center, and is listed on their website as a Scientific Counselor. He also serves as a “Farm Ambassador” for Symbrosia, an agricultural technology company developing natural seaweed-based products designed to reduce methane emissions from livestock. The Organic Trade Association provided a reference in favor of his appointment.

He holds a PhD and MS in Animal Science and a BS in Animal and Plant Systems from the University of Minnesota. Dr. Heins has been appointed to one of the two Public Interest/Consumer Interest Representative seats.

Bryan Buchwald is the Program Administrator for the Poultry, Egg, Organic & Produce Section at the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry (ODAFF), a USDA-accredited organic certifying agent. He is also the owner of a registered angus cattle operation. He holds a BS in Animal Sciences with a minor in Chemistry from Cameron University. Mr. Buchwald has been appointed to the Organic Certifying Agent seat.

It seems that Mr. Buchwald’s cattle operation may be conventional, as he does not appear to hold a USDA organic livestock certificate.

NOTE: Mr. Buchwald was not shown as an applicant for the Certifying Agent seat in the original material provided in response to a FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) request submitted by OrganicEye. His information was only provided after a subsequent request. He appears to be a late addition to the field, as his application was signed on July 7, 2026. The original application deadline for this round of appointments was September 9, 2025.

The applicants for the NOSB Certifier seat listed in the initial FOIA response included four women who appear to be technically qualified for appointment to the position.

Previous Republican and Democratic administrations have been criticized for passing over highly qualified candidates, as well as for favoring nominees with OTA affiliations. OrganicEye’s perennial critique of NOSB appointees is based on the agency’s compliance with the spirit and the letter of the law ensuring specific constituencies have a voice in organic rulemaking and that the most qualified individuals are seated.

The USDA’s National Organic Program has also made the decision to ignore the almost universal request from industry stakeholders that the biannual NOSB meetings be held in person rather than virtually.

“These meetings have historically been an opportunity for farmers, businesspeople, NGOs, and government officials to collaborate on moving the organic movement forward,” said Kastel.

“It’s quite possible this decision was made, at least in part, due to the reality of dramatically reduced staffing levels during President Trump’s second term, where the NOP has experienced an approximate 30% decrease in personnel,” he concluded.

NOTE: OrganicEye remains passionately nonpartisan and, in its capacity as a governmental and corporate watchdog, has criticized the USDA and National Organic Program during both Democratic and Republican administrations for their stewardship of the NOSB process.