California Certified Organic Farmers
- California Certified Organic Farmers
California Certified Organic Farmers, or CCOF is a membership organization formed in 1973, to promote organic farming and small-scale agriculture. It began as a group of 54 farmers mutually certifying each other's adherence to its own published, publicly available standards for defining organic agriculture. It is based in Santa Cruz, California.
The standards outlined soil building, and pest control strategies as well as specifying materials and practices that were forbidden to organic farmers. Standards have evolved significantly over the years.
CCOF was one of the first U.S.-based organizations to certify organic farmers. It was partially responsible for the passage of the California legal definition of organic agriculture the first state law defining organic agriculture. It also played an important role in the creation of US national organic standards.
As of 2008 it has more than 1,800 members, certifies over 1,000 organic products and crops based on national standards, and certifies more than half a million acres (4,000 km²) in 29 states and five foreign countries (including Mexico), including nearly 80% of the organic farmland in California.[cite web|url=http://ccof.org/about.php|title=About CCOF|work=CCOF Site|accessmonthday=July 17 |accessyear=2005] ]History
After being founded in 1973, it grew, and gained new members, growing from California's Central Coast across the whole state. In 1979 the California Organic Food Act of 1979 was passed, based upon CCOF's standards. However, it contained no state enforcement provisions, requiring private groups such as CCOF to pursue enforcement. The first big case was in 1988, against Pacific Organics.
References
ee also
*Organic Certification
*Organic Food
*Organic Farming
External links
* [http://ccof.org/ CCOF Homepage]
* [http://www.ams.usda.gov/nop/ USDA National Organic Program]
* [http://www.soilassociation.org UK Soil Association]
* [http://www.organicfooddatabase.net The Organic Food Database] - Informational database of organic farms, restaurants and organic food products.
* [http://www.ota.com/ The Organic Trade Association (OTA)]
Wikimedia Foundation.
2010.
Look at other dictionaries:
Organic certification — Mixed organic bean sprouts Organic certification is a certification process for producers of organic food and other organic agricultural products. In general, any business directly involved in food production can be certified, including seed… … Wikipedia
Organic food — Organic vegetables at a farmers market in Argentina Organic foods are foods that are produced using methods that do not involve modern synthetic inputs such as synthetic pesticides and chemical fertilizers, do not contain genetically modified… … Wikipedia
National Organic Program — Aux États Unis, le National Organic Program (NOP) est l organisme qui contrôle l alimentation issue de l agriculture biologique, sous l égide du Département de l Agriculture des États Unis (USDA). Cet organisme est responsable de l attribution du … Wikipédia en Français
USDA organic — National Organic Program National Organic Program Aux États Unis, le National Organic Program (NOP) est l organisme qui contrôle l alimentation issue de l agriculture biologique, sous l égide du Département de l Agriculture des États Unis (USDA) … Wikipédia en Français
Organic Valley — Type Agricultural cooperative Founded 1988 (1988) Headquarters … Wikipedia
Santa Cruz, California — Infobox Settlement official name = City of Santa Cruz, California other name = native name = nickname = Surf City settlement type = City motto = imagesize = image caption = The Town Clock tower at the head of Pacific Avenue, looking south toward… … Wikipedia
Organic farming — Agriculture General … Wikipedia
California Proposition 2 (2008) — Proposition 2, the proposed Standards for Confining Farm Animals initiative statute, is a California ballot proposition in that state s general election on November 42008. The proposition would add a chapter to Division 20 of the California… … Wikipedia
Organic fashion — Clothing and accessories can be considered organic when they are made from fibers produced without the use of synthetic chemicals, such as conventional pesticides; without fertilizers made with synthetic ingredients or sewage sludge; and… … Historical Dictionary of the Fashion Industry
Organic wine — The most widely accepted definition of Organic wine is wine made from grapes grown in accordance with principles of organic farming, which typically excludes the use of artificial chemical fertilizers, pesticides, fungicides and herbicides.… … Wikipedia
