OCA Boycotts Horizon Organic Dairy Products

WASHINGTON - Mar 29/07 - SNS -- The Organic Consumers Association (OCA) is stepping up efforts to force Horizon Organic, a subsidiary of Dean Foods and a supplier to Wal-Mart, to stop using loopholes in the USDA's organic rules to buy milk from dairy operations, which are not considered fully organic.

The OCA is asking consumers to boycott dairy products produced by Horizon Organic. Started in May of 2006, the boycott protests Horizon Organic's alleged purchase of milk from intensive confinement dairy feedlots.

A study by the Cornucopia Institute found that Horizon is purchasing the majority of their milk from feedlot dairies where the cows have little or no access to pasture, and have routinely been imported from conventional farms, where the animals have been weaned on blood plasma, fed genetically engineered feed, slaughterhouse waste, and poultry manure, and injected or treated with antibiotics.

Since October of 2006, OCA tried to resolve the dispute through mediation, using Michael Funk, CEO of United Natural Foods to find a solution.

"We have acted in good faith and have notified Horizon on what they need to do for OCA to end the boycott. It seems the constructive dialogue we had with mediator Michael Funk, CEO United Natural Foods has been cut off," says Ronnie Cummins, Executive Director of the Organic Consumers Association.

"It is up to Horizon to decide if they are going to comply with consumer expectations and make sure that their milk is truly organic, or if they are going to continue to exploit loopholes in the USDA NOP (National Organic Program) to sell sham organic milk."

These solutions to end OCA's boycott were offered to Horizon Organic through Funk in November of 2006:

(1) Horizon will immediately and publicly announce plans to discontinue purchasing organic milk from any source not meeting the proposed NOP dairy pasture standards (grazing during the entire growing season, but not less than 120 days, and providing a minimum of 30% dry matter intake during the growing season).

(2) Horizon will put into place a policy on its corporate owned farms, and a requirement for its independent suppliers that any cattle brought onto a certified organic dairy operation will have been managed organically from the last third of gestation.

(3) Horizon will immediately open its records on its farming operations and its facilities for inspection by an independent certifier/verification team or agency chosen by the Organic Consumers Association.

(4) Horizon will provide the names and contact information for all farms milking over 400 cows and require their independent suppliers to be subjected to independent third-party inspection by an independent certifier/verification agency chosen by the Organic Consumers Association.

(5) Before any public announcement about a suspension of the boycott takes place, OCA's designated outside verification team will have the right to inspect any or all of Horizon's proprietary farms as well as designated farm supplies with herds of 400 or more milking cows.