The National Organic Action Plan

"By eating local and organic food we create local and organic food systems and become co-producers, going beyond the passive role of consumer." -Atina Diffley, Organic FarmingWorks

There is a National Organic Action Plan (NOAP) and you can participate. It is the product of five years of conversations and planning throughout the organic sector, shepherded by the Rural Advancement Foundation International-USA (RAFI). The plan was designed to advance knowledge of and enhance the presence of organic agriculture in our nation.

The goal of the NOAP is to establish organic as the foundation for food and agricultural production systems across the United States.

To achieve this, NOAP now calls for the creation of an expanded organic policy agenda for the next decade and beyond that reflects the broad social, environmental, and health values of the organic movement and the associated benefits that organic food systems afford society.

Organic Agriculture Affords Multiple Benefits to Society

Organic agriculture can produce high yielding crops, enhance food security and independence, reduce the adverse impacts of agriculture on the environment and climate change, and contribute to the development of food self-sufficient and sustainable communities.

The largely untapped potential of organic to provide concrete and long-lasting solutions to a variety of persistent problems of modern, industrialized society has inspired farmers and non-farmers alike to join grassroots movements to strengthen the integrity of organic, grow markets for organic products, and facilitate universal access to healthy, organic food.

Now is the time for collective action embodied in the NOAP to unite people across the country in their efforts to establish organic as the foundation for U.S. food and agricultural production systems.

Here's what you can do:

• By focusing on the strategic vision embodied in NOAP, grassroots energy can mobilize the government and its resources to strengthen and enhance organic.
• Organize your local or statewide organic-minded organizations to develop a State Organic Action Plan (SOAP) designed to maximize local consumption of local organic foods.
• Attend your local school board meetings and push for local and organic foods in the schools (meats, milk, vegetables, grains).
• Become a member of your local USDA National Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) county or local committee, or the NRCS State Technical Committee to encourage organic agriculture and conservation in your region.
• Learn who are your local, state and federal representatives. Attend and speak at their listening sessions, visit their offices, and call and write them letters specifically addressing issues that promote the organic agriculture agenda.
• Join citizen advisory boards of universities, their extension agencies, community and technical colleges and primary education institutions where you can promote the NOAP agenda. Encourage and participate in dialogue – it can be a rewarding experience and truly make a difference. You may be surprised how much common ground there is between organic advocates and people from diverse political and social backgrounds.
• Financially support other individuals and organizations doing this work and offer your ideas when brainstorming about how the various NOAP objectives can be implemented both locally and nationally.
• Keep in touch to share your experiences and help us understand the local, regional, and state resources that are available, how you influence federal policies and how we can best utilize existing federal programs.
• Become engaged in the development of the next Farm Bill in 2012.