A progress report

Significant progress was made during the third face-to-face meeting in June of the multi-stakeholder Standards Committee.  The 58-member Standards Committee is working to develop an American National Standard for Sustainable Agriculture under the rules of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). The Committee consists of a skilled, diverse membership representing a broad range of perspectives from across all areas of agriculture, including commodity producers; speciality crop producers; agricultural product processors and distributors; food retailers; environmental, labour, and development organisations; NGOs; industry trade associations; government representatives; academics; regulators and certifiers. There is also a good balance of representatives of organic and alternative agriculture-oriented organisations and businesses with respect to those from a more conventional-industrial agriculture perspective. Organic-oriented Committee members include two NOSB (National Organic Standards Board) members, non-profits organisations such as the Food Trade Sustainability Leadership Association (FTSLA) and International Labor Rights Forum, businesses such as Organic Valley and Whole Foods, and consultants such as Wolf + DiMatteo & Associates.

Supporting the Standards Committee are six subcommittees. These have been working since July 2009 to develop the structure of the standard; draft economic, environmental, and social criteria for possible inclusion in the standard; develop communications materials for process stakeholders, and collect resources to include in the Sustainable Agriculture Standard Reference Library.

The two-day meeting held at the University of Arkansas-Fayetteville, was attended by 50 Standards Committee members. During the meeting Committee members discussed, and then voted to approve, guiding sustainability principles developed by the Economic, Social, and Environmental Criteria Subcommittees. Principles related to farm management and planning; labour rights; water, soil, and air pollution; soil health, fertility, and productivity; farm inputs and outputs; biodiversity; and greenhouse gases will now move forward as the basis for criteria, indicators and metrics. In addition, the Committee members approved structure and process documents designed to facilitate standards development.

The discussions and debates on these principles statements were at times heated, with close votes resulting on several proposals and amendments to language. One large area of ongoing tension was the question of how the standards should meet the objective of accessibility to the majority of US producers, while at the same time expressing the highest possible aspirations or goals for agricultural sustainability. This played out in conflict over inclusion of the word ‘aspirational’ as the guidance for the crafting of principles statements. Its use was passed by a very narrow margin but resulted in negative responses by those concerned with the acceptability of these statements for conventional producers.

‘We have come a long way since our meeting in St. Charles last year,’ said Committee member, Jim Pierce, representing the Food Trade Sustainability Leadership Association. ‘In addition to assuring the subcommittees that they are on the right track, we are thoughtfully addressing matters related to standard structure, as well as the development process itself, which will help to ensure successful standards writing as we continue to move forward.’

The Committee also voted in favour of a timeline to facilitate the completion of the standard by autumn 2012. ‘The Standards Committee and subcommittees have been working together amazingly well - way beyond my expectations,’ said Committee member, Russell Williams, who represents the American Farm Bureau. Moving forward, the Standards Committee and chartered subcommittees will complete the remaining guiding principles and begin developing metrics and indicators to support fulfillment of the principles set forth for agricultural sustainability.

Following the June meeting Leonardo Academy called for applications to fill four vacant seats on the National Sustainable Agriculture Standards Committee, within the User, Environmentalist and General Interest categories. New officers will be elected by the voting members of the Standards Committee in October. The next face-to-face meeting of the Standards Committee will be held in mid-January, 2011 in San Francisco, California.

How to get involved

Any interested stakeholder may apply for a position on the Standards Committee by applying to Leonardo Academy, which is responsible for filling vacant positions on the Committee. In addition to applying for Standards Committee membership, stakeholders are also invited to participate in the Sustainable Agriculture Standard development process as a subcommittee member, observer or reviewer of the draft standard once it is opened up for public comment. The important work of drafting documents and debating language is conducted at the Subcommittee level, where many stakeholder observers actively participate.
Subcommittees - There are six subcommittees, which are open to membership by all interested parties. These are:

1. Economic Criteria Development.
2. Environmental Criteria Development.
3. Social Criteria Development.
4. Structure and Process.
5. Reference Library and Information.
6. Fundraising and Communications.

The subcommittees are currently developing the structure of the standard, along with draft criteria, indicators and metrics; supporting Leonardo Academy’s outreach and fundraising efforts related to the standard; continuing to acquire resources for the Sustainable Agriculture Standard Reference Library; and providing additional recommendations and guidance to the Standards Committee.

Observers - Observers are invited to participate in the standard development process. Observers may attend Standards Committee meetings in-person on a first-come, first-serve basis, subject to the availability of space. Observers may also participate in all Standards Committee and Subcommittee teleconferences.

Public Review and Comment - Once the Standards Committee reaches agreement on a draft Sustainable Agriculture Standard, it will be posted for public comment. The public review and comment period provides all stakeholders with an additional opportunity to participate in the standard development process. At the end of the public comment period, the Standards Committee will address all of the comments received prior to submitting the final standard to ANSI for approval as an American National Standard.

Grace Gershuny

To sign up for the subcommittees, apply for observer status, learn more about participating in the public review and comment process or to join the Sustainable Agriculture Standard email list, contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Trucks at Leonardo Academy.

A wealth of information about this process is available on the wiki site, including minutes of all meetings, subcommittee documents, and an extensive reference library

To learn more about the Sustainable Agriculture Standard

Leonardo Academy, a nonprofit organisation dedicated to advancing sustainability, is providing facilitation and process support for the Sustainable Agriculture Standard development initiative. Leonardo Academy website

TOS has reported on the development of the American National Standard for Sustainable Agriculture in the following issues: TOS 91, November 2008; TOS 95, March 2009; TOS 98, June 2009 and TOS 101, September 2009