Story at-a-glance

• With the foxes watching the chicken coop is understandable why the cornucopia Institute refers to this scandal as, the organic Watergate.
• Mark Kastel,the codirector of the organic industry watchdog, The Cornucopia Institute, reveals how those charged with reviewing and approving additives and chemicals for use in organic foods have in large part been affiliated with the same corporate agribusinesses and/or food producers lobbying for their use
• There are currently almost 300 non-organic and synthetic compounds approved for use in organic foods—many of which need to be re-reviewed in light of these findings (although too many, this compares to many thousands in conventional food production)
• "Independent" industry experts, who have been advising the USDA's National Organic Standards Board on scientific matters, also appear to have been largely supportive of synthetics in organics
• The Cornucopia Institute are now pursuing a pressure campaign aimed at the organic program at the USDA, and at the National Organics Standards Board, to persuade them to review the manipulation and misinformation provided at the November 2011 NOSB meeting, which led to the approval of synthetic, genetically mutated DHA and ARA oils—ingredients that have been "confidently linked" to health problems in infants