Innovators Aim To Grow Organic Hops

Effort would be stymied if USDA allows non-organic hops in "organic" beer As the USDA stands poised to allow non-organic hops in beer labeled as being "organic," a number of farmers are themselves poised to take advantage of the growing demand for organic hops. The USDA rule would cut off the business before it can bud. No ingredient is more emblematic of the criticism organic purists have for the USDA organic rule than hops. Though it makes up less than 5 percent of a bottle's worth, it is a distinctive ingredient in a beloved beverage. Right now, large brewers like Anheuser-Busch and Miller have taken advantage of the USDA loophole by using non-organic hops. Finding enough organic hops is difficult, given the crop's propensity to damage from mildew. Organic enthusiasts argue that a market demand for organic hops -- particularly demand with the muscle of Anheuser-Busch and Miller -- would spur innovation and create a lucrative new crop for the organic farmers who develop reliable methods for growing hops without pesticides and chemical fertilizers. If non-organic hops -- and the dozens of other organic ingredients being considered for exemption -- can be used in "organic" products, there's no incentive to innovate. It's a capitalistic chicken-and-egg argument -- one that the USDA should take seriously as it writes rules for use of the word "organic," according to a story in the June 24 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. For more on this story, click here. To read the USDA proposed rule, click here. And to see the list of non-organic ingredients the USDA has proposed allowing in "organic foods," click here. To find out how to tell the USDA what you think about its proposal, click here.