Dietary Guidelines for 2015 Being Questioned; Sales of Organic Produce Rises

The House Agriculture Committee will hear from USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack and Secretary of Health and Human Services Sylvia Burwell next month. The committee will grill the two regarding the process for developing the 2015 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Earlier this year, Chairman Mike Conaway sent a letter to the Secretary’s raising concerns about recommendations received from the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee saying the committee “greatly exceeded its scope with its February 2015 report by straying from traditional nutritional recommendations and advising on wider policy issues like sustainability and tax policy.”

The 2014 Organic Survey results released last Thursday show organic farmers produced and sold $5.5 billion in organic products last year. That’s 72 percent higher than sales reported back in 2008. California is the leading state in organic production accounting for $2.2 billion worth of organic sales last year. The survey also found 39 percent of organic farmers plan to increase production in the next five years. The report found 46 percent of all organic sales occurred within 100 miles of the farm.