Johna Roth talks about a national sustainable agricultural standard

Q. When did Scientific Certification Systems present its draft for a national standard for sustainable agriculture to the American National Standards Institute?

A. The draft standard, SCS-001, was published April 13, 2007, and posted in the ANSI Standards Action. At this time, this is the only such standard under development within the ANSI process.

Q. Is it realistic that a single working standard can be developed that has application across all agricultural segments throughout the entire country?

A. To address the broad array of agricultural segments addressed by the standard, it is structured into two parts -- the core body of the standard, which establishes general requirements applicable across agricultural sectors, and sector-specific annexes, which delve into the issues of unique interest to a specific sector. This structure will allow the standard to expand to meet the needs of many sectors. There is no urgency that such sector-specific annexes be completed within the initial timeframe.

The Draft Standard for Trial Use is subject to modification by the Standards Committee and subcommittees, which will have an opportunity to review this structure and determine its adequacy.

Q. Will this standard cover both recommended production methods and social-related issues such as employee working conditions and impact of business practices on local communities?

A. The standard includes requirements that address a variety of environmental, socio-economic and quality considerations. The eight elements of sustainability defined within the standard so far are:

Environmental sustainability

Sustainable crop production

Resource conservation and energy efficiency

Ecosystem protection

Integrated waste management

Social and economic sustainability

Fair labor practices

Community benefits

Product integrity

Product quality

Product safety and purity

Many of the minimum practices defined within the Draft Standard for Trial Use reference government regulations.

Q. What happens next?

A. The Leonardo Academy will present the final draft to ANSI within the three-year window established for standards being developed through the ANSI Draft Standard for Trial Use mechanism. This is not likely to occur before April 2010.

Q. Once ANSI accepts the standard, how long after would it take effect and would this be a voluntary standard?

A. This is a voluntary standard. As the process moves forward, the standards committee will determine what the accreditation process will be for companies seeking to have their conformance to the standard independently verified.

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For more: Johna Roth, Leonardo Academy, (608) 280-0255; johna@leonardoacademy.org; www.leonardoacademy.org/Projects/ansi.htm.