| 1973 |
CCOF was formed with 54 grower
members.
CCOF’s first newsletter, The
California Certified Organic Farmer, was published.
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| 1975 |
CCOF operations were run out of then-President
Barney Bricmont’s Santa Cruz home; his dining room was
the office, with the dining table acting as the desk.
CCOF’s first chapter, the Central Coast chapter,
was formed by Santa Cruz County members. |
| 1977 |
The newly-created North Coast Chapter
was made up of 16 CCOF members. |
| 1979 |
The California Organic Food Act of 1979
was signed into law. While it was a state-mandated
local program, there was no budgetary appropriation given to
the law for enforcement. Any infractions would have to be taken
up in the courts by organizations like CCOF. |
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| 1981 |
The Mendocino Chapter became the third
chapter in CCOF. |
| 1982 |
Yolo, Big Valley, and North Valley Chapters
were formed. |
| 1984 |
Fresno-Tulare, South Coast, and Pacific
Southwest Chapters were established. |
| 1985 |
The Humboldt-Siskiyou Chapter is formed.
Mark Lipson is hired as CCOF’s first staff
member. The first CCOF office space is 80 square
feet in downtown Santa Cruz. |
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| 1986 |
Inland, Kern, San Luis Obispo and Sierra
Gold Chapters are created. |
| 1987 |
CCOF published the first edition of the
CCOF Certification Handbook and Materials List and
the first Farm Inspection Manual, as well as the first
series of Farm Inspector Trainings.
The Desert Valleys Chapter is formed.
CCOF’s first Executive Director, Bob Scowcroft,
was hired. |
| 1988 |
CCOF pursued an investigation, in cooperation
with the California Department of Health Services, of Pacific
Organics, a distributor that had been selling conventionally-grown
carrots as organic. In the statewide newsletter, Scowcroft
wrote, “I believe that others looking back at the history
of organic agriculture will treat the Pacific Organics case
and CCOF’s role in it as an historic event. Not only did
we expose the faulty labeling practices of this company in particular,
but the resulting publicity made the State enforce the law and
put into place programs to institutionalize that enforcement
in the future.” |
| 1989 |
All agricultural practices came into question
in the spring when CBS 60 Minutes aired a story titled Intolerable
Risk: Pesticides in our Children’s Food. This
prompted the infamous “Alar scare.” Two
weeks later, cyanide was purposed to have been found in Chilean
grapes imported into the United States. Newsweek and Time magazines
asked, “Is our food save? Who can you trust?” Meryl
Streep, Hollywood spokesperson for the Natural Resources Defense
Council, appeared on the Donahue show supporting local farms
and organic foods as a viable agriculture model that Americans
could trust. For weeks following the 60 Minutes story,
the phones at CCOF rang off the hook. Calls numbered around
150 per day with reporters, retailers and consumers all wanting
to know where they could get organically grown food.
|
| 1990 |
California Governor George Deukmejian
signed the California Organic Foods Act (COFA) of 1990,
closing a 20-month marathon effort by CCOF. Third-party certification
was still voluntary under the new law. CCOF’s standards
were used as the foundation for the COFA.
The Organic Foods Production Act (OFPA) was completed
as part of the Farm Bill.
CCOF total operations increased 38% in the last year. Total
acreage increased 67%.
CCOF founded the Organic Farming Research Foundation
(OFRF) to fund the educational objectives of CCOF
and on-farm research of organic growing practices. Today,
OFRF is widely recognized as a leader in the worldwide organic
community, having awarded more than $1 million to organic
farming research and public education projects since 1990. |
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| 1992 |
For a time, OFRF served CCOF’s funding
needs, but after directing nearly $100,000 to CCOF’s education
programs, the separate OFRF board felt that the organization
could better serve the organic community by hiring its own Executive
Director and turning its attention toward the national front.
Bob Scowcroft, Executive Director of CCOF, was selected
as the new ED for OFRF and held both positions for six months
while CCOF searched for his successor. Diane
Bowen was hired as CCOF’s new Executive Director. |
| 1994 |
The first commercialized genetically engineered
(GE) food crop—the FlavrSavr tomato—was introduced
to the American public. It was a spectacular failure.
Recognizing that the processed food category made up half
of the organic food industry, CCOF reached out to processors
by creating its own organic processor standards. CCOF processor
membership jumped from five to 19 in one year. This
prompted the creation of a new Processor/Handler Chapter of
CCOF.
CCOF became accredited with the International Federation
of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) to further serve
CCOF members. |
| 1997 |
CCOF helped launch the Organic Materials
Review Institute (OMRI). Started as a joint materials
review/testing program with Oregon Tilth (OTCO) in the late
1980s, it soon became expensive to operate. The two certifiers
felt that in order to make the program more legitimate and self-sustaining,
it needed to become entirely independent. Today, OMRI is the
primary organic materials review clearinghouse for the nation.
The first draft of the National Organic Program (NOP)
was released. To a shocked organic community, the
“big three”—irradiation, genetically modified
organisms, and sewage sludge—were subtly incorporated
into the rule. Nearly 280,000 people nationwide wrote letters,
emails and faxes to contest the inclusion of the “big
three” in the organic standards, and their actions paid
off. This issue generated more comments than any other
issue in the history of the USDA. |
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| 2000 |
Brian Leahy is named as CCOF’s
third Executive Director.
The USDA determined that certifying organizations, now quasi
“agents” of the USDA issuing a government license,
must be free from conflict of interest to assure consumers
that products are truly organic according to the NOP rule.
This meant that CCOF certified members could no longer oversee
the same certification program that certifies their own businesses.
CCOF was forced to restructure or face non-accreditation by
the USDA. After several proposals and much negotiation, success
was finally achieved in the formation of a Limited Liability
Corporation (LLC), separate from the member-directed CCOF,
Inc., the politically active trade association. Non-certified
members of the organic community now direct CCOF Certification
Services, LLC, while CCOF, Inc. still retains control of the
name, seal and budget.
New Leaf Community Markets in Felton and Boulder
Creek, California—CCOF certified—become the first
certified organic retailers in the United States. |
| 2001 |
The CCOF Foundation was formed to obtain
grants that would help educate the public and conventional farmers
about the benefits of organic food and farming. Ukiah
Brewing Company—CCOF certified—became the first
certified organic brew pub in the United States. |
| 2002 |
Governor Gray Davis signed into law the California Organic Products Act (COPA) of 2003. Beginning January 1, 2003, all products sold in California with less than 70% organic ingredients are not allowed to use the word “organic” on the front panel. However, later in 2003, the State Assembly repealed the non-food provision of the COPA. |
| 2003 |
CCOF elected its first woman to the position
of Board Chairperson—Vanessa Bogenholm of VB Farms in
Watsonville, California. |
| 2004 |
Californians for a GE-Free Agriculture (CGFA) fought the biotech industry head on. CGFA, a coalition of organizations, including CCOF, won a hard-fought battle to overturn the State’s decision to allow the planting of pharmaceutical rice (with human genes) in California.
CCOF recognized by Natural Foods Merchandiser among "25 Non-Profits That Blazed a Trail"
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| 2005 |
Peggy Miars named as CCOF's fourth Executive Director |
| 2006 |
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