Dive Brief:
- The U.S. Department of Agriculture will not investigate claims made against some of the largest organic egg and dairy farms. The claims are based on photos from a watchdog organization that allegedly show the animals not being allowed to pasture.
- Allowing the animals to be free to pasture is part of the USDA's rules for being certified as organic.
- The farms argued that their animals were allowed to pasture, just not at the exact moment the photos were taken.
Dive Insight:
"The photographic information submitted is insufficient to warrant investigation. The photographs depict a single moment in time and do not demonstrate that the operations denied outdoor access to livestock," according to the letter from Matthew Michael, director of compliance in the USDA's organic program, The Washington Post reported.
The USDA also said the farms are in good standing with their inspectors. The watchdog group who took the photos alleged that organic farms hire their own inspectors and that these inspections are announced far ahead of time, which could skew the results in the organic farms' favor.