California Certified Organic Farmers

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California Certified Organic Farmers official logo Ccoflogo.png
California Certified Organic Farmers official logo

California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF) is a United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)-accredited organic certifying agency and trade association, located in Santa Cruz, California. Formed in 1973, CCOF was the first organic certification entity in the United States. [1] [2]

Contents

CCOF includes three legally distinct entities. [3] CCOF, Inc. is governed by a board of directors, and provides infrastructure for the certification, advocacy, and Foundation programs, and also supports a regional chapter system for its members. [3] CCOF Certification Services, LLC, governed by the LLC management committee, is a USDA National Organic Program (NOP)-accredited organic certification agency. The CCOF Foundation is a nonprofit foundation that includes educational programs, grants for students and teachers, consumer education campaigns, and hardship assistance for organic farmers. [3]

CCOF Certification Services, LLC offers organic certification to the USDA NOP standards to farms, livestock operations, processors, private labelers, brokers and retailers throughout the United States, Canada, and Mexico. [4]

The sunflower in the logo for CCOF was hand drawn, in pen and ink, by Molly Greenham when she was a student at UC Berkeley in the late 80s.

See also

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References

  1. Klonsky, Karen (2000). "Forces impacting the production of organic foods". Agriculture and Human Values. 17 (3): 233–243. doi:10.1023/A:1007655312687. S2CID   56461987.
  2. Guthman, Julie (1998). "Regulating Meaning, Appropriating Nature: The Codification of California Organic Agriculture". Antipode. 30 (2): 135–154. Bibcode:1998Antip..30..135G. doi:10.1111/1467-8330.00071.
  3. 1 2 3 Our Structure, California Certified Organic Farmers
  4. "List of USDA-Authorized Organic Certifying Agents by State of Operation". www.ams.usda.gov. US Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 4 March 2015.