Foodies and consumers of organic food are spearheading a renewed interest in local agriculture across California, where it’s been heralded as a renaissance in small, independent farming. The change is fundamentally altering the makeup of one of the nation’s oldest grassroots farming organizations — and triggering a fierce debate over the future of U.S. agriculture.
Fueled by an influx of organic farmers and local-ingredient enthusiasts, the California State Grange reports surging membership even as its parent organization, the National Grange, is mired in a decades-long decline. Far from welcoming the growing enrollment, national leaders accuse the California chapter of fabricating the numbers.
Now national leaders have revoked the California State Grange’s charter, citing broken rules and unpaid dues. But some California Grangers believe the schism is political — a fight over hot-button issues like genetically modified foods, seed patents and the influence of multibillion-dollar agricultural corporations like Monsanto.
“The National Grange supports Monsanto, is against the labeling of GMOs, and doesn’t want to get into a battle because National, like so many other organizations, is beholden to big money, big farm, and big agriculture,” said Lanny Cotler, a California Grange member, in an interview with Mint Press News.
A renaissance in the California State Grange?
Founded in 1867 with just four chapters, the Grange was created as a means to represent the interests of small, independent farmers. During the era of growing corporate monopolies and railroad extortion, Grange members found power in numbers, banding together to demand a fair shake in the burgeoning U.S. economy.
Five years after its founding, there were more than 8,000 Grange societies with members in farming communities across the U.S. At its height in 1875, the Grange claimed 750,000 men and women as members.
The Grange is still a grassroots organization driven by local chapters, but it also has a national leadership office located in Washington, D.C. Like any group, it has had ups and downs throughout its nearly 150-year history, but the Grange has seen steadily declining membership as agriculture becomes becomes more corporatized and fewer young people express interest in independent farming. Currently there are 2,100 local chapters and roughly 160,000 Grange members across the U.S., according to National Grange statistics.
Observers shouldn’t ring the death knell of the Grange just yet. Last month, Cynthia H. Craft of The Sacramento Bee documented the triumphant return of the California State Grange, its membership rolls swelling with as young people become interested in organic farming and local foods. A new breed of foodies, hippies and organic-food enthusiasts are reportedly getting involved. The California Grange now boasts 39 new Grange chapters, bringing the total to about 200 across the state.
The California Grange claims that since 2009, its membership has increased by about 4,800 people, to 8,200. Sacramento even boasts a vegetarian grange, hosting public events for non-meat eaters.
As a result, the average age of a California State Grange member has decreased by 20 years – from 65 in 2008 to 45 in 2010. The drop is correlated with increased public interest in organic foods and locally sourced ingredients. Across the country, consumers gobbled up $31 billion worth of organic foods in 2011, according to a report by the Organic Trade Association. This is roughly a 9.5 percent increase over the previous year.
“California … has generated a vision of how to return to its roots and meet head-on in an appropriate Granger-like way,” Cotler said.
Cotler, 71, claims that he sees a new generation of farmers now interested in “organic resiliency, sustainability, and localization of the food supply.” It’s a vision that many hope will prevail going forward, allowing small farmers to regain a foothold for self-advocacy and for a healthy local foods.
A schism forms
But leaders at the National Grange say something about California’s success story doesn’t add up. Instead of welcoming the growth of California Granges at a time when the overall organization is in a state of decline, the National Grange leadership argues the membership numbers have been fudged. They accuse the California chapter’s leadership of violating internal rules and engaging in foul play.
“The reality of that situation is the numbers that they give to us which are the numbers that they report to us do not show those numbers, those are completely out of thin air,” said National Grange President Ed Luttrell to Mint Press News. “For the last three years it shows a net loss in membership.”
Luttrell said he sees many positive things coming from local California Grange chapters, but he believes that the state’s Grange leadership has violated key rules of the organization.
“They [California State Grange] are running a negative PR campaign against us, trying to show how they are the only ones who are doing anything right,” Luttrell said.
The conflict came to a head on April 5, when National Grange leaderership revoked California’s state charter. Grange members are required to pay dues, attend meetings and follow internal rules in order to be counted as a member. Luttrell said the charter was revoked because California’s chapter was not following these requirements.
“The reality is the California State Grange does not exist as part of our organization anymore. Their charter has been revoked. The California State Grange has defied these rules, they have done so for a period of time and we’ve been unable to resolve the issue so we were forced to revoke the charter,” Luttrell said.
Most California Grangers are still counted among the National Grange membership, but state leadership is no longer recognized as legitimate by the national leadership in Washington. There is an ongoing court case to resolve the crisis.
As the schism develops, some of the more traditional Grange leaders have sided with the national leadership, claiming that it is the sole legitimate authority for the organization going forward.
“I am a follower of the National Grange. I believe in the direction that the National Grange is going,” Donna Champion, president of the Minnesota State Grange, told Mint Press News.
“I don’t know enough about the situation out in California. I know there is some disagreement between Ed and the state master out there. I grew up in the Grange. My parents were members, I have been a grange member for 50 years. So as a youth, grange helped me with my public speaking and being a leader and those types of things. I think that I owe them back. I have remained a granger,” said Champion, the leader of 7 granges across Minnesota.
“They refused to obey the authority of the digest of laws which the constitution, bylaws and codes of the order. They refused to obey the rules, they don’t pay their dues, what are you supposed to do?” Luttrell said.
GMO foods and intellectual property
But California State Grange members say the issue is about more than internal rules and bylaws. National leadership’s decision to revoke California’s charter is part of a broader ideological battle over the future of the Grange, centered around hot-button issues like organic farming and GMO foods, they argue.
“National has reacted to California’s vision of the Grange for one simple, basic, understandable reason. It cannot lead that movement. In order to maintain political power, traditional power and a sense of its golden years a lot of Grangers across the land are reacting against California’s vision,” Cotler said.
In a recent Supreme Court decision, the National Grange sided with Monsanto, a major agribusiness, after the corporation sued a group of independent Indiana farmers for copyright infringement.
Monsanto sued hundreds of small U.S. farmers for $23 million in an effort to protect seed patents.
Vernon Bowman, representing the independent farmers, claims that he bought soybeans from another farmer’s grain elevator with no restrictions on their use. Because the seeds are genetically modified using a Monsanto patent, Bowman was hit with a major lawsuit for using the seeds without permission from Monsanto.
The Indiana farmer challenged the lawsuit against him, claiming that he had a right to use seeds purchased through a third party as he chooses. In a unanimous 9-0 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on the side of Monsanto earlier this month, claiming, “Patent exhaustion does not permit a farmer to reproduce patented seeds through planting and harvesting without the patent holder’s permission.”
Monsanto remains the world’s largest producer of genetically engineered seeds, with over 650 seed patents. The company has come under heavy fire from GMO critics, but National Grange leaders are not among them.
“If the Supreme Court didn’t rule in favor of Monsanto’s argument there would be little incentive to produce and promote inventions if a company or individual lost all profit-making potential after the first sale of a self-replicating product,” said National Grange Legislative Director Grace Boatright in a statement.
The Supreme Court decision came as millions from across the world marched in 436 cities against Monsanto to draw attention to a the dangers of major agricultural companies and GMO foods, which some scientific studies claim could cause cancer.
GMO foods have a near-ubiquitous presence on store shelves across the U.S. In most supermarkets, 80 to 90 percent of processed foods contain some GMO ingredients. Even vegetables and fruits — such as tomatoes, corn, potatoes and squash — often contain some GMO.
Cotler and other California members claim that National Grange leadership has opposed labeling initiatives that would allow consumers to see if food contains GMO substances, a charge that Luttrell flatly denied during his interview with Mint Press.
In November, California voters shot down a state ballot initiative that would have required GMO products to be labeled. It was supported by millions of voters who believe that a simple label would increase consumer knowledge, allowing shoppers to decide whether or not to purchase foods containing GMOs. Monsanto reportedly invested $4 million in lobbying efforts to stop the initiative.
As the dispute rages on, the national debate regarding the direction of the food supply could mirror the fight for the soul of the National Grange.
“The Grange has become in the last 100 years a very conservative organization, drifting away from its original roots of progressive populism and politically fighting the monopolies and the corporatocracy and the big money and the railroads. It’s become a much more conservative, community-oriented fraternal organization rather than a strong political supporter of the small, family, independent farmer,” Cotler said.