Standing at a Crossroads of Legacy and Leadership

Wolf & Associates has been privileged to be an instigator and steward, walking alongside the evolving organic community for many years. The modern organic movement was born during a key moment with a defiant spirit and a commitment to improving the world. As synthetic fertilizers and pesticides swept through global agriculture in the decades following World War II, a small but resolute group of farmers, scientists, and consumers chose a different path—one grounded in ecology, integrity, stewardship, and care. Upholding and building on tried and true practices from around the world and research from the likes of George Washington Carver and many others, they questioned authority and refused to equate yield with value. They reminded the world that food is not a mere commodity, but a covenant with the land.
 
Out of that movement came the organic standards we know today. Through the early days of private certifiers’ standards in the 1970s to the passage of the Organic Foods Production Act in 1990, and the launch of the National Organic Program in 2002, organic has grown from a grassroots ethos into a regulated, globally recognized system of production. The very idea that we could define and codify “organic” in law was, at the time, radical. Today, it is indispensable.
 
Wolf & Associates helped define policy, interpret regulation, and build businesses that deliver on the promise of all things organic. It’s not news that the organic community is now entering a new era—one where organic is no longer an outsider knocking at the door. As a maturing sector facing the same tests of scale, governance, and continuity that define any established industry, some of what helped us come into being must now make way for something more.
 
This evolution demands deliberate, conscientious reflection. How do we preserve the insurgent values that gave rise to organic—soil health, biodiversity, transparency, fairness, integrity—even as we manage complex supply chains and global compliance frameworks? How do we lead not only with rules, but with purpose? How do we preserve the passionate integrity while bringing the benefits of organic thinking and practice to as many as possible?
 
The answers will not come easily. This era calls not for nostalgia, nor for abandoning our roots in pursuit of growth alone. It calls for stewardship–of the standards, of the marketplace, and of the movement itself.
 
As we continue to advise businesses, certifiers, policymakers, brands, processors, and producers, Wolf & Associates is insistent about helping the organic sector mature wisely. As we grow, we must remember why and how we began, and all those who helped blaze the way. The path ahead will be shaped by those willing to hold the line and draw the map. We intend to do both.