In a move upsetting ‘organic food’ eaters across the country, the “National Organic Standards Board” has approved the standard whereby farmed fish can be labeled as ‘organic’.

This new standard completely rebukes existing rules, where animals certified as organic must eat 100% organic feed.

As long as organic fish farmers use wild fish as part of their feed mix, they pass the new standard if the feed used doesn’t exceed 25% of the total amount and doesn’t come from forage species, like menhaden, which has declined sharply while the demand for farmed fish has skyrocketed.

For an idea how much marketing pull the ‘organic’ food label has had under it’s existing standard, the Organic Trade Association says U.S. sales of organic food and beverages have grown from $1B in 1990 to an estimated $20B in 2007 and are projected to reach nearly $23.6B this year.