Our History

Our Roots in the Organic Movement Are Deep


Since its inception in 1975, COG has led the progress and prosperity of the organic movement and sector in Canada. As of 2022, COG is proud to represent the over 7,000 certified organic farmers and operations in Canada. With much gratitude, COG owes its origins to Peter McQueen, who at just 16 years old started the Organic Gardeners and Farmers Association in Toronto, Ontario which in 1978 transitioned to Canadian Organic Growers (COG).

  • 1975 – Organic Gardeners and Farmers Association created by Peter McQueen to promote organic growing
  • 1978 – Organization name changed to Canadian Organic Growers (COG)
  • 1980 – COGnition magazine first published
  • 1980 – COG’s first regional chapters established
  • 1980 – First Seedy Saturday organized in Canada
  • 1980 – Seed “Swap”, the precursor to COG’s Heritage Seed Program and later became Seeds of Diversity was introduced
  • 1983 – COG’s Heritage Seed Program starts
  • 1987 – First House of Commons Standing Committee presentation on organic
  • 1988 – “An Organic Food System for Canada” Conference hosted by COG to develop a definition for “organic”
  • 1989 – Definition of organics federally recognized and published in the Food and Labelling Guidelines of Consumer and Corporate Affairs
  • 1992 – First edition of the Organic Field Crop Handbook published
  • 1995 – COG’s Heritage Seed Program becomes Seeds of Diversity Canada
  • 1996 – COG presented on biotechnology to the Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development
  • 1997 – First national statistics on organic published
  • 1998 – COGnition and Sustainable Farming magazines merged to create Eco-Farm & Garden Magazine
  • 1999 – COG created policy on biotechnology
  • 2000 – First edition of Organic Livestock Handbook published
  • 2002 – COG hosted IFOAM World Congress in Victoria, BC
  • 2004 – COG appeared before Standing Committee on Agriculture and Forestry to push for national regulation of “organic”
  • 2004 – Eco-Farm & Garden Magazine rebranded as The Canadian Organic Grower
  • 2005 – COG’s Gaining Ground book published
  • 2007 – COG launched Growing Up Organic program to promote food and education among children
  • 2008 – COG’s Practical Skills Handbook series published
  • 2009 – COG National is represented at the Organic Value Chain Roundtable and is involved in the development of the Canadian Organic Standards
  • 2009 – Organic Products Regulations came into force on June 30th
  • 2010 – National annual consumer awareness campaign Organic Week created with COTA
  • 2011 – Anti-GMO Lawsuit launched against Monsanto
  • 2018 – COG’s pilot transition program for farmers, Growing Eastern Ontario Organically launched
  • 2019 – Farmers for Climate Solutions is founded with leadership from COG as founding FCS member
  • 2020 – COG launched the Canadian Access Project
  • 2023 – Published novel organic supply-chain research reports “Barriers and Solutions in Canada’s Organic Supply Chain