Peter McQueen was just 16 years old in April, 1975, when the idea of starting an organic farmers’ and gardeners’ group was first discussed by teachers and students at his suburban Toronto high school. The Organic Gardeners and Farmers Association (OGFA) was launched at an official founding meeting on December 5 of that year, attended by Peter and two others. "OGFA was to be a national organization of organic gardeners, organic farmers and other interested people," Peter wrote in the "History of COG" he prepared for COG’s 1991 Directory of Organic Agriculture. "Through national projects and local chapters, it would influence governments, businesses and individuals across the country." ;

During 1976, three public lectures, a farm visit and involvement in several festivals attracted over 50 new members to the fledgling group. The very first newsletter, one page long done in purple ditto and dated January, 1977, states: "We welcome any suggestions you may have on ways to improve OGFA and to make it what you want to become." Member input and action is still important to the functioning of the organization!

Here are the highlights of COG’s history from its humble beginnings as OGFA, a small Toronto-based group with a big vision.

1977: Peter McQueen, President; 54 members; $2.50 annual fee; quarterly newsletter starts, edited by Gary & Judine Wilson; four factsheets available free (Organic Mosquito Control, Corn Protection, Protecting Plants Using Other Plants & An Organic Directory); Waterloo-Wellington Chapter starts; library starts with 27 items; Charlein Wilson of Thornhill is librarian; 140 members by fall

1978: library now has 43 items; in July, name changes to Canadian Organic Growers; 290 members; newsletter upgrades from ditto to mimeo-graph

1979: Mary Perlmutter becomes librarian; first COG brochure printed; suggestions requested for COG logo and name for newsletter; 275 members

1980: newsletter called COGnition, upgraded to photocopy and expanded to 8 pages; SeedSwap, precursor of Heritage Seed Program, starts; cornucopia logo selected; Alex Caron starts Heritage Garden north of Toronto

1981: Ottawa Chapter starts; COG is incorporated

1982: COG makes submissions to Ag Canada about the fungicide Captan; national membership coordinator position created; COGnition starts to run classifieds; 600+ members

1983: Heritage Seed Program proposed as outgrowth of SeedSwap & Heritage Garden; 750 members

1984: Heritage Seed Program launched at "Seeds of Yesterday & Tomorrow" conference in Toronto; Organic Certification Committee set up; Organic Farmers Survey Report compiled and written by Dee Kramer; Ken McMullen becomes COG President

1985: "Agriculture in Transition" conference at Lindsay, Ont., attracts 250 people; 1000+ members

1986: Francisco Bozzano-Barnes becomes interim editor of COGnition; COGnition becomes computerized, with 8 pages and 3-column format; library now has 188 items; 1250 members

1987: Alex Caron becomes President; Dee Kramer becomes editor of COGnition; Durham Chapter starts

1988: Mary Perlmutter becomes President; Heritage Seed Program seeks its own membership and starts its own publication; COGnition hires ad manager; "An Organic Food System for Canada", held in Kemptville, Ont., attracts 90 people from B.C. to Quebec; Organic Foods Register produced by Shiu Ling Lai; COG-Source Ontario, a resource guide, is published

1989: National Directory of Organic Agriculture co-published with MAB and Editions Humus; COG Ottawa starts Reference Series; Kim Yuzwa becomes COG librarian

1990: Peel-Halton, Wentworth-Burlington, London & Niagara chapters start; COG gets charitable status; "Study of Potential Market Niches for Canadian Organic Producers" completed for Ag Canada; first-ever chapters meeting held at Stirling, Ont.; 2100+ members

1991: Directory of Organic Agriculture published independently by COG; Kawartha Chapter starts; Waterloo-Wellington becomes Perth-Waterloo-Wellington; Olga Smithers becomes COGNITION editor

1992: Elizabeth White becomes COG President; Anne Macey completes Organic Field Crop Handbook; B.C. Islands Chapter starts; Sandra Salmins of Macdonald College, McGill University, is first recipient of Mary Perlmutter Scholarship; Elizabeth Irving & Karyn Wright become editor and producer of COGNITION

1993: COGNITION printed on recycled newsprint; Field of Greens video released; Heritage Seed Program buys Tsolum River collection of heritage fruit trees in B.C.; Brian Woods becomes COG librarian; Organic Field Crop videos available; Vancouver Good Earth Chapter starts; Raphäel Thierrin of University of Calgary is awarded Mary Perlmutter Scholarship; John Bede Harrison donates 1000+ copies of Growing Food Organically for COG to distribute to schools & libraries across the country; COGNITION covers Community Shared Agriculture

1994: Anne Macey becomes COG President; Newfoundland Chapter starts; COG co-produces, with other organizations, "Seasonal Guide to Gardening Organically" poster; Terry Buss of University of Manitoba is awarded the Mary Perlmutter Scholarship; COGNITION sources organic food across Canada