Organic food news - the latest headlines on organic food and production

The massive recalls of intensively produced meat in the US and Canada highlight the dangers of factory farmed food once again. Will we ever learn that when we abuse nature she bites back hard?

organic food news posted on this website 14/02/08 courtesy of Lake Oswego review online.

We are always carrying out tests on rats - seems to me we must have a lot of faith in terms of what we can learn from them. So what will the anti-organics come up with to decry the results of this experiment I wonder? The rats chose organic over conventional nibbles because they didn't have to pay more for it?

The federal Environmental Protection Agency reports that 60 percent of all herbicides and 90 percent of fungicides are carcinogenic. A growing amount of research shows that organic food contains fewer pesticide residues and is nutritionally superior. Organic foods have higher levels of antioxidants, which fight cancer.

Update - Soil Association and use of Copper fungicide

The recent story about Soil Association member farmers using chemicals against potato blight resulted in some of us doubting the UK�s biggest certifier of organic produce.

However, it is now clear that we were too quick to judge. We were somewhat misled by the negative spin of certain news publishers.

Now, having researched the facts I am as steadfast in my support of Soil Association as ever (and a little more knowledgeable!)

The fact is that in the UK, non-organic growers are allowed by law to use 314 chemical pesticides. Organic growers are allowed to use only 7. Soil Association goes even further and allows only 4 to be used by its members. Why use any at all though?

As SA explains - Organic farming is a holistic method of farming that works with rather than against natural systems. In doing so the soil is kept healthy, fertile and sustainable, using natural, organic fertilizers and additives, crop rotation, maintenance of biodiversity, and resistant crop varieties.

Unfortunately on some occasions this may not be enough to protect against a certain pest or disease. On such occasions one of the four allowed inputs needs to be used. In the case of Potato Blight, unusual weather conditions caused such an occasion. A Copper fungicide was used to tackle the problem.

Soil Association is, of course, constantly working to develop ways of defeating pests and disease that do not involve chemical inputs. That said, it must be recognised that -

In 2006, [only] 58 organic farmers applied to the Soil Association to use 2.2 tonnes of copper. Last year, out of 300 growers, 85 applied for permission as the wet summer created the right conditions for blight to spread.

Further - Despite last year being the worst for blight in 50 years, fewer than 30% of Soil Association organic farmers resorted to the use of copper. Two-thirds managed through the use of blight resistant varieties [1], crop rotations [2] and burning or chopping infected vegetation [3] - this is good news, contrary to the Daily Mail's doom and gloom report yesterday ["Thousands of tons of organic food produced using toxic chemicals", 1 January 2008]. Read the full report

The unbalanced, uninformed and negatively spun tabloid reports strike me as a cheap shot by the anti-organic lobby.

Sands in the United Arab Emirates can be turned into fertile land growing organic crops. This would reduce UAE reliance on importing food, says Dave Friend, founder of friendly organics

Indeed, the UAE�s abundant natural resource � the desert sands � can be turned into fertile cultivable beds for growing organic foods, without using any chemical fertiliser, herbicide or even pesticide, says a food educator.

Organic farmers and consumers in New South Wales and Victoria fear the end of organic food production because of contamination by GM crops. The use of GM crops there has been okayed by the government.

Opponents have labelled the move as �letting the genie out of the bottle� with fears that the wide use of GM crops will lead to irreversible contamination of non-GM crops including organic food.

Recognising the massive growth in the organic food market, the Canadian government has given $1.3 million to its organic agriculture industry. Gerald Keddy, speaking on behalf of Gerry Ritz, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and Minister for the Canadian Wheat Board, said -

Our financial support of the Organic Agriculture Centre of Canada and the Organic Federation of Canada, demonstrates our Government's commitment to support research, production and partnerships that help our farmers develop organic food market opportunities.

Uk councils are rising to a government challenge to spend their allotted �58 billion in a more sustainable way. Goods and services are all to be affected. Bristol City Council for instance have

...worked with the Soil Association and Organic Networks on a meet the buyer event to establish links with local food suppliers.

...a significant majority of the 11,700 responses to Defra's proposals to control the contamination of GM crops have opposed them, according to a summary of the results of the consultation recently published by Defra.

This confirms that British consumers are extremely concerned at the apparent threat to organic food production imposed by the prospect of GM crops being permitted into the UK.

The Soil Association has published the findings of its investigation into the use of GM animal feed. We have been shocked to find that very large quantities of GM feed are being used in the UK to produce our food. Around 60% of the maize and 30% of the soya is GM in the feed used by dairy and pig farmers. This means that most of the non-organic milk, dairy products and pork being sold in the UK is from GM-fed animals.

A newly published scientific study shows that the incidence of eczema in infants fed on organic dairy products, and whose mothers also consumed organic dairy products, is 36% lower than in children who consume conventional dairy products. [1] [2]

Whilst there is a significant body of evidence showing that organic food contains higher levels of beneficial nutrients than non-organic foods [3], this is the first example of a definite health impact (i.e. isolated from other potential beneficial factors) of organic food consumption being published in a peer reviewed journal.

THE biggest study into organic food has found that it is more nutritious than ordinary produce and may help to lengthen people's lives.The evidence from the �12m four-year project will end years of debate and is likely to overturn government advice that eating organic food is no more than a lifestyle choice.

The study found that organic fruit and vegetables contained as much as 40% more antioxidants, which scientists believe can cut the risk of cancer and heart disease, Britain�s biggest killers. They also had higher levels of beneficial minerals such as iron and zinc.

The organic revolution is sweeping across Europe, with the area of land dedicated to environmentally-friendly, pesticide-free food production more than doubling in the last decade.

Organic farming now accounts for more than 4 per cent of agricultural land in the EU, more than double its 1998 share, according to a new report from its official statistics agency, Eurostat. And organic land is likely to make greater inroads, as the consumer appetite shows no sign of slowing.

"Organic almost certainly will continue to grow and we think it's a good thing," Michael Mann, an EU agriculture spokesman said.

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Update - Soil Association and use of Copper fungicide