permaculture

[Russ Grayson <pacedge@magna.com.au>]

For the information of participants discussing organics recently on this list, following is news from the Organic Federation Australia, the national industry body...

NSW GM CROPS ON HOLD FOR THREE YEARS
June 18 2003
The planting of commercial genetically modified food crops in NSW, Australia,  will be put on hold for three years after a bill was passed by state's lower house late last night.

Agriculture and Fisheries Minister Ian Macdonald said the bill's passing was a victory for farmers and consumers.

"I welcome the fact that the NSW Government can now honour its pre-election commitment and fulfil its mandate on this issue," Mr Macdonald said.

There had been a lot of misinformation surrounding the bill but the minister said he was relieved the merit of the moratorium had been recognised.

The bill had the support of the NSW Farmers Association and covers the marketing issues not already properly covered by federal regulations, he said.

"The passing of the bill shows that most people now realise the health, environmental and safety issues relating to GM food crops are already covered by these federal regulations," he said.

Both houses of NSW Parliament debated the bill at length.
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ORGANIC TRADELINE
The Organic Tradeline is a trade bulletin carrying offers to buy and sell, and is distributed to over 8,500 industry members around the world, including over 750 in Australasia. It is the result of an international cooperation between four organic trade websites in Australia, Europe and USA. The publication has been running successfully for over two years and is now being distributed monthly. It lists trade offers in a wide range of categories.

To post a trade offer in the Organic Tradeline contact webmaster@ofa.org.au . The cost is AU$10 per issue (minimum two issues). It is free to receive this publication.

To request a copy of the latest edition send an email to webmaster@ofa.org.au
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VICTORIAN ORGANIC PRODUCE FOUND TO BE CHEMICAL-FREE

Most consumers have always believed that organic fruit and vegetables are free of chemicals and pesticides. And now there's proof. Australia's most comprehensive survey of its kind has shown that certified organic produce from Victorian farms has virtually no chemical or pesticide residues. This is great news for people looking for clean, green and healthy foods, and who are seeking reassurance about the quality of Victoria's organic herbs, fruit and vegetables.

Organic farms meet strict standards
Victoria has more than 300 certified organic farms, supplying a growing market for organic and biodynamic produce in Australia and around the world.

Australian organic farmers have to meet stringent standards. They are certified and monitored by independent organisations, in line with standards set by the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service (AQIS). The aim is to produce healthy food through a system of farming that doesn't use synthetic pesticides or fertilisers, while ensuring animal welfare and environmental sustainability.

Major study shows minimal residues
In mid 2003, the Government of Victoria released results from the most comprehensive survey of its kind ever conducted on Australian organic produce. A total of 65 types of organically certified herbs, fruits and vegetables underwent an independent and statistically valid scrutiny for pesticide residues and other contaminants. The survey, conducted according to international standards by the Victorian Department of Primary Industries (DPI), found that 100% of certified organic and biodynamic produce met national standards for residues and heavy metals in produce. In fact, more than 99% of tested produce showed no contamination at all from chemicals.

All samples conformed to the strict standards for acceptable levels of pesticide residues and heavy metals in food, set by Australia's national food safety authority, Food Standards Australia New Zealand. The results provide assurance that organic and biodynamic produce is clean and uncontaminated. This is reassuring news for consumers who choose to eat organic fruit and vegetables because they want to minimise their dietary exposure to pesticides.

Survey for pesticide residues
Three hundred samples of organically-certified fruits, vegetables, nuts, herbs and grains were collected from Victorian wholesale outlets. Samples were tested for pesticides and heavy metals which have potential to inadvertently contaminate produce. Not all of these chemicals are used routinely in Victoria and several have long since been banned; but it is possible that they can still be contaminating soil on farms.

Overall, less than 1% of samples tested contained any chemical residues. Only two samples out of 300 had any residues, and these were at very low levels - well below the maximum permitted by legislation and much too low to affect health. The residues were traced to environmental contamination from historical practices; and once identified, the problems were addressed.

How do the results compare?
Similar Victorian Government surveys on pesticide levels in conventionally grown produce have consistently shown that Victorian produce meets strict national and export standards for food safety. This new data shows that Victorian organically-certified produce has even fewer pesticide residues than conventional food crops – lower, in fact, than that found in organic produce surveyed overseas.


Victoria has strict legislation governing the use of agricultural and veterinary chemicals, and food produced in Victoria is regularly monitored to ensure compliance with chemical use legislation.

Certification is the only guarantee for consumers wishing to purchase genuine organic or biodynamic produce - so check the label to ensure that the certifying organisation is identified. Of course, all raw produce, whether grown by organic or conventional farmers, should be washed before eating.

The Victorian government, together with the State's farmers, are committed to scientifically validating claims made about the clean quality of our fruit and vegetables.  Produce was taken from growers certified by four certifying organisations operating in Victoria: National Association for Sustainable Agriculture (Australia), Biological Farmers Australia, Biodynamic Research Institute Australia and the Organic Herb Growers Association

For further information on the DPI Survey of Victorian organic and biodynamic produce, please contact: Ruth McGowan, State Coordinator, Horticultural Residue Management, DPI +(613) 56 24 2222, fax: (613) 56 24 2200, Post: DPI, RMB 2460, Hazeldean Road, Ellinbank, 3821, Victoria, Australia or email: ruth.mcgowan@dpi.vic.gov.au

For further information on organic production contact the Organic Federation of Australia (OFA), the peak industry body for the Australian organic and biodynamic industry on http://www.ofa.org.a
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DELAY OF GM RELEASES
13 June 2003
In early April 2003 the Risk Assessment and Risk Management Plan for the Bayer GM canola commercial release application (DIR21) was released for public comment. The period of consultation closed on Monday 26 May.

The application 'clock' has now been stopped on the Bayer GM canola application (DIR21) to enable the thorough examination of all relevant procedural issues. It is anticipated that the clock will be stopped for approximately one month.

Meanwhile, the application 'clock' is still stopped on the Monsanto GM canola commercial release application (DIR20) until further advice on evaluation of herbicide use is received. When this independent advice is provided, the Gene Technology Regulator will be able to release the Risk Assessment and Risk Management Plan for DIR20 for public consultation.

Announcements have been made recently by the New South Wales, Victorian and Western Australian Governments on the introduction of moratoria for GM crops in their respective States. The purpose of these moratoria is to allow more time for marketing and trade implications (which are outside the scope of the Gene Technology Regulator's evaluations) to be assessed.

The details of the moratoria are being finalised and South Australia is also considering its position. All of these States have advised that commercial scale GM canola releases will not be allowed to take place in their States this year, even if approved on human health and safety and environmental grounds by the Gene Technology Regulator. However, these States have agreed to limited field trials, previously approved by the Regulator, continuing under strictly controlled conditions in 2003.

http://www.health.gov.au/ogtr/ir/canola.htm
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SCHOLARSHIPS AVAILABLE
Two sholarships are available for the 2003 Biodynamic Beginners Course run by the Hunter Biodynamic Group. The course runs over the two days of October 25th and 26th. The aim is the general increase of knowledge in the community with regard to sustainable agriculture and specifically biodynamics. Applicants need simply submit less than one page of an explanation of why they should be sponsored.

The scholarhips have been offered for several years. The sholarship includes course notes, lectures, lunches, morning and afternoon teas, Saturday evening BBQ, and bus rides to farms.

For more information contact: Helen McCall, Huner Biodynamic Group Incorproated, Telephone/Facsimile (02) 49 385 308, Mobile 0414) 385 308
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ORGANIC CONSUMPTION INCREASES BUT PRICE REMAINS A BARRIER
From the QLD DPI Update
The number of environmentally conscious Queenslanders has hit an all-time record high, yet research has found that 70 percent of consumers are still unhappy with the price of 'clean and green' products.

A report by the Department of Primary Industries (DPI) has revealed that consumers are becoming increasingly critical of over-priced environmentally-friendly products. DPI Principal consultant, Dr Terry Gatfield, said that based on data from a Roy Morgan survey, there was an enormous opportunity for organic food producers to take advantage of current consumer trends.

Dr Gatfield said the major barrier to total consumer acceptance was price, and the benefits needed to be clearly communicated through labelling, advertising and promotion.

The organic food industry was worth about $250 million to the Australian economy, and was developing at a rate of 25 percent each year. Almost 40 percent of all Australian organic products left the country, Dr Gatfield said.

If you would like to receive a full copy of the report please visit the DPI website at: http://www.dpi.qld.gov.au/attitude_bites/12219.html
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MAPPING ORGANICS
A map is being developed for WA that locates organic and biodynamic farms, wholesalers, retailers and other eco friendly destinations throughout the southern half of the state. For more information contact:
colleenyates@greenskills.green.net.au
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FARMERS MARKET PROCEEDINGS NOW AVAILABLE
The inaugural Australian Farmers' Markets Conference held in Bathurst NSW in November 2002, provided the first forum of its kind for producers and organisers in this movement to come together to share knowledge and ideas. The result was a stimulating two days of presentations from keynote speakers, market managers, insurance and nutrition experts from Australia, USA and New Zealand.

If you are interested in learning more about how to get a Farmer's Market started or where to go for more information then the Conference Proceedings and presentations are now available at a cost of $50 (GST+ postage included). Over 100 pages of notes and ideas, facts and figures and case studies from Australia and overseas are included in the package.

To order your copy of the Australian Farmers' Market Conference Proceedings complete the attached order form and mail with payment to:

Australian Farmers Markets Association Inc, C/ PO Box 1101 Potts Point, NSW 2011. Information: Call (02) 9360 9380 or email: jacom@bigpond.net.au
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OVERSEAS
Just-Food.com
03 Jun 2003

JAPANESE ORGANICS CONTAMINATED WITH GMO
A government inspection in Japan has found that up to 30% of soy derived 'Organic' products such as tofu contain GM soybeans. Of the 80 products targeted by government inspectors, 20 tofu and five natto products (a type of fermented soybean popular in Tokyo) contained gene-modified soybeans.

The farm ministry says it is now making checks on the offending manufacturers to see if the mislabelling was a product of deliberate falsification or if the GM beans were used in good faith. Japanese consumers are only too aware that much GM material finds its way into Japanese food owing to poor labelling of imported soybeans, said a consumer group spokesman.

ALBANIA VOTES FOR GM BAN
The Commission of Agriculture and Food in Albanian Parliament voted for ban of GMOs for a 5 year period and appointed the Ministry of Environment to prepare the all legal framework for GMOs during such period.This decision was strongly influenced by environmetal NGOs in Albania (24 environmental NGO-s signed for "Albania GMOs free country), scientists and academicians (45 scientists and academicians signed an open letter to Parliament for GMOs ban in Albania), Albanian Consumer Association and Organic Agriculture Association. Lavdosh FerruniShoqata e Bujqesise Organike

AMERICAN ORGANIC FARMERS AT RISK OF GMO
Over three-quarters of organic farms in America are at risk from GM contamination, according to new research, and half of the organic farmers in the country have taken action to try to protect their livelihoods.

A nationwide survey conducted by the Organic Farming Research Foundation (OFRF) in America, asked over 1,000 certified organic farmers about the direct financial and related operational impacts associated with the threat of contamination by GMOs. The data also showed that 1 in 12 (8%) organic farmers have already faced direct costs or damage because of GM contamination.

Survey respondents identified contaminated seed stock as their primary concern as a possible source of GMO contamination of their organic farm products. This was followed by GMO pollen drift in the field and contaminated farm inputs such as bought-in manures and composts. Only 10 percent of survey respondents felt that a regulatory framework is in place to adequately protect their organic farm products from damages due to contamination from GMOs.

For details about the survey, Sustaining Organic Farms in a Changing Organic Marketplace, contact www.ofrf.org

UK SAYS 'NO' DESPITE GOVERNMENT
8 June 2003

The Observer: http://politics.guardian.co.uk/homeaffairs/story/0,11026,973225,00.html
UK supermarkets have told Tony Blair they will refuse to stock GM foods, even if he manages to persuade a sceptical public to accept them.

The British Retail Consortium, which represents 90 per cent of high-street shops, has sent an unequivocal warning to the Government that GM food is not commercially viable in the UK. It argues that, while consumer antipathy towards the biotech industry remains so entrenched, major retailers such as Tesco and Sainsbury's will resist any move to stock GM products.

Their united stance threatens the Prime Minister with the embarrassing scenario where GM crops are commercialised, yet no major outlets will sell them. David Southwell, of the BRC, confirmed it had made its position clear to the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Food Standards Agency, adding, "The customer is where the real power lies. Supermarkets are not going to give shelf space to something that doesn't sell."

Sainsbury's, whose former chief Lord Sainsbury, the Science Minister, remains a staunch advocate of GM, confirmed it been in talks with the Government over GM food. The spokesman said the supermarket giant had no choice but to continue rejecting the technology as long as customers 'made it clear' they did not want GM produce.

SUPERWEEDS MAY SCUPPER GM CROPS
From: http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/environment/story.jsp?story=418070
By Michael McCarthy, Environment Editor
23 June 2003

The dispute over genetically modified crops will intensify today with news of the evolution of "superweeds", which are resistant to the powerful weedkillers that GM crops were engineered to tolerate.

The development, which comes as the sacked former environment minister Michael Meacher puts himself at the head of the anti-GM campaign, will be seized on by opponents of the technology as undermining its rationale.

It means that bigger quantities of weedkillers - not less, as the biotechnology companies have claimed - will be needed in GM-crop fields, adding to the already intensive agriculture that has wiped out much of Britain's farmland wildlife in the past four decades. Monsanto, the GM market leader, confirmed to The Independent at the weekend that its solution for dealing with resistant weeds was to apply different weedkillers in new ways.

In yesterday's Independent on Sunday, Mr Meacher accused Tony Blair, a GM supporter, of seeking to bury health warnings about GM produce by "rushing to desired conclusions which cannot be scientifically supported".

The revelations about superweeds have been communicated to the Government by an American academic specialising in weed control, who has posted a paper on the website of the official GM science review, led by Professor David King, the Government's chief scientific adviser. This will report soon in advance of a long-delayed decision, due this autumn, on whether GM crops should be commercialised in Britain.

The paper, by Professor Bob Hartzler of the Department of Agronomy at Iowa State University, reveals that in the past seven years, up to five weed species have been found with resistance to the herbicide glyphosate, best known by the Monsanto trade name Roundup. The resistance has come about not through gene transfer from GM herbicide-tolerant crops, as some have feared, but through natural evolution.

Glyphosate is a "broad spectrum" herbicide, meaning that, originally, it killed everything, including crops. GM crops were developed to be tolerant of the herbicide, so it could be applied throughout the growing season.

Two GM crops proposed for commercial growth in Britain, fodder beet and sugar beet, are glyphosate-tolerant. But weeds have been found in Australia, Chile, Malaysia and California and other areas of the US, that glyphosate cannot kill.

Greg Elmore, Monsanto's US technical manager for soybeans, said Monsanto was taking seriously the question of glyphosate resistance, tackling it with "weed control management practices".

With soybeans, he said, resistant weeds were controlled with a pre-planting "burn-down" (which kills everything), using 2,4-D, another weedkiller.

At least three of the resistant weeds had evolved where glyphosate was being used with non-GM crops, he said, adding that it was far from the only weedkiller for which weeds had evolved resistance - as many as 70 weeds were resistant to some weedkillers.

Pete Riley, Friends of the Earth's GM campaigner, said: "Companies like Monsanto have spun GM crops and their weedkillers as having less impact on the environment, but the fact of resistant weeds undoubtedly means more weedkillers, and means the impact on the environment will be greater.

"These discoveries remove a central plank from the whole argument for GM crops."

Yesterday, Mr Meacher listed a series of reports and findings suggesting that the full impact of GM technology was still dangerously unpredictable. Many of the health tests carried out were "scientifically vacuous", he said.

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Russ Grayson
Media services:  journalism-print/ online/ photo
pacedge@magna.com.au  Phone/ fax: 02 9588 6931
PO Box 446 Kogarah NSW 2217 Australia
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