Organic agriculture and Biodiversity

The Organic Research Centre inWaleshas published a very interesting and informative article summary of experiments and literature on the impact of organic agricultural production methods on biodiversity. The article stated that

 “There is overwhelming evidence that organic farming provides more biodiversity than conventional farming.”[1]

As I wrote in a previous entry, the EU regulations for organic agriculture emphasises the importance of choosing plants and animal species that are resistant to disease and adapted to local conditions. Another crucial aspect of organic farming is maintaining regional ecological. So, according to the EU regulations, supporting biodiversity is an integrated aim of organic agricultural systems. The question is, to what extend organic agriculture has a more positive effect on biodiversity than conventional agricultural systems. The article from the Organic Research Centre state that the current understanding of ecosystems is still quite poor. In spite of this, the article emphasises that

 “With few exceptions, it seems clear that, over a wide geographical range and for different forms of organic and non-organic farming, the organic approach can provide reasonably consistent advantages for biodiversity” [2]

However, in a recent study researchers from Universityof Leedshave that organic farming only shows limited benefit to wildlife biodiversity, “averaging just over 12 percent more than conventional farming.”[3]

Even if it only is 12 percent as this study suggests, it still seems like a significant step in the right direction – especially when the newly established Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) has emphasised the gravity in the decline of biodiversity worldwide.[4] IPBES will be up and running in 2012 and has as object to make the science science-policy interface work better to inform decision makers.[5]

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[1] http://www.organiccentrewales.org.uk/uploads/biodiversity_review_2011.pdf

[2] http://www.organiccentrewales.org.uk/uploads/biodiversity_review_2011.pdf

[3] http://www.leeds.ac.uk/news/article/802/organic_farming_shows_limited_benefit_to_wildlife  and http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1461-0248.2010.01481.x/abstract;jsessionid=B3D2F5EC74EB4AFE5DD5D00AF9A41EEB.d02t02

[4] http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/mar/08/biodiversity-panel-species-loss

[5] http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/mar/08/biodiversity-panel-species-loss

Denmark and organic labels

The primary organic label in Denmark is the red Ø-label:

According to the Danish Ministry of Food Agriculture and Fisheries, in 2006 the average EU consumer spent 29 euro on organic products, whereas the average Danish consumer spent 80 euro. This might have something to do with the fact that a whooping 98% of all Danish consumers recognise the red Ø-label! The new EU-label is also used, often simultaneously on danish-produced products.

In Denmark it is the public authority the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries and not an accredited private inspection body, as for instance in England, that inspects the organic products. The organic products are produced and controlled equivalent to the newest standards in the European legislation that was implemented in 2009. The first Danish organic law was adopted in 1987 and today approx. 7 percent of the Danish land area is used for organic farming. It is the Government’s aim is to reach 15 percent organically farmed land area by 2020.

If a restaurant chooses to go organic, they can receive one of three different labels:

• 
  ‘gold label’: requires that 90 – 100% of the used products are organic,
• 
  ‘silver label’: requires that 60 – 90% of the used products are organic,

  

• ‘bronze label’: requires that 30 – 60% of the used products are organic.

It’s pretty cool that a restaurant can get credit for using as little as 30% organic products, and I think this could really encourage more restaurants to choose organic!

‘Royal Wedding’ inspired theme

Tomorrow Prince William and Kate Middleton will get married in Westminster Abbey and this joyous event seems to be all the news media talk about lately. To balance this out a bit, I would like to take the focus away from the happy couple and talk about Prince William’s dad, Prince Charles. In a recent article in the Telegraph, the prince is quoted saying that

“Gardeners can be key players in addressing environmental issues as many have a wealth of knowledge about the natural world, are connected through their gardens with Nature and, for those gardening organically, understand what is meant by balance and harmony”

The Prince have been advocating organic food since the 80’s, and in 1996 the Prince’s Duchy Home Farm achieved full organic status. In 2009, Waitrose got the exclusive right to distribute and sell the Duchy Home Farm products.

Borrowed from http://www.duchyoriginals.com/the_prince_of_wales.php

However, the prince often emphasizes that he does not think that organic food should be the preserve of wealthier people and in 2010 he met with ASDA chief operating officer Andy Clarke and discussed how the store can heighten the appeal of organic food. Moreover, the profits from Duchy Originals are donated to the Prince’s Charities Foundation which supports causes working with for example environmental issues, health and hospices. A lot of people seem to not like Prince Charles very much for various reasons, but he is very engaged in promoting environmental protection and organic food, and for this reason I quite like him.

Organic labels in North America

U.S.

In the U.S., the United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) is responsible for providing oversight to accrediting certifying agents and their certification of organic production and handling operations.[1] The National Organic Program (NOP) develops, implements, and administers national production, handling, and labelling standards.[2] According to AMS, there are around 100 different certifying agents operating in the US. All products which are certified organic in the U.S. are labelled with:

The organic industry is getting pretty big in the U.S., with Organic food and beverage sales representing approximately 3.7 percent of overall food and beverage sales in 2009.[3] According to AMS, the U.S. only has export agreements for their organic products to be sold as organic in the receiving country, with Japan and Taiwan. (I think this seems rather odd, and I would be happy if anyone out there could tell me why this is so!) The U.S. also has an equivalence arrangement with Canada which means that “producers who are certified to the National Organic Program (NOP) standards and to the additional requirements of the US Canada Organic Equivalence Arrangement by a USDA accredited certifying agent (ACA) do not also have to become certified under the Canada Organic Product Regulation (COPR) in order to have their products enter Canada and be represented as ‘organic’.”[4] With regards to import of organic products to the U.S., only 6 countries have permission to accredit certifying agents in their own country in adherence with the NOP regulations. It seems strange though, that the U.S. (and Canada?) doesn’t acknowledge the EU Organic Logo…

 

Canada

The USDA label is recognized in Canada, but they also have their own label (note the french-english!):

 

Use of the logo is regulated by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA). Organic products have to be certified by a certification body accredited under the Canada Organic Regime. The general standards and principles are available here http://www.tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca/ongc-cgsb/internet/index-eng.html

Imported products must meet the requirements of the Canada Organic Regime, and is required to bear the statement “Product of”, or “Imported from”. I haven’t been able to find proper information about the export of organic products from Canada.

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[1] http://apps.ams.usda.gov/nop/

[2]http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/ams.fetchTemplateData.do?template=TemplateA&navID=NationalOrganicProgram&leftNav=NationalOrganicProgram&page=NOPNationalOrganicProgramHome&acct=AMSPW

[3] http://www.ota.com/organic/mt/business.html

[4]http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/ams.fetchTemplateData.do?template=TemplateN&navID=NationalOrganicProgram&page=USCanadaDeterminationofEquivalency&leftNav=NationalOrganicProgram&description=US-Canada%20Determination%20of%20Equivalency&acct=nopgeninfo

Fun ’6 a day’ campaign

So… you are probably wondering, why 6 a day? And what *are* those vegetables doing? Well, as the Danish webpage 6omdagen.dk so delicately puts it “In Danish the number 6 is pronounced like the word sex, and anectdotal evidence suggests that this makes it easier to remember, especially for men!”[1] How about that! So, in fact the ’6 a day’ is the equivalent of the ’5 a day’-campaigns in other countries, just a bit more naughty.

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[1] http://6omdagen.dk/english_why.shtml

England and organic certifications

In England the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) is the recognised Organic Control Authority. DEFRA works with administrations in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.[1] The standards set by DEFRA conform to the minimum standards set by the International Federation of Organic Agricultural Movements (IFOAM  -see my blog on EU regulations)[2]. DEFRA is responsible for regulations governing the production of organic foods and the administration of organic schemes in the UK. England has several different certification bodies accredited by DEFRA, and here is the ones I have found so far! I will post the additional UK bodies in a later blog entry.

Organic Farmers & Growers[3]

Organic Farmers & Growers  is approved to inspect organic production and processing in the UK. Organic Farmers & Growers has established its own Organic Assurance Scheme and is able to inspect and certify the following types of operations:

• “Arable and livestock farms and horticultural units, both those entering conversion and fully converted organic units;
• On farm processing;
• Food processors, abattoirs, wholesalers and retailers;
• Importers of organic products from EU member states and third countries;
• Animal feed compounders;
• Other operations that involve non-organic products, which are approved for use in organic production, such as approved fertilisers and composts;
• Non-food products such as organic textiles and cosmetic and bodycare products;
• Storage and warehousing operations.”[4]

The Irish Organic Farmers and Growers, IOFGA publishes a bi-monthly magazine called Organic Matters.

Organic Food Federation (OFF)[5]

The Organic Food Federation was established in 1986 operates nationally in all areas of organics. OFF certifies the usage of the EU organic logo on organic produces from the UK and it seems like their standards are similar to the ones of Organic Farmers and Growers in that they both refer to the IFOAM standards.[6] OFF also have their own logo which is not mandatory on their certified products.

BioDynamic Agricultural Association (BDAA)[10]

So, I haven’t been discussing the difference between Biodynamic and organic products yet. In short, all biodynamic products have the Demeter symbol. Biodynamic products are both organic and biodynamic. According the BDAA’s website,

• “Every biodynamic farm aims to become self-sufficient in compost, manures and animal feeds.
• All external inputs are kept to a minimum.
• Compost is treated with special herb-based preparations.
• Crop quality is improved using natural manure and quartz based preparations.
• Ecological diversity is a goal of landscape management.
• An astronomical calendar is used to determine auspicious, planting, cultivating and harvesting times.”[11]

The international biodynamic standards are stricter than organic farming, but their ideas – especially the astronomical calendar part – can seem a bit strange.[12] The biodynamic philosophy is based on the ideas of Rudolf Steiner.[13]

Soil Association Certification (SA Cert)[7]

According to their website, the Soil Association Certification is the UK’s largest organic certification body and is responsible for certifying more than 70% of all organic products sold in the country.[8] As the other certification bodies, the Soil Association organic standards have the EU organic regulation as their baseline. They have their own logo which is applied on a voluntary basis.

SA Cert has debated the implementation of the new EU organic logo, and according to their website they fear that “new EU logo will not give them confidence that the products had been grown/produced to an organic standard they trusted.”[9] I don’t really see this as valid concern, as the EU organic regulations encourage the usage of national and/or private organic logo’s as well. As I have written in other blogs, I think the plethora of organic logo’s can be confusing, but I don’t understand why people wouldn’t have confidence in the EU logo as the EU organic standards is the baseline for all the different certification bodies.

 

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[1] http://www.defra.gov.uk/

[2] http://www.ifoam.org/

[3] http://www.organicfarmers.org.uk/aboutofg/index.php

[4] http://www.organicfarmers.org.uk/aboutofg/index.php

[5] http://www.orgfoodfed.com/About%20Us.htm

[6] http://www.orgfoodfed.com/Downloads/1200%20NOP%20General.pdf

[7] http://www.soilassociation.org/Certification/tabid/87/Default.aspx

[8] http://www.soilassociation.org/Certification/tabid/87/Default.aspx so, these two pages write different things, the one says 80%, the other 70%. I don’t know which one is right. http://www.soilassociation.org/Takeaction/Consultations/Previousconsultations/EUlogoandSoilAssociationsymbol/tabid/236/Default.aspx

[9]http://www.soilassociation.org/Takeaction/Consultations/Previousconsultations/EUlogoandSoilAssociationsymbol/tabid/236/Default.aspx

[10] http://www.biodynamic.org.uk/

[11] http://www.biodynamic.org.uk/about-bda/faq.html

[12]http://www.biodynamic.org.uk/fileadmin/user_upload/Documents/Demeter_Standards/2011/DI_processing_stds_Demeter_Biodynamic_10-e.pdf

[13] http://www.biodynamics.com/steiner.html

My 7 favourite organic products right now:

Green & Black’s dark 85% chocolate bar – it just doesn’t get more chocolately than this! It is certified organic by the Soil Association and is fair-trade.

H&M’s new summer clothes line, the Conscious collection – I haven’t bought anything from it yet, but I would love to get the long white skirt. The collection is made from organic cotton and/or recycled polyester – but, I haven’t been able to see how their organic cotton is certified. According to treehugger.com, the Financial Times in Germany has accused H&M and other European brands of using GM cotton from India – apparently due to lack of proper 3^rd party certification…

Organic Lamb from Marks and Spencer – we bought one a few weeks ago and made the most amazing Sunday roast! Marks and Spencer has a very wide range of organic products, certified by certification bodies such as the Soil Association and Organic Farmers and Growers.

Dr. Hauschka cleansing milk – Dr. Hauschka’s products contain organic and biodynamic ingredients and pure minerals. Their products are certified by the Association of German Industries and Trading Firms for pharmaceuticals, health care products, food supplements and personal hygiene products (the ‘Bundesverband deutscher Industrie- und Handelsunternehmen’ BDIH).

Organic wine in plastic bottles – My boyfriend is allergic to sulphites so we like to buy organic wines – from for example Sainsbury – as they normally are free from sulphites. We went to the Cambridge Wine Merchant a few months ago and asked for an organic white wine. The wine merchant brought us one …. which she then dropped on the floor … and it bounced back! The bottle was one of those new plastic bottles that are intended to limit CO2 emissions because they are lighter to transport around. Handy and tasty! Unfortunately, I can’t remember the name of the wine and I haven’t found it in Leeds! L

Organic apple juice bricks from Sainsbury’s SoOrganic line – I like to freeze them and have one instead of an ice cream. It takes around 24 hours to freeze – then you cut off the top with a bread knife, and voila! A perfect snack for the warm summer days. I love SoOrganic, the line even includes textiles and make up – all certified organic by a range of different certifications.

Organic Rose Shampoo from the Danish company UrteKram – I really miss being able to use this shampoo, it has a wonderful rose scent and works well as an all-round showergel and facewash. 100% of the total of the ingredients are of natural origin BUT only 12% of the total of the ingredients proceed from Organic Agriculture. However, it is still certified organic by ECOCERT. I think that is a bit strange though.