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Organics News
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"Official: organic really is better" |
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Thu, 29 Nov 2007 |
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This is interesting, if far from surprising: organic food really IS better than conventionally grown food, according to a major new study funded by the European Union. I took the title from the Sunday Times article, which is brief and to-the-point. The first two sentences sum it up: "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 article is worth a read...! |
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Forget organic, eat local?! |
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Wed, 14 Mar 2007 |
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 An apple on the cover of the Mar 12, 2007 edition of Time Magazine wears a sticker proclaiming: "Forget Organic. Eat Local." It's a sensational headline if you're into organic food, local food, or at all concerned about the quality of your food in general. As it turns out, the cover story is not a shocking exposé of organic food, instead, it's the latest media splash in the pretty hot local-vs-organic debate that's been going on in environmentalist circles for a while. Most of this controversy is centered on "corporate organics", the move over the last four or five years of major food companies into the organic market, capped by Wal-Mart's recent introduction of hundreds of certified organic products. And this is tied up with the larger issue of long-distance food and overall food quality, whether conventional or organic. It's a complicated issue, and it is also fundamental to how we live here in North America because, in the end, everybody's gotta eat...and we eat long-distance food from the supermarket. |
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CSA farmer scam |
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Tue, 13 Feb 2007 |
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A natural law it seems is that wherever there's growth there's crime. The message below just arrived from a US-based email mailing list for CSA farmers. You'd think someone would have to be pretty gullible to fall for a scam like this, but I guess it's also true that you can always fool some of the people some of the time:
There is a nation wide scam targeting CSA farmers! We (and several
farmers we know) received multiple phone calls from people claiming to
be part of a private trust called Debt Free Organic which will give
small farmers up to 2.5 million dollars to pay off debts and use on farm
projects. They ask for a donation "to process your application". They
use a lot of persuasive language- "how open minded are you?" and "are
you an information gatherer or do you really want help?" etc... When I
tried to get addresses, full names, tax ID etc...they got hostile. It
makes me SICK to think of them taking any small farmer's money! - email from CSA-L mailing list. |
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Who do you trust? |
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Thu, 03 Nov 2005 |
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The "bigger" organic food gets (it continues to expand annually by at least 10 times the rate of the overall food industry, as it has done for the past 15 years), the faster and more radically it changes. Three things are happening, none of them surprising. First, organic food is getting less fresh: processed food is the dominant organic category (your organic pasta with your bottle of organic tomato sauce), and fresh fruits and vegetables are coming from a long way, often the same thousands of miles regular supermarket food travels, especially during winter and off-season months. Second, organic food is getting increasingly regulated. In North America, the US made organic food a matter of law in 2002, and Canada is about to follow, maybe as early as next year. The ability to fill out paperwork and read fine print has become a required organic farming skill (and that stuff tends to trickle down to the consumer, as in, having to read the fine print in your food labels). Third, big corporate control is quickly and not so quietly becoming a major factor in what you have available as, and the messages you hear about, organic food. This extends not only to the more obvious prepared products, but also to mass-produced fresh produce. Check this chart, Corporate Ownership of Organic Food Companies, to get an idea of what's going on. Whether any of this is BAD, well, it's really up to each of us to decide. It probably boils down to a single question: Who do YOU trust about the quality of your food? |
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Cross-border seed shipping stoppages |
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Tue, 08 Mar 2005 |
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The trade in seed between Canada and the US seems to be taking hitting a serious hit from stricter import and export regulations at the border, with seed suppliers on both sides stopping their cross-border service this year. On the Farm, this has been noticed only casually over the last couple of months, because we have so far done all of our ordering from Canadian suppliers. But we do get catalogs from the US, including from the well-known home and market garden specialist, Johnny's Selected Seed in Maine, and from some smaller heritage seed suppliers that have varieties on our interested list. Now, one heritage company informed us last month that they no longer ship to Canada due to changes in customs regulations. And, on the web site for William Dam seeds in Ontario, one of our main seed suppliers, this notice seen just today: "Due to new US import regulations we are unable to ship to the USA". In a phone conversation with a sales rep last month, Johnny's said it continues to ship to Canada, and that new regulations don't affect smaller quantities as much as larger commercial quantities. Whether this is a good or bad thing is unclear. Exchanging seed over long distances may not be the best thing to do to a maintain strong and diverse planetary plant gene pool. In any case, as time permits, we'll find out more! |
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Return of the News |
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Wed, 02 Mar 2005 |
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It's been a while since Organics News has been updated on this site. Now, it's back, but with a different focus. Rather than covering the Big Picture stuff, the priority is on things that affect us directly, day-to-day, including the regulations and politics of our community, which is more regional: Kawarthat Lakes, Ontario, Canada. ISSUES that bear particularly close watching include the ongoing changes to Canada's plant breeders' rights, organic certification, local food, and Ontario farmers' complaints! Not everybody's cup of fair trade, organically grown tea, perhaps, but...important, simply because there is more of a chance to actually get involved with the world immediately around you. Think global, act local, that's the idea... |
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Mad goat?! |
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Mon, 01 Nov 2004 |
Mad cow disease, aka bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), has apparently been found in a goat through natural transmission. The discovery was made in France two years ago, and final testing is now underway to confirm the finding. It takes two years for lab tests, using tissue from the suspected animal, to be conclusive. If confirmed, this will be the first recorded case of cross-species transmission of BSE outside of the lab. The goat equivalent of BSE, CSE (caprine spongiform encephalopathy) is documented. European Union authorities tell humans not to worry, mad goat meat is not a problem. And any conceivable general goat meat health hazard threat doesn't seem very concerning. But it adds that much for fear and confusion!
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More Mad Cow USA |
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Mon, 29 Mar 2004 |
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The US Department of Agriculture's ban on private testing by independent beef producers has hit the mainstream, with an editorial in USA Today. The headline reads: "Beef firm faces perplexing resistance to mad cow tests". Currently, only USDA inspectors can test cows for BSE. Their new program calls for about 200,000 tests of sick cattle, out of 35 million+ cows slaughtered in the US each year. Some small beef producers want to test all of their cows. Polled consumers seem willing to pay a few cents a pound premium for total testing. But the USDA ban is apparently intended to avoid a public beef scare: if a small percentage of American beef is 100% tested, what of the rest? Skeptics suspect the USDA simply doesn't want mass testing - as is done in Europe and Japan - because, ultimately, it may reveal many more mad cow cases than the current testing regime reports - which is, so far, just the one. |
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What's in a label? |
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Sat, 20 Mar 2004 |
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Selling food that claims to be healthier and more environmentally friendly is big business. People are increasingly willing to choose, and even pay more, for what they think is better food, and those decisions are mostly made by reading labels. Eco-Labels is a great site for checking out the meaning behind food and other personal product labelling. Some of it's not too pretty. In the General Claims category, positive-sounding phrases like antibiotic free, eco safe, environmentally friendly, free range, green, natural, no additives, no chemicals are rated "not meaningful" and "not verified". Organic certification, animal welfare, social responsibility, and many other types of eco-related labels are deciphered. The site is US-oriented, but useful wherever skepticism is in question. |
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CSA Update |
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It's 2008 and the new farming year is underway! Sign-ups for 2008 are way ahead of any previous year, with both renewals and new members already in. Share prices have been increased for this season (the first increase since we began four years ago). The season will once again be 18 weeks, beginning around mid-June. This year, you're also encourage to visit the farm at least once, and a new farmwork program is being considered, where you can do some veggie gardening here in the field, in 4-hour blocks, when it's convenient to you. If you're interested in CSA with us for 2008, here are the details for our farm, and the new 2008 printable sign-up form (or email or call for one to be mailed!). And there's more CSA info in the FAQs.
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Come grow with us! |
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If you're in the Lindsay area any time this Spring or Summer and are looking to volunteer or for some part-time work on a real, live organic microfarm, get in touch! You'll enjoy a little fresh air and exercise, probably learn some stuff, and definitely have a good time (as long as your heart's in it!). Come for a day, or set up a regular schedule. All ages welcome, no experience necessary, any sort of personal interest in small scale growing or gardening plus a cheerful disposition are required! Enquire here! |
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