Organic news archive: January 2005
A Church of England report recommends using organic bread and wine for communion, among a number of suggestions to improve the ecological impact of church services. The report - 'Sharing God's Planet. A Christian vision for a sustainable future' - will be discussed by the General Synod this month. (Church Times - 28/1/05)
The Co-op supermarket has told its suppliers worldwide to discontinue or phase out the use of almost 100 pesticides. The Co-op has involved experts, some of them members of the government's Advisory Committee on Pesticides, to develop a pesticide assessment test. It categories chemicals according to their toxicity and the potential health hazard they represent.
In the USA activists are calling for biomonitoring of breast milk to check for pesticide traces or metabolites. In California a bill for official biomonitoring was narrowly defeated recently and 11 similar bills are being contested in other states. Two hundred organisations are pursuing the issue. They hope to counter the threat caused by 40 industry bodies who have united to create the Pesticide Policy Coalition to lobby Washington.
Latest trade figures show a dramatic 12% decline over the past decade in the UK's self-sufficiency in staple foods like meat and fresh vegetables. DEFRA's annual 'Agriculture in the UK' publication shows that the UK was 86% self-sufficient in indigenous-type foods in 1994, but by 2004 this had fallen to 74%. It also shows that the value of food, animal feed and drink imported into the UK far exceeds the value exported. A rise in production costs, BSE, a decrease in the number of agricultural workers and cheaper European imports were given as reasons behind the trend.
However, Farmers Guardian reports on another study, this time by HDRA, that found the UK organic vegetable market became more stable and self-sufficient during the 2003-2004 season. The UK Organic Vegetable Market study, funded by Defra, says that some 123,500 tonnes of organic vegetables with a total retail value of £197 million were traded during this period. Consumers are willing to pay nearly 5% extra for food if it improves the welfare of pigs, according to a study. The study by the Universities Federation for Animal Welfare examined willingness to pay for increases in space, environmental enrichment and for research into improved housing for pigs. 75% of respondents said that animal welfare should be an important objective for government policy.
The UK government has confirmed it has no plans to remove the remaining organophosphate sheep dips from the market, claiming there is no evidence that OP dips have affected the health of sheep farmers.
The Food Commission has requested that the Soil Association consider nutritional quality when it issues technical guidelines to its organic food processors. In its role as the consumer representative on the Processing Standards Committee of the Soil Association, the Commission has asked that organically certified processed foods take into account salt, saturated fat and sugar, and use healthy ingredients such as vegetables. (Food Magazine, January - March)
Hospitals in North Wales will serve only locally sourced beef under a £120,000-a-year deal unveiled last week. Patients and visitors will tuck into 40,000 kilogrammes of Welsh beef a year under the contract negotiated by Welsh Health Supplies, the central contracting and materials management service for the NHS. There are also pilot projects across four London hospitals to source local and where possible, organic food. (Supply Management magazine, 20/1/05)
Waitrose plans to introduce branded, locally-sourced fresh produce as part of a long term strategy to work more closely with local grocery producers. On February 7 it launches a trial of seasonal fruit and vegetables, branded 'Country Produce', in its Tonbridge store in Kent. The move follows the launch of a six line organic range under the 'Local Farm Series: Organic Farm Foods' label last week in its Cirencester, Cheltenham, Monmouth and Stroud stores in the West Country.
The Parliamentary All Party OP Group has published a report which claims there is enough evidence for a complete ban on organo-phosphate-based sheep dip products. The group of MPs has also called on the government to instruct doctors around the country in how to deal with patients suffering from the effects of exposure to OPs.
Organophosphate pesticides used in sheep dip, can cause illnesses among sheep farmers and other people exposed to the chemicals, according to a report published by the all-party organophosphate parliamentary group. Although the report conceded that definitive proof of a link between the chemicals and illness in humans had not been established, it said a link had been demonstrated that should be further investigated. (Financial Times - 26/1/05)
Monsanto paid $1.4bn (£745m) on Monday to buy a fruit and vegetable seed company and said it would look at the possibility of genetically modifying the produce. The company is known for its controversial innovations in genetic modifications for crops
A Church of England report recommends using organic bread and wine for communion, among a number of suggestions to improve the ecological impact of church services. The report - 'Sharing God's Planet. A Christian vision for a sustainable future' - will be discussed by the General Synod this month. (Church Times - 28/1/05)
The Co-op supermarket has told its suppliers worldwide to discontinue or phase out the use of almost 100 pesticides. The Co-op has involved experts, some of them members of the government's Advisory Committee on Pesticides, to develop a pesticide assessment test. It categories chemicals according to their toxicity and the potential health hazard they represent.
In the USA activists are calling for biomonitoring of breast milk to check for pesticide traces or metabolites. In California a bill for official biomonitoring was narrowly defeated recently and 11 similar bills are being contested in other states. Two hundred organisations are pursuing the issue. They hope to counter the threat caused by 40 industry bodies who have united to create the Pesticide Policy Coalition to lobby Washington.
Latest trade figures show a dramatic 12% decline over the past decade in the UK's self-sufficiency in staple foods like meat and fresh vegetables. DEFRA's annual 'Agriculture in the UK' publication shows that the UK was 86% self-sufficient in indigenous-type foods in 1994, but by 2004 this had fallen to 74%. It also shows that the value of food, animal feed and drink imported into the UK far exceeds the value exported. A rise in production costs, BSE, a decrease in the number of agricultural workers and cheaper European imports were given as reasons behind the trend.
However, Farmers Guardian reports on another study, this time by HDRA, that found the UK organic vegetable market became more stable and self-sufficient during the 2003-2004 season. The UK Organic Vegetable Market study, funded by Defra, says that some 123,500 tonnes of organic vegetables with a total retail value of £197 million were traded during this period. Consumers are willing to pay nearly 5% extra for food if it improves the welfare of pigs, according to a study. The study by the Universities Federation for Animal Welfare examined willingness to pay for increases in space, environmental enrichment and for research into improved housing for pigs. 75% of respondents said that animal welfare should be an important objective for government policy.
The UK government has confirmed it has no plans to remove the remaining organophosphate sheep dips from the market, claiming there is no evidence that OP dips have affected the health of sheep farmers.
The Food Commission has requested that the Soil Association consider nutritional quality when it issues technical guidelines to its organic food processors. In its role as the consumer representative on the Processing Standards Committee of the Soil Association, the Commission has asked that organically certified processed foods take into account salt, saturated fat and sugar, and use healthy ingredients such as vegetables. (Food Magazine, January - March)
Hospitals in North Wales will serve only locally sourced beef under a £120,000-a-year deal unveiled last week. Patients and visitors will tuck into 40,000 kilogrammes of Welsh beef a year under the contract negotiated by Welsh Health Supplies, the central contracting and materials management service for the NHS. There are also pilot projects across four London hospitals to source local and where possible, organic food. (Supply Management magazine, 20/1/05)
Waitrose plans to introduce branded, locally-sourced fresh produce as part of a long term strategy to work more closely with local grocery producers. On February 7 it launches a trial of seasonal fruit and vegetables, branded 'Country Produce', in its Tonbridge store in Kent. The move follows the launch of a six line organic range under the 'Local Farm Series: Organic Farm Foods' label last week in its Cirencester, Cheltenham, Monmouth and Stroud stores in the West Country.
The Parliamentary All Party OP Group has published a report which claims there is enough evidence for a complete ban on organo-phosphate-based sheep dip products. The group of MPs has also called on the government to instruct doctors around the country in how to deal with patients suffering from the effects of exposure to OPs.
Organophosphate pesticides used in sheep dip, can cause illnesses among sheep farmers and other people exposed to the chemicals, according to a report published by the all-party organophosphate parliamentary group. Although the report conceded that definitive proof of a link between the chemicals and illness in humans had not been established, it said a link had been demonstrated that should be further investigated. (Financial Times - 26/1/05)
Monsanto paid $1.4bn (£745m) on Monday to buy a fruit and vegetable seed company and said it would look at the possibility of genetically modifying the produce. The company is known for its controversial innovations in genetic modifications for crops