Organic news archive: June 2005
Large fresh produce companies diversifying into organics pose a threat to specialist fruit and veg suppliers in the sector, according to the Organic Monitor supplement of The Grocer magazine. Supermarkets are encouraging their big fresh produce suppliers to branch out into organics, which could mean smaller, dedicated organic suppliers will be squeezed out. Organic Monitor said that supermarkets accounted for 48% of organic fruit and vegetable sales in Europe, but their market share was declining as volumes sold through professional box scheme operators and organic food stores grew. Britain's organic fruit market, valued at 330m euros, is the biggest in Europe. (The Grocer)
Organic farming is the only real solution to famine in Africa according to Tewolde Berhan, chief of Ethiopia's Environment Agency. He maintains that genetically modified organisms (GMOs) remove control from local farmers. He speaks for a growing number who believe that Africa should return to natural, sustainable methods of agriculture. Berhan says: "Organic farming deviates little from the natural environment in supplying nutrients to crops. We've developed the ability to change things in a big way and, without considering the consequences, we create disasters. Look at what happened with DDT. When well managed, and as fertility builds over years, organic agriculture isn't inferior in yield. Now, farmers don't want chemical fertilisers." (The Independent - 27/6/05)
The UK failed to persuade the rest of Europe to give in to American pressure and lift the ban on genetically modified crops and food. The objections were based on fears that genetically manipulated genes could escape into the wider environment and that non-target insects could be destroyed by crops with in-built insecticide. The US argues the decision is based on a trade ban. A variety of Maize produced by Monsanto called MON 863, was a hot topic at the meeting. It has caused unexplained kidney damage to rats, according to research conducted by the manufacturer. (The Guardian - 25/6/05)
Common Agricultural Policy is central to what the European Union is about, but reforms of the CAP are falling short reports The Guardian. People prefer cheap food, but demand for organic and higher-quality produce is rising. Most would rather do without agrochemicals or genetically modified crops. There are fears that farmland would be abandoned leaving the rest to be farmed even more intensively, if all farm support was removed. (The Guardian - 27/6/05)
Pressure is growing for the government to take action to tackle bovine TB. Many farmers claimed bovine TB could be more destructive to the industry in the long term than the outbreak of foot and mouth disease. The National Farmers' Union council is considering findings by its bovine TB experts linking the spread of the disease and wildlife, especially badgers. Wildlife campaigners say the disease is spreading because of the movement of livestock around the country. (The Guardian - 25/6/05)
GM foods pose no threat according to the UN. A World Health Organisation Study claims that GM pose no greater risk than conventional farming. It did admit that 'The use of GM organisms may have potential risk many, not all genes used in them have not been in the food supply before.' (Metro London - 24/6/05)
Gordon Brown turned up the moral pressure on European leaders to scrap the £33 billion-a-year Common Agricultural Policy yesterday by saying that over-generous subsidies paid to EU farmers were perpetuating mass poverty in Africa. Mr Brown said that developed countries could "no longer ignore" the "hypocrisy" of a regime that distorted world trade and held back Africa's poorest nations. (The Daily Telegraph, The Independent and The Times - 30/6/05)
John Humphrys, The Today programme Radio 4 presenter, yesterday denied being biased and unfair when he was grilled by a House of Lords committee about his combative interviewing style. Humphrys said the BBC had once received a complaint that he had been biased in an interview about GM food because he was an organic farmer. He said: "You could argue that I was more vehement than I would have been if I had not been sympathetic to organic farming, which I am." But he insisted that in interviews he was just as tough on the supporters of organic farming as its opponents. Humphrys was giving evidence to a committee considering the BBC's charter review.
Farmers' markets are in crisis as exotic produce from abroad creeps on to stalls, according to The Times. "Real Farmers' market" holders insist that produce such as olives, citrus fruits and bread made from Canadian wheat have no place at the markets and are incensed that some traders are padding out their own grown produce with imported food. They believe their wholesome image is under threat from those who do not stick to its original principals. They are demanding a legal definition of farmers' markets and are lobbying Lord Bach, the Food and Farming Minister, to issue guidance on the dos and don'ts for the markets. Ben Reynolds from charity Sustain said: "The problem is that deli markets are calling themselves farmers' markets but the stallholders haven't a clue how the food is grown or the animals reared." (The Times - 25/6/05)
British Researchers will receive more than £40 million of a £250 million fund to fight disease in developing countries. The Grand Challenges in Global Health initiative will back a range of research, including the creation of GM crops that claim to be more nutritious and can withstand harsh environments. The programme is mostly backed by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and also received £15 million from the Wellcome Trust in Britain. (The Daily Telegraph - 28/6/05)
Government scientists have given the go-ahead to genetically modified crops. The Biotechnology and Biological Science Research Council based its recommendation on a five-year, £4.5m study into the safety of GM crops, released June 23. They called for a massive effort to convince the public of the value of GM crops. The report fo
Large fresh produce companies diversifying into organics pose a threat to specialist fruit and veg suppliers in the sector, according to the Organic Monitor supplement of The Grocer magazine. Supermarkets are encouraging their big fresh produce suppliers to branch out into organics, which could mean smaller, dedicated organic suppliers will be squeezed out. Organic Monitor said that supermarkets accounted for 48% of organic fruit and vegetable sales in Europe, but their market share was declining as volumes sold through professional box scheme operators and organic food stores grew. Britain's organic fruit market, valued at 330m euros, is the biggest in Europe. (The Grocer)
Organic farming is the only real solution to famine in Africa according to Tewolde Berhan, chief of Ethiopia's Environment Agency. He maintains that genetically modified organisms (GMOs) remove control from local farmers. He speaks for a growing number who believe that Africa should return to natural, sustainable methods of agriculture. Berhan says: "Organic farming deviates little from the natural environment in supplying nutrients to crops. We've developed the ability to change things in a big way and, without considering the consequences, we create disasters. Look at what happened with DDT. When well managed, and as fertility builds over years, organic agriculture isn't inferior in yield. Now, farmers don't want chemical fertilisers." (The Independent - 27/6/05)
The UK failed to persuade the rest of Europe to give in to American pressure and lift the ban on genetically modified crops and food. The objections were based on fears that genetically manipulated genes could escape into the wider environment and that non-target insects could be destroyed by crops with in-built insecticide. The US argues the decision is based on a trade ban. A variety of Maize produced by Monsanto called MON 863, was a hot topic at the meeting. It has caused unexplained kidney damage to rats, according to research conducted by the manufacturer. (The Guardian - 25/6/05)
Common Agricultural Policy is central to what the European Union is about, but reforms of the CAP are falling short reports The Guardian. People prefer cheap food, but demand for organic and higher-quality produce is rising. Most would rather do without agrochemicals or genetically modified crops. There are fears that farmland would be abandoned leaving the rest to be farmed even more intensively, if all farm support was removed. (The Guardian - 27/6/05)
Pressure is growing for the government to take action to tackle bovine TB. Many farmers claimed bovine TB could be more destructive to the industry in the long term than the outbreak of foot and mouth disease. The National Farmers' Union council is considering findings by its bovine TB experts linking the spread of the disease and wildlife, especially badgers. Wildlife campaigners say the disease is spreading because of the movement of livestock around the country. (The Guardian - 25/6/05)
GM foods pose no threat according to the UN. A World Health Organisation Study claims that GM pose no greater risk than conventional farming. It did admit that 'The use of GM organisms may have potential risk many, not all genes used in them have not been in the food supply before.' (Metro London - 24/6/05)
Gordon Brown turned up the moral pressure on European leaders to scrap the £33 billion-a-year Common Agricultural Policy yesterday by saying that over-generous subsidies paid to EU farmers were perpetuating mass poverty in Africa. Mr Brown said that developed countries could "no longer ignore" the "hypocrisy" of a regime that distorted world trade and held back Africa's poorest nations. (The Daily Telegraph, The Independent and The Times - 30/6/05)
John Humphrys, The Today programme Radio 4 presenter, yesterday denied being biased and unfair when he was grilled by a House of Lords committee about his combative interviewing style. Humphrys said the BBC had once received a complaint that he had been biased in an interview about GM food because he was an organic farmer. He said: "You could argue that I was more vehement than I would have been if I had not been sympathetic to organic farming, which I am." But he insisted that in interviews he was just as tough on the supporters of organic farming as its opponents. Humphrys was giving evidence to a committee considering the BBC's charter review.
Farmers' markets are in crisis as exotic produce from abroad creeps on to stalls, according to The Times. "Real Farmers' market" holders insist that produce such as olives, citrus fruits and bread made from Canadian wheat have no place at the markets and are incensed that some traders are padding out their own grown produce with imported food. They believe their wholesome image is under threat from those who do not stick to its original principals. They are demanding a legal definition of farmers' markets and are lobbying Lord Bach, the Food and Farming Minister, to issue guidance on the dos and don'ts for the markets. Ben Reynolds from charity Sustain said: "The problem is that deli markets are calling themselves farmers' markets but the stallholders haven't a clue how the food is grown or the animals reared." (The Times - 25/6/05)
British Researchers will receive more than £40 million of a £250 million fund to fight disease in developing countries. The Grand Challenges in Global Health initiative will back a range of research, including the creation of GM crops that claim to be more nutritious and can withstand harsh environments. The programme is mostly backed by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and also received £15 million from the Wellcome Trust in Britain. (The Daily Telegraph - 28/6/05)
Government scientists have given the go-ahead to genetically modified crops. The Biotechnology and Biological Science Research Council based its recommendation on a five-year, £4.5m study into the safety of GM crops, released June 23. They called for a massive effort to convince the public of the value of GM crops. The report fo