Organic news archive: August 2005
British organic milk producers say they need 26 pence per litre to cover added costs of the system � but they are only getting 21-22 pence, despite soaring demand. According to Stuart Martin, the marketing manager for the Organic Milk Suppliers Co-operative (Scotland), the problem is that the high levels of demand are not being matched by higher prices from retail customers. Ysanne Spevack, editor of organicfoodee.com suggests that supermarkets could absorb these extra costs, selling organic milk at the same price as non-organic milk, and reaping the benefits of attracting organic customers with organic milk as a 'loss-leader'. From this week, Sainsbury's stores are selling organic milk at the same price as non-organic milk, but paying British organic farmers a fair price. (Farmers Guardian - 26/8/05)
Researchers from the Mississippi State University claim to have found 15 species of weed resistant to glyphosate worldwide, including ryegrass, bindweed and goosegrass. This resistance is almost certainly due to escaped GM pollen gene pollution. (Farmers Guardian - 26/8/05)
In an attempt to prevent an avian flu pandemic this winter Dutch poultry farmers have complied with a government order to move all their birds indoors, and Germany plans to follow suit. Defra said that Britain had no plans to follow suit. A spokesperson from Defra said: "The evidence as it is shows the risk to be low. We don't think that is proportional to the risk. It is a contingency if the risk grows higher, but at the moment we are urging a high level of vigilance." Peter Melchett, Soil Association policy director, says: "Avian flu is a serious disease but there are some serious objections to keeping chickens indoors. It would be a nightmare from a cost, welfare and disease point of view. It would be prohibitively expensive. These are birds that often have nowhere to be shut up, their only indoor access is for sleeping. Shutting them up might combat them getting bird flu, but would increase the chance of other diseases spreading. Outdoor birds are highly mobile and inquisitive, and for welfare reasons it would be unfair to keep them inside." (The Times - 23/8/05)
Sir John Krebs is to give the televised BBC Christmas science lectures, which are aimed at young children and adults. According to the Royal Institution, the now-retired Sir John "will ask whether new farming methods such as genetically modified crops will be the solution, or whether we will al have to become vegetarians". He will also consider the question: "Will the future bring us the chocolate bar that treats heart diseases or the mood-enhancing potato crisp?" Ysanne Spevack at organicfoodee.com finds this prospect disturbing, as Sir John is the guy who persuaded Tony Blair that GM food is a good idea, despite 98% of the British Public saying that they don't trust it. (The Guardian - 23/8/05)
Recent evidence links aspartame - "the most controversial food additive in history" - to leukaemia and lymphoma adding "substantial fuel to the ongoing protests of doctors, scientists and consumer groups who allege that this artificial sweetener should never have been released onto the market". (Ecologist Online - 5/8/05)
"Britain's organic food revolution was facing its first serious test last night after an investigation revealed disturbing levels of fraud within the industry", according to the Observer's front page on Sunday 21 August. "Farmers, retailers and food inspectors have disclosed a catalogue of malpractice, including producers falsely passing off food as organic and retailers failing to gain accreditation from independent inspectors. The findings raise concerns that consumers paying high premiums for organic food are being ripped off." The revelations follow what is believed to have been the UK's first concerted investigation into organic food fraud by trading standards officers. An inquiry for Richmond council, in south-west London, exposed a number of retailers wrongly selling food as organic. Two traders were prosecuted earlier this month as a result of the investigation. Ysanne Spevack was invited to answer Jay Rayner, the Observer's Food Editor, in a live debate on LBC Radio on the morning of Monday 22 August. She successfully pointed out a number of major discrepancies in his argument against organic food, leaving presenter Nick Ferrari convinced that despite a few crooks, the vast majority of organic food traders are honest and selling better food. (The Observer; The Guardian - 21/8/05)
Organic milk is one of the richest sources of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), an essential fat which is, it seems, vital for the proper chemical functioning of the brain, mediating hormones, the immune system and blood flow according to Professor Puri, a biochemist and consultant psychiatrist at Hammersmith hospital in London. (The Times T2 - 19/8/05)
House of Fraser is selling the lease for its landmark department store - Barkers of Kensington - to US-based company Whole Foods Market, who own the UK organic food chain Fresh & Wild. The US company will open their first European store on the site. (Daily Express - 20/8/05)
"Liz Hurley is set to launch a range of organic baby meals. The plan shows 40-year-old Liz's commitment to green issues. She has joined the UK Soil Association and is making her London home more eco-friendly." (The Sun - 22/8/05)
Over thirty months cattle will be back in the food chain from November 2005 if the Government accepts the Food Standards Agency's recommendations. Supermarkets ASDA and Sainsbury's have said they will stock the beef but Morrisons is unsure and Waitrose completely rules it out. (Farmers Guardian)
BSE has been transmitted naturally between sheep for the first time, a study has shown. Confirmation that such a thing is possible reinforces fears that the disease may have entered sheep as well as cattle on farms in Britain. The revelation that lambs at a government experimental station appear to have caught BSE from their mothers coincides with plans to relax anti-BSE controls in cattle and was not mentioned at a meeting of the Food Standards Agency in Londo
British organic milk producers say they need 26 pence per litre to cover added costs of the system � but they are only getting 21-22 pence, despite soaring demand. According to Stuart Martin, the marketing manager for the Organic Milk Suppliers Co-operative (Scotland), the problem is that the high levels of demand are not being matched by higher prices from retail customers. Ysanne Spevack, editor of organicfoodee.com suggests that supermarkets could absorb these extra costs, selling organic milk at the same price as non-organic milk, and reaping the benefits of attracting organic customers with organic milk as a 'loss-leader'. From this week, Sainsbury's stores are selling organic milk at the same price as non-organic milk, but paying British organic farmers a fair price. (Farmers Guardian - 26/8/05)
Researchers from the Mississippi State University claim to have found 15 species of weed resistant to glyphosate worldwide, including ryegrass, bindweed and goosegrass. This resistance is almost certainly due to escaped GM pollen gene pollution. (Farmers Guardian - 26/8/05)
In an attempt to prevent an avian flu pandemic this winter Dutch poultry farmers have complied with a government order to move all their birds indoors, and Germany plans to follow suit. Defra said that Britain had no plans to follow suit. A spokesperson from Defra said: "The evidence as it is shows the risk to be low. We don't think that is proportional to the risk. It is a contingency if the risk grows higher, but at the moment we are urging a high level of vigilance." Peter Melchett, Soil Association policy director, says: "Avian flu is a serious disease but there are some serious objections to keeping chickens indoors. It would be a nightmare from a cost, welfare and disease point of view. It would be prohibitively expensive. These are birds that often have nowhere to be shut up, their only indoor access is for sleeping. Shutting them up might combat them getting bird flu, but would increase the chance of other diseases spreading. Outdoor birds are highly mobile and inquisitive, and for welfare reasons it would be unfair to keep them inside." (The Times - 23/8/05)
Sir John Krebs is to give the televised BBC Christmas science lectures, which are aimed at young children and adults. According to the Royal Institution, the now-retired Sir John "will ask whether new farming methods such as genetically modified crops will be the solution, or whether we will al have to become vegetarians". He will also consider the question: "Will the future bring us the chocolate bar that treats heart diseases or the mood-enhancing potato crisp?" Ysanne Spevack at organicfoodee.com finds this prospect disturbing, as Sir John is the guy who persuaded Tony Blair that GM food is a good idea, despite 98% of the British Public saying that they don't trust it. (The Guardian - 23/8/05)
Recent evidence links aspartame - "the most controversial food additive in history" - to leukaemia and lymphoma adding "substantial fuel to the ongoing protests of doctors, scientists and consumer groups who allege that this artificial sweetener should never have been released onto the market". (Ecologist Online - 5/8/05)
"Britain's organic food revolution was facing its first serious test last night after an investigation revealed disturbing levels of fraud within the industry", according to the Observer's front page on Sunday 21 August. "Farmers, retailers and food inspectors have disclosed a catalogue of malpractice, including producers falsely passing off food as organic and retailers failing to gain accreditation from independent inspectors. The findings raise concerns that consumers paying high premiums for organic food are being ripped off." The revelations follow what is believed to have been the UK's first concerted investigation into organic food fraud by trading standards officers. An inquiry for Richmond council, in south-west London, exposed a number of retailers wrongly selling food as organic. Two traders were prosecuted earlier this month as a result of the investigation. Ysanne Spevack was invited to answer Jay Rayner, the Observer's Food Editor, in a live debate on LBC Radio on the morning of Monday 22 August. She successfully pointed out a number of major discrepancies in his argument against organic food, leaving presenter Nick Ferrari convinced that despite a few crooks, the vast majority of organic food traders are honest and selling better food. (The Observer; The Guardian - 21/8/05)
Organic milk is one of the richest sources of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), an essential fat which is, it seems, vital for the proper chemical functioning of the brain, mediating hormones, the immune system and blood flow according to Professor Puri, a biochemist and consultant psychiatrist at Hammersmith hospital in London. (The Times T2 - 19/8/05)
House of Fraser is selling the lease for its landmark department store - Barkers of Kensington - to US-based company Whole Foods Market, who own the UK organic food chain Fresh & Wild. The US company will open their first European store on the site. (Daily Express - 20/8/05)
"Liz Hurley is set to launch a range of organic baby meals. The plan shows 40-year-old Liz's commitment to green issues. She has joined the UK Soil Association and is making her London home more eco-friendly." (The Sun - 22/8/05)
Over thirty months cattle will be back in the food chain from November 2005 if the Government accepts the Food Standards Agency's recommendations. Supermarkets ASDA and Sainsbury's have said they will stock the beef but Morrisons is unsure and Waitrose completely rules it out. (Farmers Guardian)
BSE has been transmitted naturally between sheep for the first time, a study has shown. Confirmation that such a thing is possible reinforces fears that the disease may have entered sheep as well as cattle on farms in Britain. The revelation that lambs at a government experimental station appear to have caught BSE from their mothers coincides with plans to relax anti-BSE controls in cattle and was not mentioned at a meeting of the Food Standards Agency in Londo