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The continuing undermining of the USA organic industry by government and corporate agribusiness highlights the need for the Australian organic industry to retain control over our national organic standard. The events in the USA also reinforce the need for a strong organic industry peak body that can represent the whole industry to government and others to ensure that we retain control of our industry. We can look to countries like the USA and see the threats and opportunities that we face and make the right decisions now.

The organic industry is one of the major success stories in world agriculture and generates billions of dollars around the world. Large corporations are seeing this as an opportunity and are becoming a part of organics. The Australian organics industry needs to be well organised so that we can have the benefits of reaching a wider market and expand our industry, without losing the integrity of our organic standards. It is also important that we encourage a diversity of markets. This is so that issues of price and quality can be negotiated fairly, and we do not suffer the same fate as the dairy and sugar industries where prices received are below the cost of production for many farmers.

The main problem with the National Organic Program (NOP) in the US is that it is controlled and legislated by government. This means that US organic industry cannot directly change standards and has to lobby the government to ensure that it retains its integrity and is not misused by the big end of town.

Ronnie Cummins from the Organic Consumers Association states:

The Australian organic industry needs a strong Peak Body to ensure that we continue to control our industry and that we can effectively lobby government to ensure this control. This is one reason why the whole industry should support the OFA.

The organic CRC bid has passed the first hurdle and has been accepted in stage one of the process. Several other CRC bids failed this process, including several existing CRCs such as the Reef and Rainforest CRCs.

The previous bid managed to get to this stage, however failed to get the green light at the crucial second stage due to a lack of commercial partners. The organisers of the current bid have put a lot of effort to get commercial partners and have managed to get a wide range of participants from farmers, input suppliers, processors and retailers.

The CRC, if it gets the go ahead, will bring enormous benefits to the Australian organic industry. We have suffered from a lack of research funding and this organisation should go a long way towards redressing this imbalance.

I would like to state my appreciation to Helen Scott-Orr, Leanne Fitzpatrick and all the other organisers for the many long hours that they are putting into this project.

If you are interested in becoming a commercial participant please contact:

The growing world wide campaign against the release of GMO’s into agriculture has resulted in Monsanto withdrawing their GM wheat from North America and GM canola in Australia.

Bayer and other companies are still going forward with a range of GM crops including Canola

The recent decision by Canadian Supreme Court to uphold the decision against Percy Schmeiser for growing canola contaminated with their GMO herbicide resistant canola sends a chilling warning to farmers.

Percy Schmeiser has consistently claimed that his he has always saved his seeds from his own strain of canola, and that the transgenic material in his canola has resulted from pollen drift from his neighbour’s fields or seeds spilled from passing trucks

The court ruled that ‘by cultivating a plant containing the patented gene and composed of the patented cells without licence, the appellants thus deprived Monsanto of the full enjoyment of its monopoly.’

The court further ordered him to return his seeds and not to use them in the future. In a minor win to Schmeiser, the court ruled that he did not have to pay Monsanto's legal costs and it let him keep his profit as he did not use Monsanto’s herbicide.

The court decision sets a very dangerous precedent.

The decision now allows the patenting of higher life forms if part of the genetic code is patented. The court used the analogy of a house built with Lego blocks. If some of the blocks are patented, then the whole house is patented.

This essentially means that biotech companies can own plants that are contaminated with their patented transgenic DNA.

The OFA attended the most recent meeting of the Organic Industry Export Consultative Committee (OIECC) on Thursday. Andre Leu and Rod May were pleased to represent the Organic industry at this important meeting where the certifiers, government and IFOAM meet face to face only once per year to discuss and direct the national organic program which is delivered at %60% Industry, 40% Govt. cost by AQIS.

This years meeting was once again conducted in the Edmund Barton Building where it has in various formats been conducted for close to 15 years.

A new development was noted at this meeting however, and one that is very different from past meetings. This development was the announcement by the chair that the meeting was a confidential one until such time that the minutes are passed and approved by the committee. Given that this usually takes several months, the OFA is unfortunately unable to provide any information to the industry until that time.

Veg Out St Kilda Farmers’ Market is 26 June. Collingwood Children's Farm Farmers' Market is 12 June and then 10 July.

Contact Miranda Sharp Phone 5657 2337 or 0429 146627

Peter Brennan from Austrade, Los Angeles will be promoting Australian natural and organic foods to the US market. As part of this project they are preparing a "Buyers Catalogue" in which they will catalogue a variety of Australian suppliers of quality organic specialty food and produce. Once completed, the catalogue will be sent to key retail buyers, distributors and food brokers operating in the natural and organic foods industries. This may lead to export opportunities.

Please contact me at: leu@austarnet.com.au

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