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Organic Federation of Australia Organic Update November-December 2004 |
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This is the first of two Organic Updates that will be sent out. It has been an exceptionally busy six weeks for the OFA and I did not have the time to put out the November issue. Rather than have a long December issue, I felt it would be best to split it into two.
Next week there will be an Organic Update with details about the OFA AGM and a summary of the restructure document.
Best Regards
Andre
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Around 200 people packed the Spacement Gallery on Thursday Dec 2 in Melbourne for the launch of Organic Future.
Organic Future was co founded by Katie Patrick and Jenny Jackson to fill the much needed role of a national organic consumers organisation. The OFA is very supportive of this organisation as we believe it is long overdue. Three of our board members gave presentations at the launch and Jenny Jackson is now on the board of the OFA as our consumer representative.
Attendees sampled South Australia's finest organic wines, Fiona Chamber's organic pork sausages from a rare species of pig and an array of organic gourmet sweets, savories, breads, cheeses and fresh produce.
Guest speakers included Jenny Jackson, Chief Executive of Organic Future, Andre Leu, Chair of Organic Federation of Australia (OFA); Liz Clay, Director of OFA and IFOAM World Board Director; Corey Watts, Sustainable Rural Landscape Coordinator, Australian Conservation Foundation and Rod May, Vice Chair, The National Association for Sustainable Agriculture Australia (NASAA) and Director of OFA.
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The Annual General Meeting of the Biological Farmers of Australia Co-operative Ltd (BFA) was held on Saturday the 6th day of November 2004 at the Brisbane Riverview Hotel. The well attended event featured presentations from Scott Kinnear on GMO’s, Shane Heaton on nutrition and quality comparisons of organic and conventional foods and Pierce Cody on developing Macro Wholefoods into an organic independent retail chain.
The AGM saw only one change with Quentin Kennedy being elected as a director to replace Denis O’Leary who decided not to stand again after 8 years as a director.
Doug Haas was returned as Chairman and said, "The 2004 AGM of the BFA... was possibly the best ever held by BFA and its subsidiary ACO."
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The 18th Annual General Meeting of the National Association for Sustainable Agriculture in Australia (NASAA) was held in Adelaide on Saturday 27 November.
The meeting was preceded by an Organic Forum, including:
The Chair of NASAA, George Devrell, commented on NASAA's key performance indicators for 2003/4 :
The meeting endorsed a budget with a projected income of over $1 million for the current year, and noted that income to end October or one third of this year was 45% of budget.
George Devrell said "As at 30 October we had a substantial sum in bank deposits earning interest. NASAA is therefore well placed to cover our share of some important industry initiatives underway. These are the IFOAM World Congress in September 2005, the industry bid to establish an Organic Co-operative Research Centre and the proposal to restructure the OFA. The surplus increases our reserves, which we believe are more than enough to cope with any unforseen circumstances for the next year or so".
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Dr Darren Halpin’s Australian Organic Industry profile, instigated and actively assisted by the OFA has been released.
The summary document and the full report of the statistical study of the organic industry in 2003/4 are available from the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry at www.daff.gov.au
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The Organic Food Chain was formed in 1997 by directors and members of the BFA, (all farmers and processors) who saw a need for an organic accreditation body that did not charge levies on production and focused strongly on quality assurance matters in all stages of the production chain. Based in Toowoomba, Qld, the OFC has grown to now accredit clients across Australia and is a privately owned company by its directors.
The Organic Food Chain Pty Ltd charges its clients a once yearly fee for accreditation, which includes an audit (plus travel), residue testing, all export documentation and unlimited technical advise, allowing clients to budget effectively without the surprise of any hidden additional charges.
The OFC is an ISO9001-2000 quality assured company, with JAS-ANZ accreditation by SGS International. The OFC has equivalency with the EU, has JAS MAFF accreditation with the Japanese government and can offer NOP to its clients for the USA.
The Directors and Staff of the OFC have a high level of dedication to organic production, and as such are representatives on many government committees and advisory boards, to ensure that organic producers and processors are given a strong voice in legislative processes.
Margaret Will
CEO
The Organic Food Chain Pty Ltd
PO Box 2390
Toowoomba Qld 4350 Australia
Tel (07)4637 2600 Fax(07)4696 7689 Mobile (0417)674 790
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Submissions to the 15th IFOAM Organic World Congress have been extended until Dec 20th 2004. This will be a once in a lifetime opportunity to contribute to a world organic event in Australia.
Submission to contribute to the 15th IFOAM Organic World Congress
21-23 September 2005, Adelaide
Personal details
Title, Prof, Dr, Mrs, Ms, Mr
First name ________________________________________
Last name ________________________________________
Organisation ________________________________________
Postal address ________________________________________
Town/City ________________________________________
Postal code _____________ Country __________________
Telephone _____________ Fax _____________________
Email ________________________________________
Send to:IFOAM 2005, c/o NASAA, PO Box 768, Stirling SA 5152, Australia
Email: ifoam2005@nasaa.com.au
Phone/Fax +61 8 8339 7800
Closing date for submission of proposals, including abstracts: 20 December 2004
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Approximately 140 participants from 6 countries attended "The First International Biodynamic Wine Forum" held at Beechworth, Victoria, Australia from the 19-21st November, 2004.
Hailed as a great success by attendees, industry and the media, the three day Forum brought together leading vignerons from Europe, Australia, New Zealand and the USA to share their experiences with the Biodynamic method of viticulture and its importance to creating truly exceptional wine.
Forum Convenor, Julian Castagna said "The enthusiasm, inspiration and 20 years of Biodynamic experience of keynote International speaker, Nicolas Joly of Coulee de Serrant, France was balanced by the down to earth and practical approach of the Australasian practitioners, Ron Laughton of Jasper Hill, Heathcote, Victoria, Vanya Cullen of Cullen Wines, Cowaramup, WA and James Millton of Millton Vineyards, Manutuke, New Zealand."
One of the highlights of the three days was "The Tasting" of over 60 of the world's best Biodynamic wines, showcasing 44 producers from 12 countries including greats Domaine de la Romanée Conti, Domaine Leroy, Domaine Leflaive, Champagne Larmandier-Bernier, Domaine Pierre Frick, Domaine Marcel Deiss; Clos de la Coulée de Serrant and Descendientes de J Palacios.
Although initially planned as a one off event, James Millton of Millton Vineyards, New Zealand saw great value from the Forum and the information exchange it generated and has indicated that New Zealand will host a Biodynamic Wine Forum in 2006. There is certainly a great momentum and interest in Biodynamic Wine with International Biodynamic Tastings already booked for San Francisco, Bordeaux and Tokyo in 2005.
For further information on Biodynamics contact Fiona at Biodynamic Agriculture Australia on 02 6655 0566.
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Two weeks ago Organic Bytes blew the whistle on the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for a proposed toxic chemical "monitoring study" on low-income children. The extreme toxicity of these chemicals is already known and many of them are already banned in Europe. Such a large number of people signed the OCA petition (50,000+) and forwarded it to their friends in the first 48 hours, that our website server temporarily crashed and the EPA asked the Organic Consumers Association to stop the petition. They will not stop until the chemical corporations are disinvited in having a hand in this biased study, low income families are no longer targeted, and consumers learn the truth about these dangerous chemicals. If you haven't already done so, please sign the petition here...
http://www.organicconsumers.org/epa-alert.htm
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Barbara and John Murray established Annabel’s in 1989. Annabel’s is one of Australia’s most respected organic stores. They held a celebration of 15 years as organic industry leaders on Monday 13 December 2004 at their shop in Willoughby Rd , Crows Nest, Sydney.
On a concerning note we have been informed that the opening of the Macro Wholefoods organic supermarket across the road has resulted in a large drop in customers to Annabels. Lets hope that this is only a temporary trend.
The recent Australian Organic Industry Study shows that over 40% of all organic items are now sold in supermarkets. As an industry we need to monitor this trend. It is important that the increase in organics in supermarkets does not come at the expense of the small stores like Annabels who have actively supported and promoted our industry from the beginning.
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Dr Paul Kristiansen of The University of New England’s School of Rural Science and Agriculture is offering a new unit that will prepare people in rural industries for one of the most important developments of twenty-first-century farming: organic agriculture. The unit, Organic Agriculture Principles and Practices, will be available for the first time next year. Dr Kristiansen can be contacted on (02) 6773 2962. E-mail: paul.kristiansen@une.edu.au
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The Cooperative Research Centre for Organic Food and Farming Technologies completed the final interview round in mid-November. A lot of work went into this interview with participants holding several meetings to develop the submissions and prepare answers for anticipated questions.
This is the second time that the bid has reached this stage. The previous bid missed out on being selected as the CRC interviewers felt that there were not enough commercial partners. This has been rectified in the current bid with significant commercial input and funding
If successful the bid would provide $28million of Commonwealth CRC funds over a seven year period. With industry and research partner contributions the value of research to the organic industry will be in excess of $100 million over the 7 years.
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The German parliament has passed a law that makes farmers using GMO plants legally responsible for the contamination of non-GM crops. Farmers also have to put all land used for GMO cultivation in a public register.
Renate Kuenast the Agriculture Minister, said. "...the law provides...legal clarity and planning security in the farming industry."
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The National Food Irradiation Roadshow that occurred between Nov 16-26 in Melbourne, Canberra, Sydney, Brisbane, Cairns and Atherton was well recieved by politicians, the general public and industry interest organisations. Winnonah Hauter from Public Citizen, Washington DC USA, Andre Leu, OFA, Fran Jell and Robin Taubenfeld, campaigners from Narangba Campaign in Queensland and Bonny Bauer, OPAQ gave presentations. Food Irradiation is emerging as a major threat to our food supply and organic products. It will be seen as significant as GMO contamination.
Winonah released Public Citizen's new report: Food Irradiation: Australia and Beyond - From Naranba to the Cold War and Back" as part of the Food Irradiation Awareness Tour.
Contact: Robin Taubenfeld from Food Irradiation Watch 0411 118 737
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American Music Awards celebrities received a gift bag of organic items, backstage at the 32nd annual American Music Awards.
Eighty presenters and award winners - including Usher, Pamela Anderson, Sheryl Crow, Serena Williams, Clay Aiken, Lenny Kravitz, Jessica Simpson and Billy Idol - received organic goodies including personal lubricant, deodorant, chocolate, roses and coffee.
Source ENN