Organic news archive: December 2004
Patrick Holden, the chair of the Soil Association, has been awarded a CBE in the new year honours list, for services to organic farming. (The Times; Dairy Telegraph; Guardian; Independent - 31/12/04)
The Daily Mail reports that Darlington Memorial Hospital has become the first in the country to swap ordinary milk for organic, in the belief that it will aid patients' recovery. 5,000 pints of organic milk will be delivered from Acorn Dairy three miles away. Ron McKenzie, the hospital's head of catering, said a two-month trial had resulted in positive feedback: "We have a duty to our patients based on improving health and well-being, and as organic milk seems to have enhanced nutritional benefits, the small increase in cost is more than justified."
Eating fast-food can double the risk of diabetes, new research has shown. A major 15-year American study has confirmed that a junk diet, including burgers, chips and pizza, is a recipe for obesity and health problems. Not only does the food lead to weight gain, it also builds insulin resistance, triggering diabetes in adults. The University of Minnesota study involved more than 3,000 young adults who were monitored between 1985 and 2000. (Daily Express; Guardian; Daily Mail; Daily Telegraph - 31/12/04)
Elliot Morley, minister for the environment, wrote to the Guardian to deny that the AEBC is being scrapped because it has hindered the introduction of GM crops. He claims the only difference between the AEBC and the government is 'our view that the taxpayer should not pick up any liability from actions of GM cultivation, but the GM sector itself.' (The Guardian - 30/12/04)
GM news
The environment secretary, Margaret Beckett, is to scrap an advisory committee after it repeatedly placed obstacles in the way of government plans to introduce genetically modified crops. The commission established by the government to monitor ethical and social issues linked to GM crops is to be disbanded after its members insisted that conventional and organic farmers should be protected from contamination by GM crops - and be compensated if safeguards fail. With the results of the latest GM trials due in February, Mrs Beckett, already known to be hostile to the Agriculture and Environment Biotechnology Commission, is expected to announce its demise early next month, before it can cause further difficulties. (The Guardian; Daily Mail - 29/12/04)
Some top-selling brands of flavoured mineral or spring water contain more sugar in a litre than there is in a Mars bar. (The Sunday Times - 26/12/04)
Farmers in the South West are putting fresh pressure on NFU officials to begin drafting a legally enforceable agreement to rein in the power of the supermarkets. The new year will see them increasing demands for a statutory code of conduct which will include preventing the sale of food at prices below the cost of production. Originating from Somerset farmers, the demand will be fully debated at January's NFU council. (Western Daily Press, 22/12/04)
A new environmentally-benign insecticide from Dow should be on offer to fruit and veg growers in 2005. Developed from a natural material found in an abandoned rum factory on a Caribbean island, it offers excellent insect control with a very favourable environmental and human health profile. According to David Scorer, head of Dow's UK business, "The profile is so favourable that it even has organic approval in the USA".
Patrick Holden, the chair of the Soil Association, has been awarded a CBE in the new year honours list, for services to organic farming. (The Times; Dairy Telegraph; Guardian; Independent - 31/12/04)
The Daily Mail reports that Darlington Memorial Hospital has become the first in the country to swap ordinary milk for organic, in the belief that it will aid patients' recovery. 5,000 pints of organic milk will be delivered from Acorn Dairy three miles away. Ron McKenzie, the hospital's head of catering, said a two-month trial had resulted in positive feedback: "We have a duty to our patients based on improving health and well-being, and as organic milk seems to have enhanced nutritional benefits, the small increase in cost is more than justified."
Eating fast-food can double the risk of diabetes, new research has shown. A major 15-year American study has confirmed that a junk diet, including burgers, chips and pizza, is a recipe for obesity and health problems. Not only does the food lead to weight gain, it also builds insulin resistance, triggering diabetes in adults. The University of Minnesota study involved more than 3,000 young adults who were monitored between 1985 and 2000. (Daily Express; Guardian; Daily Mail; Daily Telegraph - 31/12/04)
Elliot Morley, minister for the environment, wrote to the Guardian to deny that the AEBC is being scrapped because it has hindered the introduction of GM crops. He claims the only difference between the AEBC and the government is 'our view that the taxpayer should not pick up any liability from actions of GM cultivation, but the GM sector itself.' (The Guardian - 30/12/04)
GM news
The environment secretary, Margaret Beckett, is to scrap an advisory committee after it repeatedly placed obstacles in the way of government plans to introduce genetically modified crops. The commission established by the government to monitor ethical and social issues linked to GM crops is to be disbanded after its members insisted that conventional and organic farmers should be protected from contamination by GM crops - and be compensated if safeguards fail. With the results of the latest GM trials due in February, Mrs Beckett, already known to be hostile to the Agriculture and Environment Biotechnology Commission, is expected to announce its demise early next month, before it can cause further difficulties. (The Guardian; Daily Mail - 29/12/04)
Some top-selling brands of flavoured mineral or spring water contain more sugar in a litre than there is in a Mars bar. (The Sunday Times - 26/12/04)
Farmers in the South West are putting fresh pressure on NFU officials to begin drafting a legally enforceable agreement to rein in the power of the supermarkets. The new year will see them increasing demands for a statutory code of conduct which will include preventing the sale of food at prices below the cost of production. Originating from Somerset farmers, the demand will be fully debated at January's NFU council. (Western Daily Press, 22/12/04)
A new environmentally-benign insecticide from Dow should be on offer to fruit and veg growers in 2005. Developed from a natural material found in an abandoned rum factory on a Caribbean island, it offers excellent insect control with a very favourable environmental and human health profile. According to David Scorer, head of Dow's UK business, "The profile is so favourable that it even has organic approval in the USA".