Organic news archive: February 2005
WASHINGTON, February 23, 2005 - Farmers in developing countries who switch to organic agriculture achieve higher earnings and a better standard of living, according to a series of studies conducted in China, India and six Latin American countries by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). The findings were presented today during a workshop held at the World Bank's headquarters in Washington, DC. http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0502/S00647.htm
Scientists found that rats fed on organic food were slimmer, slept better and had stronger immune systems than others fed on conventionally grown produce. A team from the Danish Institute of Agricultural Sciences worked with Newcastle University scientist, Dr Kirsten Brandt. She said: "The difference was so big that it is very unlikely to be random." (The Independent; The Guardian - 19/2/05)
"More than 350 food products were swept off UK supermarket shelves yesterday in the biggest safety scare since the BSE crisis," writes James Meikle in the Guardian (19/2/05)
Fresh and canned foods, ready meals and cooking sauces were removed from sale on the orders of government food watchdogs after the chance discovery in Italy 11 days ago of an illegal, potentially cancer-causing dye ingredient in a bottle of Crosse & Blackwell Worcester sauce. All the foods affected came from one supplier, Premier Foods, which said it had been advised by the Food Standards Agency that the levels of the dye Sudan 1 that had been detected "present no immediate risk to health".
The alert relates to 357 products with Worcester sauce flavouring, and the figure may rise. This weekend's recall of hundreds of products exposes huge gaps in the safeguards supposed to keep deadly dangers out of the food we eat. "It raises big questions over the priorities and effectiveness of the Food Standards Agency," writes Geoffrey Lean in the Daily Mail (21/2/05).
Seed and technology fees for genetically modified crops are on the up in the USA, as companies continue to invest in next generation traits. Some producers are expecting Monsanto's technology fees to rise 75% this season, as the firm seeks to recoup costs. The main reason for the price rises is the need to fund work on next generation GM varieties.
Jamie Oliver has launched a manifesto for transforming school meals. He said the Government has to spend more on school dinners, teach children how to cook and pay dinner ladies more. "Many children can tell you about drugs but do not know what celery or courgettes taste like," he said. (The Daily Telegraph)
The Social Issues Research Council, which is funded by food companies as well as the government, said average child weights have only risen slightly. The scale of childhood obesity has been exaggerated, researchers have claimed. Dr Peter Marsh, co-director of SIRC, said: "Clearly there are some children who are too fat for their own good. But there has been very little change over the last decade, contrary to the lurid warnings."
The Department of Health used both UK and international methods of assessing obesity rates. A spokeswoman said that: "There has been a rise" in childhood obesity in the UK. (BBC News - 16/2/05)
Edible vaccines could be produced in genetically-modified fruit and vegetables, researchers in New York have said. The announcement came after they used GM potatoes to make a vaccine against hepatitis B. The implications of this could be huge, as GM cross-pollination with non-GM food crops would carry the risk of releasing vaccine drugs into the environment.
(Daily Mail; The Times - 15/2/05)
Hundreds of pioneering organic farmers, and organic dairy farmers, will be massively disadvantaged as a result of new CAP payments. Up to 200 longstanding organic farmers and 600 organic dairy farmers, who have converted more recently, will be affected. They will not receive the same level of payments as other farmers and will be denied access to compensation. The Soil Association is calling on Defra, SEERAD and the Welsh Assembly to address this issue by releasing the money needed. The Soil Association estimates that organic farmers typically received 40% less CAP money compared with non-organic farmers in the past. Organic farmers will now receive less money under the new scheme. The Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs states that farmers who decided to convert to organic production before 1994 - when organic grant aid first became available - did so purely as a "business decision", and are therefore not entitled to claim hardship funds. The Soil Association estimates that this affects up to 200 organic farmers.
Patrick Holden, Director of the Soil Association said, "Defra's decision is grossly unfair. These farmers pioneered sustainable agriculture and have provided environmental benefits for over 10 years. They never benefited from public money to
WASHINGTON, February 23, 2005 - Farmers in developing countries who switch to organic agriculture achieve higher earnings and a better standard of living, according to a series of studies conducted in China, India and six Latin American countries by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). The findings were presented today during a workshop held at the World Bank's headquarters in Washington, DC. http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0502/S00647.htm
Scientists found that rats fed on organic food were slimmer, slept better and had stronger immune systems than others fed on conventionally grown produce. A team from the Danish Institute of Agricultural Sciences worked with Newcastle University scientist, Dr Kirsten Brandt. She said: "The difference was so big that it is very unlikely to be random." (The Independent; The Guardian - 19/2/05)
"More than 350 food products were swept off UK supermarket shelves yesterday in the biggest safety scare since the BSE crisis," writes James Meikle in the Guardian (19/2/05)
Fresh and canned foods, ready meals and cooking sauces were removed from sale on the orders of government food watchdogs after the chance discovery in Italy 11 days ago of an illegal, potentially cancer-causing dye ingredient in a bottle of Crosse & Blackwell Worcester sauce. All the foods affected came from one supplier, Premier Foods, which said it had been advised by the Food Standards Agency that the levels of the dye Sudan 1 that had been detected "present no immediate risk to health".
The alert relates to 357 products with Worcester sauce flavouring, and the figure may rise. This weekend's recall of hundreds of products exposes huge gaps in the safeguards supposed to keep deadly dangers out of the food we eat. "It raises big questions over the priorities and effectiveness of the Food Standards Agency," writes Geoffrey Lean in the Daily Mail (21/2/05).
Seed and technology fees for genetically modified crops are on the up in the USA, as companies continue to invest in next generation traits. Some producers are expecting Monsanto's technology fees to rise 75% this season, as the firm seeks to recoup costs. The main reason for the price rises is the need to fund work on next generation GM varieties.
Jamie Oliver has launched a manifesto for transforming school meals. He said the Government has to spend more on school dinners, teach children how to cook and pay dinner ladies more. "Many children can tell you about drugs but do not know what celery or courgettes taste like," he said. (The Daily Telegraph)
The Social Issues Research Council, which is funded by food companies as well as the government, said average child weights have only risen slightly. The scale of childhood obesity has been exaggerated, researchers have claimed. Dr Peter Marsh, co-director of SIRC, said: "Clearly there are some children who are too fat for their own good. But there has been very little change over the last decade, contrary to the lurid warnings."
The Department of Health used both UK and international methods of assessing obesity rates. A spokeswoman said that: "There has been a rise" in childhood obesity in the UK. (BBC News - 16/2/05)
Edible vaccines could be produced in genetically-modified fruit and vegetables, researchers in New York have said. The announcement came after they used GM potatoes to make a vaccine against hepatitis B. The implications of this could be huge, as GM cross-pollination with non-GM food crops would carry the risk of releasing vaccine drugs into the environment. (Daily Mail; The Times - 15/2/05)
Hundreds of pioneering organic farmers, and organic dairy farmers, will be massively disadvantaged as a result of new CAP payments. Up to 200 longstanding organic farmers and 600 organic dairy farmers, who have converted more recently, will be affected. They will not receive the same level of payments as other farmers and will be denied access to compensation. The Soil Association is calling on Defra, SEERAD and the Welsh Assembly to address this issue by releasing the money needed. The Soil Association estimates that organic farmers typically received 40% less CAP money compared with non-organic farmers in the past. Organic farmers will now receive less money under the new scheme. The Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs states that farmers who decided to convert to organic production before 1994 - when organic grant aid first became available - did so purely as a "business decision", and are therefore not entitled to claim hardship funds. The Soil Association estimates that this affects up to 200 organic farmers.
Patrick Holden, Director of the Soil Association said, "Defra's decision is grossly unfair. These farmers pioneered sustainable agriculture and have provided environmental benefits for over 10 years. They never benefited from public money to