Organics ABC

I spent much of this past weekend at the COABC (Certified Organic Associations of British Columbia) annual conference which was conveniently held in Sidney and attracted some great speakers and lots of friendly farm folk, with tasty organic fare to fuel the conversation ("When was the last time you saw organic milk at a conference?" we marvelled in the coffee queue; "This would be a first" we agreed.)

The two headliners for my interests were Chris Thoreau, an urban farmer from Vancouver, speaking about how to make money from farming in cities, and Todd Kabaluk, a researcher from Agriculture Canada, speaking on current research into wireworm.

Thoreau's talk on Friday night promised to go beyond community gardens to explore some of the economic aspects of urban farming. An entrepreneurial bent is needed to make money from farming in the city, and Thoreau's aim is to prove it's a viable economic model for some, both by farming himself and by creating an urban farming network in Vancouver (where there are 19 urban farms - comparing poorly with the 700+ that now exist in Detroit .. but on the other hand, there is - let us be grateful - not the same degree of vacant lots in Vancouver)

City FarmBoy is believed to be the longest standing urban farmer in Vancouver, farming 14 backyards and one rooftop. Farmers on 57th work with residents of the George Pearson Centre providing food and involvment to people living in the facility. Thoreau's own business, My Urban Farm: small scale sunflower sprouts delivered by bicycle. SOLEfood has literally taken over a parking lot on East Hastings, with the help of a grant from the city to set up. They use raised beds to grow food to sell at high end restaurants, farmers market, recreation centres and so on, using the proceeds to hire people and train farmers.

And then there was a reception, featuring Crannog Ales and Summerhill wines.



Friday night nibbles included...



On Saturday, we had opening addresses from Dag Falck,



of Nature's Path, explaining the negative effect that "natural" food branding is having on certified organic food sales. He pointed out that only half a percent of all farmland in North America is under organic cultivation, which means that shortages of organic ingredients are imminent if the sector continues to grow. There is a widespread misunderstanding of the meaning of the term - led by marketing - that leads the public to pay a premium for goods made from agricultural products that are - and cost- exactly the same as conventional products. There is a white paper on the subject, from COTA (Canadian Organic Trade Association).

Alex Atamanenko



spoke about organic items topical in Ottawa, including Bill C-474. There is still a shred of hope around the topic, with a new campaign to support a moratorium on GM alfalfa in Canada. He addressed the worrying elements in CETA (Canada–European Union) trade negotiations that threaten seed-saving, and later confirmed what I'd heard about the first-time inclusion of municipal level obligations that could end institutional support for local foods (the proposed changes would "prohibit municipalities from using procurement for sustainable development purposes such as promoting food security by adopting “buy local” food practices"). So lobbying is suggested at the municipal as well as federal level.

I went on to a talk abou soil ecology and alternative mulches for organic blueberry production; basically a discussion about traditional use of sawdust vs composts. One of the reasons was to reduce the loss or injury of plants through plant-parasitic nematodes, which can more easily be kept in check by natural predators such as those found in soil enriched with organic matter.

Then there was a coffee break



and I skipped out to do some errands. After a vibrant lunch



there was a panel on Community Farms, land leasing and other ownership models with Jen Cody of Growing Opportunities; Nichola Walkden of The Land Conservancy; and Heather Pritchard of Farm Folk City Folk. There was a lot of discussion about the ins and outs of land tenure when working with a collective or community model; issues to do with zoning, neighbours and conditions of tenancy.



Then it was time to turn to the most evil insect of them all. Todd Kabaluk gave a thorough consideration to the life and times of the wireworm, mortal enemy to all potato growers and many others besides. As has been previously discussed here, it's a long-lived pest with a big hunger and an undiscriminating palate; laying waste to seedlings and rendering root vegetables unsaleable. There are no known enemies, though research is looking for these; and it's hard to kill since its whiskers allow it to whisk up and down in the soil, so you can't be sure exactly where it is. As Kabaluk wryly observed, "Wireworms are where you find them".

One place you will certainly find them is in forage crops/ set-aside/ any longer-term grass (like lawns and turf) where moisture levels are steady and there's lots of food in the roots of grasses. Till that under and you move the grass and the wireworm beneath the soil; when the grass decomposes, and the wireworm loses its food source, you have created a situation where the wireworm must seek a new food source. If you've planted a crop, expect visitors, as they're attracted to the CO2 emitted by the roots.

Although some useful research has been done - involving brown mustard as a rotation crop; use of aromatic oils like citronella; and use of a fungal biological control - there is no quick fix available yet. Kabaluk is focusing on better methods of monitoring their numbers (to reduce the need, e.g., for corn farmers to automatically treat seed with clothianidin even where wireworm numbers are not known). The best summary he could recommend of non-chemical treatments is this article from 2008.

Supper was good and featured lots of salmon from Sointula, as well as local cheese and charcuterie. And a very nice apple and berry crumble to finish.



A last look at the silent auction items



- I was outbid on everything (luckily) - and some jolly tunes from the Jugbandits, and that was it for me. I couldn't make it to the Sunday sessions as I had a bee talk to attend.

Who was where and voted how

Thanks to CBAN for providing a list of the MPs who voted on Bill C-474 (defeated 176-97). Interesting to see that Michael Ignatieff was missing from the vote and so was our own Keith Martin.

Countdown - Bill C-474

There's so much going on in the GMO world right now. All a-flutter about GM Alfalfa down south, and tomorrow there's the final debate on Bill C-474, with the vote on February 9.

If you're Canadian, it's worth writing your MP. CBAN makes it easy...

And if you're interested in knowing more about why it's worth trying to protect our organic and non-GM growers, there are good reasons why you as a consumer might not want to be eating genetically modified foods. Or exporting them elsewhere.

Because there is no mandatory labelling of GM foods in this country, at the moment your only option not to eat genetically modified foods in Canada is to buy organic .

And here's why organics might be worth your investment, excerpt from the American Academy of Environmental Medicine’s Position Paper on GMOs (from May, 2009):

Natural breeding processes have been safely utilized for the past several thousand years. In contrast, "GE crop technology abrogates natural reproductive processes, selection occurs at the single cell level, the procedure is highly mutagenic and routinely breeches genera barriers, and the technique has only been used commercially for 10 years."

Despite these differences, safety assessment of GM foods has been based on the idea of "substantial equivalence" such that "if a new food is found to be substantially equivalent in composition and nutritional characteristics to an existing food, it can be regarded as safe as the conventional food." However, several animal studies indicate serious health risks associated with GM food consumption including infertility, immune dysregulation, accelerated aging, dysregulation of genes associated with cholesterol synthesis, insulin regulation, cell signaling, and protein formation, and changes in the liver, kidney, spleen and gastrointestinal system.

According to Dr. Arpad Pusztai,who exposed risks to the immune system associated with GM potatoes, “it's not the foreign gene that's added to a food product or animal hybrid that is dangerous - these things taken on their own had little to no effect - but it's the entire process of changing the genes that creates the problem” (quoted last March). And that’s the outcome on which we’re gambling our health and that of our children.

The other thing to remember about genetically-modified foods is that they're not developed for better flavour or nutritional qualities. They're developed to tackle weeds by making the patented seeds resistant to a patented pesticide, the herbicide Roundup (glyphosate). So that means that when you eat genetically-modified foods, you are consuming foods produced with ever-increasing amounts of pesticides, which are proving ever less effective.

We have Monsanto’s assurance that glyphosate is not harmful to us. Curiously, it’s been deemed safe for us to eat, but is labelled a groundwater contaminant and is toxic to fish and marine life. I can’t help but wonder what long-term effect will it have if it reaches human digestive systems through seafood or groundwater?

The Alfalfa thing and final debate & vote on C-474

A year or two ago I was interviewing someone about organic issues and genetically modified something or other and the topic of GM alfalfa came up. She told me that GM wheat had been on the regulatory table some years ago, but the public outcry was such that it was soundly defeated.

Which she thought was great, but the real problem would come when GM alfalfa came knocking at Canada's door. That, she said, would kill organics, and the public wouldn't even know to get excited because who cares about alfalfa? Wheat we can identify with; it's part of being Canadian. But alfalfa's just hay or something, right? Actually it's at the bottom of our food chain, and so you had better care deeply, because it's about to change your life.

As you may have heard, the American government has not just opened the door but laid down a red carpet for GM alfalfa, so it seems we have pretty much lost the battle before the bugle has even sounded. Alfalfa is the fourth most widely-grown crop in the United States behind corn, wheat and soybeans.

It is the primary animal feed - forage crop - in Canada. It is heavily used to feed dairy cattle, as well as horses, beef cattle, sheep, chickens, turkeys and other farm animals. Which means it feeds the dairy industry and the meat and egg industries. It's popular in animal feeds because it's high in protein, vitamins and minerals; this is why people eat alfalfa sprouts as well.

Organic producers are not allowed to use genetically modified ingredients or feeds, so if you buy organic eggs, milk, cheese, butter or meat, get ready to kiss them goodbye. Likewise organic alfalfa sprouts.

One thing to know about alfalfa is that it's pollinated by bees, so it will travel. The bees who pollinate it are specialized (alfalfa leafcutter bees/Megachile rotundata). Honeybees can't do the work because of the mechanics of the flower and the size and shape of the bee. Alfalfa leafcutters do not have the range of honeybees, but travel they will, and the GM alfalfa pollen with them.

Alfalfa is hugely important in farming because it's a legume, meaning it has nitrogen-fixing qualities for gardens as well as farms, and so it's frequently grown as a cover crop, as well as a forage crop.

Because of its position in our food chain, contamination of organic alfalfa with GM alfalfa means no more organic meat, eggs, dairy or sprouts for us, but it also means no more organic *or* conventional meat, egg or dairy products can be exported by Canada to protected markets like the EU which refuses to buy GM foods.

Surely this situation gives Canada grounds to sue the USA for violation of NAFTA's environmental and trade protections? I think we should be questioning long and loud why Obama's government's love affair with the biotech industry is allowed to rob Canada of the right to choose whether or not to allow GM plants and foods into our environment and agricultural production. Won't the American decision cause Canada clear economic losses by crippling our ability to produce organic foods and supply our export markets?

Therefore, this is a particularly important time to heed CEBan's call to action over Bill C-474 which is thoroughly entangled in the alfalfa issue. Bill C-474 aims to protect farmers who wish to export non-GM crops into protected markets; it came up because of the accidental contamination of Canadian flaxseed with GM flax.

The final debate takes place February 8; the final vote on February 9. We need the Liberals to vote for this bill, so if you are in a liberal (or even conservative) riding (or care to drop a line to Michael Ignatieff and Stephen Harper) write, phone or otherwise harangue your MP today.

Write to Tom Vilsack and Barack Obama while you're at it. Do not let them say that nobody complained so they did what they liked.

Shame on Candian Conservatives (again)

Info and action - www.cban.ca/474

PRESS RELEASE For Immediate Release

Conservatives Shut Down Debate on Biotech Harm to Farmers

Parliamentary hearings cancelled to protect biotechnology corporations

October 28, 2010, Ottawa - Today, House of Commons Agriculture Committee hearings on Private Members Bill C-474 - dealing with the issue of genetic engineering - were cancelled and invited witnesses were turned away because, last night, Conservative Members of Parliament voted down a motion to extend debate on the Bill. The motion to extend the debate by 30 days was defeated by just 4 votes.

Bill C-474 would support farmers by requiring that “an analysis of potential harm to export markets be conducted before the sale of any new genetically engineered seed is permitted.”

“The Conservatives ended the debate in order to protect the biotech industry from any more scrutiny,” said Lucy Sharratt, Coordinator of the Canadian Biotechnology Action Network. “This Bill spurred the first real debate in Parliament over the negative impacts of genetically engineered crops and that’s why Conservatives shut it down.”

“The vote to extend the hearings should have been an uncontroversial procedural matter but the Conservatives made a calculated political move to save biotech corporations like Monsanto from the spotlight,” said Sharratt. “The debate was exposing the reality that some genetically engineered crops can cause serious economic harm to farmers and the Canadian economy, and our government currently has no legislative way to stop economically harmful GE crops.” Farmers are at risk when GE crops are commercialized in Canada without also being first approved in our major export markets.

This morning’s Agriculture Committee hearings were cancelled and National Farmers Union President Terry Boehm, who was invited by the Committee to testify, was turned away. Boehm traveled from Saskatchewan and planned to speak in favour of the Bill. Many more witnesses, including other farm leaders, will now not have a chance to present to the Committee. The Committee has already heard strong testimony in support of Bill C-474 from organizations representing conventional alfalfa growers. The growers are predicting that Monsanto’s GE alfalfa will harm their markets. “The debate was making it increasingly harder to justify a position against the Bill,” said Sharratt.

The final vote on the Bill could be called within weeks. The Bill was introduced by Alex Atamanenko, the NDP Agriculture Critic and MP for British Columbia Southern Interior.


-30-


For more information: Lucy Sharratt, Coordinator, Canadian Biotechnology Action Network, 613 241 2267 ext 6; cell: 613 263 9511 coordinator@cban.ca

How it went in Parliament: C-311 & C-474 passed!

Well. The outcome of yesterday's votes on bill C-474: proposed Seeds Regulation Act and bill C-311: Climate Change Accountability Act were both excellent, from a citizen's point of view: for C-474 the vote passed 153 to 134, and C-311 passed 155-137.

Discussion and voting records for both are in the Hansard, which I encourage all interested souls to read: there is so much said and so little reported on matters which affect all of us.

For bill C-474, here's another place to look to see how your MP voted, so you can drop them a line of thanks or supply them with more improving reading, as the case may warrant. As you will note, a great many (but not all!!) of the Conservatives do not really seem to have a clear grasp of the ramifications of GMO products on international trade, and I hope you will all make sure you explain it to them, loudly. Because you can be very certain the biotech companies will be whispering in their other ear.

Passing this motion means the bill is going to committee for further study and amendments. The Standing Committee Members on Agriculture and Agri-Food will be deliberating the matter further. If your MP is on this committee and voted against the bill, they would benefit from an extra helping of information from you, as there will be strong lobbying coming from the opponents of this bill: they have a lot of money riding on it (we have only our health and future).

Likewise, your MP will benefit from knowing more about your opionions on the Climate Change Accountability Act, and what more you would like to see done in the way of a plan for Canada to meet its climate change obligations. C-311 sets and enforces national emission targets, but it leaves the preparation of plans to meet those targets to the Minister of the Environment. If Mr Harper's government does not hear from us, they can go on saying that they are acting in all our interests. Which just isn't so...

Letters to write before Wednesday

Hope all who wish and should and can have written to their MPs to invite their support for the vote on Bill C-474, the Seeds Regulation Act, coming up this Wednesday, April 14.

As you may know, there's another urgent bill on the Hill: this Wednesday will also see a vote on the Climate Change Accountability Act (Bill C-311).

This one is based on a report called The Case for Deep Reductions by the Pembina Institute, the David Suzuki Foundation, and the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy, which offers an overview of the case for reductions, analysis of objections, and a reminder that we already said we'd make cuts (anyone remember Kyoto?).

Let's please get together and remind Mr Harper and all the boys and girls who represent us in Parliament that it is we the people - and not the oil industry - who have the right to choose what our world's future should look like.

Climate change will indisputably mean a damaged food supply for all of us. As a nation we must embrace our share of the changes we need to make now to keep ourselves, our children and grandchildren fed. Frankly, we're not getting leadership on that from our elected representatives.

Do send the letters that have been prepared for you to support C-474 and C-311: you can edit them if you want; if you don't, it will only take you seconds to share your views with the people who can act on them.

And now a message from the David Suzuki Foundation:

Act NOW!

The final vote on the Climate Change Accountability Act (Bill C-311) happens Wednesday afternoon. A ‘yes’ vote means the bill passes in the House of Commons. Let the party leaders and environment ministers and critics know you want Canada to be a leader on solutions to global warming.

Bill C-311 would set science-based targets for reducing global warming pollution and start to establish Canada as a leader by accelerating renewable energy and mobilizing green transportation solutions.

The federal government has resisted passing the bill but it is a minority government. The opposition parties have voted for it every time. If they are again supportive, the bill will pass.

Just click here to send an e-mail message telling the Liberal and Conservative party leaders and environment minister/critic to do the right thing on Wednesday, April 14, and vote for C-311.

The time is short. Please send your message now.

The David Suzuki Foundation Team

Bill C-474: proposed Seeds Regulation Act

And now, a message from CBAN, which is campaigning for Bill C-474 (Seeds Regulation Act), which aims to protects Canadian farmers who grow crops for our export (and organic) markets, by requiring Canada to perform proper analysis of potential harm before it allows any more GE crops into our fields.

This analysis is not being done at the moment: you may recall that flax contamination badly harmed our exports last year. The matter is urgent because Monsanto aims to introduce GE wheat and alfalfa into our markets, which would cause immeasurable and permanent damage to the purity of our wheat and alfalfa crops, and our ability to export to markets like Europe, which has banned GE products for human consumption. Italy, for example, relies upon Canadian wheat for its pasta industry.

You can listen to the First Reading debate on Deconstructing Dinner's March 25 episode.

Here's what CBAN has to say:

Action Alert. Please distribute widely.

Action Alert #3: Take New Action before April 14, 2010!

Support Bill C-474 – before April 14, 2010 - Support Canada’s Farmers! You can stop GE Alfalfa and GE Wheat!

Write an instant letter to Michael Ignatieff, Liberal Party leader from http://cban.ca/liberalact474 and ask him to make sure the Liberals pass the Bill on April 14.

You can also write to your own MP at http://cban.ca/474action

Bill C-474 was voted down but not out on April 1. The Liberals support the Bill in words - but will they support with enough votes on April 14?

Private Members Bill C-474 was debated on March 17, and April 1 with an oral vote. The recorded, official vote will happen on April 14.

Your concrete action could stop genetically engineered (GE) seeds from causing chaos in Canadian farming!

Bill C-474 would require that “an analysis of potential harm to export markets be conducted before the sale of any new genetically engineered seed is permitted.” The Bill could stop GE alfalfa and GE wheat.

This Bill is critically important because, as we know from experience, the introduction of new genetically engineered (GE) crops can cause economic hardship to farmers. Farmers are at risk when GE crops are commercialized in Canada without also being approved in our major export markets.

Flax farmers in Canada are now paying a heavy price because of this exact problem. Late last year, Canadian flax exports were discovered contaminated with a GE flax that is not approved in Europe or in any of our other export markets (except the U.S.). Flax farmers actually foresaw that GE contamination or even the threat of contamination would close their export markets. That's why they took steps in 2001 to remove GE flax from the market. Despite this measure, flax farmers were not protected. The GE flax contamination closed our export markets in 2009. It has created market uncertainty and depressed prices. Farmers are also paying for testing and cleanup and may be required to abandon their own farm-saved flax seed and buy certified seed instead. These costs are an unnecessary and preventable burden.

We cannot allow GE seeds to harm our export markets. Please support Bill C-474 and protect Canada’s farmers.

Write an instant letter to Michael Ignatieff, Liberal Party leader before April 14 http://cban.ca/liberalact474

Bill C-474 was introduced by Alex Atamanenko, the NDP Agriculture Critic and MP for British Columbia Southern Interior.

For updates, more info and action options, see http://cban.ca/474 or contact Lucy Sharratt, Coordinator, Canadian Biotechnology Action Network 613 241 2267 ext. 6

This action alert was issued by the Canadian Biotechnology Action Network (CBAN) http://cban.ca

It's all in the ingredients: molecular gastronomy and the onward march of genetics

Preferring as I do the simplicity of cooking with ingredients that are easy and relatively inexpensive to lay my hands on, I am suspicious of molecular gastronomy. It strikes me as an unsustainable novelty, requiring specialized equipment and highly processed ingredients. So I am with the feeling behind the Italian government's ban on chemical ingredients used in molecular gastronomy, in the interests of public safety. Though I think if you really want to eat the stuff, you should be willing to bear the consequences - I doubt most people would be eating Gibbs, Vauquelin or Baumé on a daily basis anyway.

It is hard sometimes not to feel that big biobusiness is winning, through sheer massive persistence and economic might. The approval of genetically modified potatoes and feeds by the European Union is disappointing news, to say the least, coming as it does

"over the resistance of half or more of the EU’s 27 countries"

and

"opposition to such foods by European consumers, who worry about risks such as human resistance to antibiotics and the development of “superweeds” that are impervious to herbicides."

The problem with letting GMO/GE (pick your acronym of choice) feeds into Europe is that this contaminates European animal products, and it also allows the strong possibility (inevitability?) of rogue crops springing up where the seed falls. EU legislators have apparently learned nothing from the experiences of Mexican corn farmers and Canada's own Percy Schmeiser.

Meanwhile, Canada has more GE headaches, around the flax contamination issue. Here's how the GE-Free BC folk are tackling it, by asking for support for Alex Atamanenko's private members Bill C474, An Act respecting the Seeds Regulations (analysis of potential harm) with a call to action before the bill is debated on March 17:

In the wake of the discovery of Genetically Engineered flax in shipments to Europe 10 years after that flax was removed from the market, and subsequent bans on Canadian exports of flax to Europe, Bill C-474 will help put pressure on the Canadian government to test adequately GE crops.

Please contact your MP through the CBAN website.

If you would like to start a petition to present to your MP, contact GE Free BC at gefreebc07@yahoo.ca to get a blank petition form. Your MP must present the petition in the House of Commons if you get 200 signatures.