Organic growers want government to fund standard amendments

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

by SUSAN MANN

The organic sector wants an annual review of national organic standards but it’s concerned federal government money may not be available to fund the process in the future.

Laura Telford, executive director of the Canadian Organic Growers, says the Canadian Food Inspection Agency controls the organic products regulation, which came into effect June 30, 2009. The Canadian Organic Growers, which represents farmers nationally, says the Agency is responsible for paying for the process involved in the standards review.

“It’s a fairly expensive process,” Telford says, estimating it would cost $200,000 to prepare amendments, hold an annual meeting to debate them and pay the Canadian General Standards Board, which manages the standards, to edit them.

When the Board’s organic sector committee met in February it proposed 100 revisions to the standards within the organic products regulation. Voting by mail-in ballot on those ends May 23. Sixty-five different groups representing all sectors of the organic industry, such as growers, processors and consumers, are eligible to vote.

Telford says more revisions follow. “We have a giant work list.”

She estimates it will take about five years to work through all the necessary revisions, but she’s concerned that the government may not continue funding the process.  “So far they’ve been doing it (providing funding) as a one-off thing. But I don’t think they see it as their long-term role.”

Telford says the federal organic products regulation works by reference, “which is a fairly novel idea in Canadian legislation.” What it means is whenever the organic sector and the Board approve changes to the standards they become law without needing the federal government to amend a regulation.

“The standards remain a living document inside this bigger fixed document, which is the organic products regulation,” she says.

It’s the organic sector that writes and amends the standards. “The organic sector believes these are living standards and they need to be constantly updated as things change,” she explains. BF