On May 4, 2013, Manitoba proclaimed the Organic Agricultural Products Act (OAPA), making Manitoba the first province to pass a provincial organic law since the federal Organic Products Regulations (OPR) were passed in June 2009. Manitoba is now the third province with a provincial law that defines and controls the use of the word “organic” within the provincial context (both British Columbia and Quebec have laws that predate the OPR) and it is the first province to pass a law that “mirrors” the federal OPR. Manitoba has adopted the federal definition of “organic”, references the same standards (CAN/CGSB-32.310 and CAN/CGSB-32.311) and will rely on the same system of federally-accredited Certification Bodies to ensure that organic operators comply with organic standards. As in the federal system, Manitoba’s approach to enforcement will be complaint-based.

 

The OAPA and its regulations will come into force on July 1, 2013 and will apply to all food products grown or processed and sold in Manitoba that make an organic claim. The OAPA mirrors the federal OPR and provides additional oversight over retailers that sell organic food. The new law will require all farmers and food processors that make organic food claims to be inspected annually by a federally accredited Certification Body. Certified operators in Manitoba will be able to use the federal organic logo on food products containing more than 95% organic ingredients. The law does not require businesses that sell organic food to be certified unless they perform additional processing in-store or in their distribution centres, but they must maintain the integrity of organic food products by developing and following standard operating procedures to segregate organic and conventional food products and maintain appropriate records to demonstrate that organic integrity is preserved throughout their chain of custody.

 

The OAPA and its regulations will close the provincial gap in the national network of laws governing use of the word “organic” in Manitoba and will provide assurance to Manitoba consumers that all food promoted as “organic” is subject to the same regulatory requirements no matter where it is produced.

(Consumer news blog) When a middle school student near Dallas, heard her parents arguing about the value of organic foods, she was inspired to create a science fair project to try to resolve the debate. Three years later, her exploration of fruit flies and organic foods has not only raised some provocative questions about the health benefits of organic eating, it has also earned the 16-year-old top honors in a national science competition, publication in a respected scientific journal and university laboratory privileges normally reserved for graduate students. The research, titled “Organically Grown Food Provides Health Benefits to Drosophila melanogaster,” tracked the effects of organic and conventional diets on the health of fruit flies. By nearly every measure, including fertility, stress resistance and longevity, flies that fed on organic bananas and potatoes fared better than those who dined on conventionally raised produce.

 

While the results can’t be directly extrapolated to human health, the research nonetheless paves the way for additional studies on the relative health benefits of organic versus conventionally grown foods. Fruit fly models are often used in research because their short life span allows scientists to evaluate a number of basic biological effects over a relatively brief period of time, and the results provide clues for better understanding disease and biological processes in humans.

 

For her original middle-school science project, the student evaluated the vitamin C content of organic produce compared with conventionally farmed foods. When she found higher concentrations of the vitamin in organic foods, she decided she wanted to take the experiment further and measure the effects of organic eating on overall health. She searched the Internet and decided a fruit fly model would be the best way to conduct her experiment. She e-mailed several professors who maintained fly laboratories asking for assistance. To her surprise, Johannes Bauer, an assistant professor at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, responded to her inquiry. The student worked on the project over the summer, eventually submitting the research to her local science fair competition. The project was named among just 30 finalists in the prestigious 2011 Broadcom Masters national science competition. The professor, following his lab’s policy of publishing all research regardless of outcome, urged the student, then 14, to pursue publication in a scientific journal. The professor and an S.M.U. research associate are listed as co-authors on the research.

Roundup Ready alfalfa not on deck for spring

Developer’s focus this year remains on U.S. market

Apr 10, 2013 2:02 PM – 7 comments

By: Staff

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Forage Genetics International (FGI), the developer of Genuity Roundup Ready alfalfa, won’t be launching its product in Canada for planting this spring.

The Idaho-based forage seed developer’s decision, announced Monday, comes after months of “interest and speculation” about its commercialization plans for the Canadian market, after RR alfalfa returned to the U.S. market last year following a court challenge.

Said interest came to a head Tuesday, with a series of rallies in Ontario and across Canada, organized by the Canadian Biotechnology Action Network (CBAN) and National Farmers Union-Ontario (NFU-O), among others, including calls from the federal opposition New Democrats (NDP) for a moratorium on the RR crop’s release.

CBAN and other opponents contend the release of alfalfa, as an insect-pollinated crop, with glyphosate-tolerant genetics could lead to their unwanted spread in Canada’s conventional and/or organic alfalfa crops, and damage exports to international markets wary of genetically-modified products.

The groups have also contended the release of another Roundup Ready crop could possibly accelerate development of glyphosate resistance in weeds the non-selective herbicide has previously controlled.

Ahead of its rallies Tuesday, Ottawa-based CBAN has said RR alfalfa “could be registered for use in Eastern Canada this April.”

According to Monsanto, which owns the patent on Roundup Ready genetics and licensed the technology to FGI for use in alfalfa, FGI’s “priority and focus for 2013 remains the U.S. market and continued growth in sales and plantings of this beneficial technology to American forage growers.”

That said, FGI “is continuing to evaluate and collect performance data, and gauge grower and industry interest for cultivation of Genuity Roundup Ready alfalfa in Canada,” but “has still not finalized a decision about (its) future commercialization” in the Canadian market.

Monsanto added that a survey last fall of alfalfa growers in Eastern Canada — where the concentration of dairy farms creates a key market for the crop — found “almost half of all farmers surveyed indicated they would be ‘very likely or somewhat likely to try Roundup Ready alfalfa if it was widely available.'”

The federal government granted the glyphosate-tolerant alfalfa full food, feed and environmental approvals in 2005. Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency completed its review last spring of Monsanto’s application to allow use of Roundup in Roundup Ready alfalfa.

FGI, Monsanto and other seed companies have run field trials of Roundup Ready alfalfa in Eastern Canada in the past two years — and those trials will continue this year, Monsanto said.

“Extensive” field research by university and government researchers on genetically-modified alfalfa has already gone on for over 15 years with “no impact” on Canadian alfalfa or alfalfa seed exports, the company added.