Feds consider regulating organic standards 

SEAN PRATT / The Western Producer (date?)

A senior Agriculture Canada official says the federal government is seriously contemplating taking on a regulatory role in Canada's organic industry.

Gilbert Parent, national organic specialist with Agriculture Canada, said officials with his department will be meeting with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency in the coming weeks and months to explore the idea.

Canada is in the process of developing a new national organic standard and the federal government wants to investigate what role the CFIA could play in enforcing that standard.

Canadian certifieds currently operate under a hodgepodge of different standards and accreditation credentials.

Many organic farmers and certification groups have been pushing for national standardization. They want Canada to develop a system similar to what was recently announced in the United States.

The American National Organic Program, or NOP, comes into full effect on Oct. 21. From then on all agricultural products sold as organic in the U.S. must originate from farmers or companies that are certified by a state or private body accredited by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The same thing must happen in Canada, said Ken Hymers, executive committee officer of the Canadian Organic Certification Co-operative.

If not, he added, Canada's new standard would have no teeth because it would remain voluntary with no competent authority willing to regulate it.

"Until the standard becomes regulated under a competent authority in Canada, in my mind at least, it doesn't mean squat."

The Standards Council of Canada is expected to approve the new standard by as early as November, and Canada plans to use it to help negotiate equivalency agreements with important trading partners such as Japan, the European Union and the U.S.

"I don't think the US. or the European Union or anybody else is going to sit down with Canada and negotiate an agreement when there is no one in Canada regulating the standard. It's meaningless," Hymers said.

Credibility in jeopardy

Debbie Miller, president of OCIA International, is of two minds on the subject.

While she cringes at the thought of having to seek yet another accreditation, she realizes federal government regulation would give Canadian product more credibility with major trading partners. She worries about what will happen if Canada doesn't go down that road because right now "anything goes" here.

"I'm a little concerned that Canada may become a dumping ground for organic product that can't get into any other country," she said.

"We need to get to the point where everyone understands exactly what organic means and we have to make sure that we stay away from the, `my organic is better than your organic nonsense."

But not everybody thinks the U.S. model is a good one to copy.

Saskatchewan organic inspector Duane Phillippi said the certification system has taken one step forward and two steps back since USDA launched the NOP last year.

"I think it swung the wrong way."

He has certified a lot of Canadian growers to the new U.S. standard because they need it to ship product to the U.S. While there is a lot more paperwork, he said the NOP also has more loopholes.

"All this extra work should mean that it's a tougher standard, and it's not."

Phillippi said Canada should strive to develop the toughest organic standard in the world, setting itself apart from other exporting nations.

Parent said it could take years before the government regulates Canada's new national standard. Cost will be a big issue, because the in-dustry must be willing to pay for such monitoring.

However, Parent agreed it's a good idea.

"I agree that there might be some more credibility to the system if it becomes regulated, especially from a consumer's perspective."

Many thanks to Percy Schmeiser for sending this article. But most of all, we are all infinitely indebted to you for your valiant struggle against the transnational corporate goliath Monsanto! You have given the world hope against total control of the food supply. You give farmers around the world hope and we ALL WISH YOU WELL.

• To aid Percy in this struggle, please go to his website www.percyschmeiser.com