Soil Association highlights growing ecological concerns of UK consumers, urging retailers to promote the connection between organics and sustainability According to the latest data from NielsenIQ, released at last week’s Soil Association Certification Trade Conference, the organic market in the UK grew by 6.5 per cent in the year to 25 September. This contrasts with non-organic food sales, which have slowed significantly since the peak experienced during lockdown. “The trend for more sustainable and healthier organic foods, which rocketed during the pandemic has persisted and now the supermarkets are also enjoying a surge in demand for organic,” the Soil Association stated. “Online organic sales have continued their strong growth up 33 per cent, while supermarkets, which accounted for 13 per ent of total sales of organics two years ago before the pandemic, have seen their share of total organic sales rise to 22 per cent.” Clare McDermott, Soil Association Certification’s business development director, commented: “Organic sales have shown phenomenal resilience after the unprecedented growth they saw in 2020 at 12.6 per cent. Despite a significant slowing of retail sales overall, the organic market has maintained its strong performance with growth at 6.5 per cent in the year to September. Post lockdown there has been the expected shift back to hospitality with non-organic food sales stalling as consumers look to eat out and stay out.” The main reasons given by consumers for buying organic – that they are pesticide-free, better for the environment and perceived to be of better quality – have all reportedly increased in importance for shoppers. "Consumers are now willing to spend more on organic food in supermarkets and they are demanding ever greater choices and variety across most categories," the Soil Association stated. Covid-19 and the climate emergency have also increased consumers' focus on sustainability. Findings from Organic Shopper Research 2021 showed that 71 per cent of respondents have become more concerned about the environment. The Soil Association called on retailers to help consumers make the connection between sustainability and organic products in order to drive sales. It also identified three big opportunities to grow organic sales: the widening assortment from online retailers, different pack sizes increasing purchase frequency and greater choice across organic categories boosting overall spend. “After the challenging couple of years we have all had to endure, the organic market has proved that it is robust and that today’s consumers are demanding more varied ranges of sustainable products across all categories which offer them significant benefits above non-organic alternatives,” said McDermott. “The latest surge in organic sales proves that the British public want food produced with more, not less, care for the environment and animal welfare,” she added. “Insights show that shoppers are searching out higher welfare products that are produced with the environment in mind and want to support British farmers. We should be looking to deliver more of the benefits that agroecological farming, like organic, can provide for wildlife, soils, people and climate.” Key findings from Organic Shopper Research 2021: • 79 per cent say they are increasingly worried about the natural world and our impact on it • 81 per cent are worried about excess packaging and waste materials • 86 per cent would like their food to be produced in a more natural way without excess processing and chemicals • 84 per cent say trust in food manufacturers and retailers is really important to them • 77 per cent say they want to make more sustainable choices in the products they buy • 71 per cent want to make more ethical choices in the products they buy Main reasons for buying organic – that they are pesticide-free, better for the environment and perceived to be of better qualityHere at Full of Soil and Sun, we quote information from across the globe related to organic foods and its huge health benefits. Below you will see extract from an article written by Nonie De Long in Canada. ''As I've learned more about the pesticides that are now being sprayed on almost all commercial crops (and animal feed). I now believe glyphosate – the most common commercial herbicide and desiccant used today – is extremely carcinogenic and dangerous. As such, I advise clients to consume organic produce whenever they can. So what does the data say?'' More recent data shows the safety claims were trumped up. One 2017 study has shown that since 2006 when glyphosate was introduced, human levels have gone up 500 per cent. Lawsuits and class action lawsuits abound. In a fact sheet released in June of this year, USRTK published safety concern statements from several scientific groups:
Moreover, glyphosate is a known endocrine disruptor. Fertility is an unprecedented issue here in the West now. The data sheet lists the data that links that to glyphosate use. Studies abound to demonstrate the pesticide's toxicity to fish and mammals. Health Canada set to increase glyphosate levels? Despite this, Health Canada is right now in the midst of increasing our maximum residue levels (MRLs) for glyphosate – to bring them closer to US levels – for trade purposes. The deadline for public input was supposed to be July 20, 2021, but has been quietly pushed back. Readers, have you even heard about this in the news? These changes would be reflected in your country's food policy for years (maybe decades) to come. It involves a very controversial chemical. Have you even heard about it? The proposed changes would allow significantly increased levels of glyphosate in commodities such as oats, lentils, and beans. There are many more that would be impacted. For a full list and description of the changes proposed by Health Canada, click here. How that impacts organic produce? The Canadian Organic Trade Association (COTA) is concerned. Why? The suggested changes also affect the organic sector because its protocol is essentially 5 per cent of the MRL. This means even your certified organic foods can contain higher amounts of glyphosate. And your non-organic foods will contain MUCH higher amounts of glyphosate in many cases. The new deadline for citizen input has been extended by 45 days. It's unclear to me how consumers can share their concerns in anything I've read, but contacting your MP and/or creating and circulating a petition might be a good start. Forest fires also linked to glyphosate You may not realize the link between the raging forest fires and glyphosate spraying. It has become common to spray forests to kill certain species of trees to make other trees grow better for easier harvest. Isn't it convenient for Monsanto/ Bayer that it also increases sales of glyphosate products? But I digress. Since that inception we have seen an exponential increase in huge scale, uncontrollable forest fires. Scientists have been speaking up about the link since at least 2019. New Brunswick is one community where citizens are starting to fight back. The New Brunswick Environmental Network has been collecting signatures and putting pressure on local agencies to stop spraying the forests. Other regions have started to take action, realizing Health Canada is not listening to citizens on this issue. On April 6, the Quebec city of Laval initiated a bylaw banning the use of glyphosate, “to protect human health, pollinating insects, wildlife and natural spaces.” One bush pilot and environmental lawyer in Foleyet, Joel Theriault, has spent about 20 years now petitioning the provincial government to stop spraying glyphosate over Ontario forests. His petition has fallen on dead ears. And dead trees, as certain species are wiped out by the spray. Theiault insists the wildlife are killed by the product, too. He says he won’t observe any living species in sprayed areas for a good time after the sprays. The Ministry defends the practice, saying the Pest Management Regulatory Agency has determined glyphosate is safe to humans and the environment. It begs the question when people will believe what is right in front of their faces. In May of this year, Green MP Jenica Atwin tabled a private member's bill to ban the use of glyphosate in Canada. Eating organic is essential...... I fervently recommend organic produce consumption wherever possible and even better - growing your own food at home in organic, composted soil.
....... Namaste! Nonie Nutritionist Source: newmarkettoday.ca Highest levels of ‘fluid intelligence’ associated with better diet, cleaner air and good living conditions![]() Children who eat organically produced food have been linked with better cognitive development, an international study has shown. Researchers in Spain examined levels of children’s “fluid intelligence”, which is the ability to solve reasoning problems and use “working memory” – the ability to retain new information while it is needed in the short term. Children who eat organically produced food have been linked with better cognitive development, an international study has shown. Researchers in Spain examined levels of children’s “fluid intelligence”, which is the ability to solve reasoning problems and use “working memory” – the ability to retain new information while it is needed in the short term. The team said their findings suggested healthier diets could have a direct impact on the development of children’s brains. Lead author Jordi Júlvez, who worked alongside academics at Barcelona’s Institute for Global Health, said: “Organic diets are richer than fast food diets in nutrients necessary for the brain, such as fatty acids, vitamins and antioxidants, which together may enhance cognitive function in childhood.” Scientists also said factors such as eating junk food, living in overcrowded houses and exposure to domestic tobacco smoke were associated with reduced levels of fluid intelligence. In addition, exposure to fine particulate matter (PM 2.5) indoors was associated with lower working memory scores. The research team used data from 1,298 children aged 6-11 years from six European countries – the UK, France, Spain, Greece, Lithuania and Norway. They examined 87 environmental factors the children were exposed to in utero, including air pollution, traffic, noise, various chemicals and lifestyle factors, and another 122 factors they were exposed to during childhood. They said their aim was to analyse the influence these factors could have on the development and maturation of the human brain. “During childhood the brain is not yet fully developed for efficient defence against environmental chemicals and is particularly sensitive to toxicity, even at low levels that do not necessarily pose a risk to a healthy mature brain,” the researchers said. The authors said the research was unique as their method took into account the totality of exposures rather than focusing on a single one. They said this provided a better understanding of the complexity of multiple environmental exposures and their simultaneous effect on children’s brain development. They noted that there has previously been little research on the relationship between diet and cognitive function, but fast food intake has been associated with lower academic development success and some previous studies have also reported positive associations between organic diets and executive function scores. Organic diets are richer than fast food diets in nutrients necessary for the brain, such as fatty acids, vitamins and antioxidants“In our study we found better scores in fluid intelligence and working memory with higher organic food intake and lower fast food intake,” said Dr Júlvez.
In contrast, exposure to tobacco smoke and indoor PM2.5 during childhood may negatively affect cognitive function by enhancing pro-inflammatory reactions in the brain, the researchers suggested. But Dr Júlvez, cautioned that “the number of people living together in a home is often an indicator of the family’s economic status, and that contexts of poverty favour less healthy lifestyles, which in turn may affect children’s cognitive test scores”. The research is published in the journal Environmental International. Source: Newpaper Indepedent on the web Kalamata is a city in Peloponnese, Greece which has given its name to the superb quality Kalamata Olives or Kalamon Olives. The city has its own Olive oil school and is the capital of Messinia county where the olive trees groves dominate over any other tree cultivation. Whole picture of Kalamata finishes with the organisation of its own olive oil competition and olive festival: Kalamata Olive oil competition This year results are: Category Kalamata PDO extra virgin olive oil Gold medal: Agrexpo Faris PDO Kalamata extra virgin olive oil Silver medal: Agropoly PDO Kalamata extra virgin olive oil Organic Extra Virgin Olive oil CategoryGold medal: Kyklopas Ages Organic extra virgin olive oil Silver medal: Mani Organic extra virgin olive oil Bronze medal: Kondea Organic extra virgin olive oil High phenolic extra virgin olive oilGold medal: EnKardia Ultra Premium extra virgin olive oil
Bronze medal Agropoly Organic High Phenolic extra virgin olive oil Within the frame of the Kalamata olive oil competion and festival, praise/credit have been given to the following companies and their products 1st Praise: Karapata private company - Product : Lioklado extra virgin olive oil 2nd Praise: Maria Dimitrakopoulou - Product : EnKardia Traditional extra virgin olive oil 3rd Praise: Eustathios Georgakilas - Product: Georgakilas extra virgin olive oil When you go to a cinema, the movie may cost 5 euros, but this doesn’t cover the external costs like transportation, fuel to use, phone credit to call, snacks and drinks. Likewise, when we go grocery shopping, we only see the price indicated on the product. The shown price is an indication of one part of the costs incurred to produce it, but not the entire one. To help us understand this more, let us follow the journey of a crop. We will use potatoes. If the potato is grown conventionally, it is sprayed with synthetic pesticides and the soil hosting it is covered with chemical fertilizers. This could have an effect on the soil over time in that the organisms that keep the soil alive are destroyed by the chemicals and this leads to the soil losing its ability to retain water. When it rains, soil erosion can occur and all the sprayed chemical substances are washed away as well which can find its way into canals, rivers, lakes and water streams. Aquatic life is affected by this as well as humans. The inability of soil to retain water due intensive chemical use may lead to soil erosion that could also cause flooding. The community has to pay taxes on one hand, for water treatment to get rid of the toxic chemical substances and on the other hand, for damming or excavation to avoid flooding. In the end, these extra costs that are incurred are paid off by our taxes and then not reflected on the final prices that we see in the supermarket of conventional products. Consumers don’t see that we pay for more external costs through our taxes for water pollution and waste-water facilities caused partly by unsustainable agricultural practices. That is why it is important to have True Cost Accounting (TCA): a transparency tool that makes the hidden calculations visible and shows the consumer the actual price of the product being purchased. When you do TCA, you are able to assess the impact of a food system as a whole or a farm. One is able to get an adjusted cost of production by calculating the costs for fertilizers, tractors, seeds and also the ecological footprint or climatic impact of the chemical inputs used. For instance, 1kg of nitrogen fertilizer produces 7kg of carbon dioxide. The market price of nitrogen fertilizer is about 25 cents per kg. If this 1 kg causes 7kg of carbon dioxide, the related climate cost has to be included. According to FAO, 1000 kgs of carbon dioxide is worth or causes damages worth around 100 euros. That results in 10 cents per kg of carbon dioxide, applied to nitrogen fertilizer, this hidden or external costs would lead to an increase of 70 cents per 1kg of nitrogen fertilizer, resulting in a true cost of fertilizer of 95 cent instead of 25 cent current market price. There are organisations like Soil & More Impacts who calculate the total costs and benefits of production, including the hidden costs, of different production systems (organic and conventional systems) and show the findings. Another way we look at TCA is in line with a farm’s future and profit margins. A big farm that is farming intensively may produce good profits in the first year, but not in 5 years. When the soil is being damaged and stressed, beyond capacity, there might be productivity gaps in 5-10 years as a result of deteorated soils. “We use this risk assessment to show people the damage they do to their businesses by paying low prices and not investing in creating resilient soils, farms and systems. Even the buyer and trader will not be able to buy from a farmer who cannot deliver quality products in 5 years. This may not only cause ecological damages, but also financial ones. This way, banks increasingly include so-called natural capital risks in their credit-worthiness checks of farms and supply-chains”, shares Tobias. Organic offers solutions to not only reduce the true cost but also increase the true benefits of farming, for example, biodiversity is created, soil’s ability to retain water is increased and carbon is sequestered. Organic and agroecology show solutions to farm in a way which costs us less and has less damage on our biodiversity. We need more than not applying fertilizers, we need sustainable practices e.g. mulching, crop cover, etc. They help in increasing the resilience of the soil and business aspects. It secures food security. Other systems may appear cheap but would not be able to produce food in the changing climate on the mid- and long-run. It is possible to have low costs and a positive impact. Organic is definitely part of the solution. What can every-day consumers do to be more aware of hidden costs! Give food more time! This includes what we shop and consume. Try to find out where your food comes from and the efforts used to produce it. Even when you drink a cup of coffee. There is a lot of sweat and hard work that goes into it that it is impossible for it to only cost a euro. When you buy organic and fairtrade products, at least you have the guarantee that you are consuming products that are having a positive ecological impact on the environment. Source: www.organicwithoutboundaries.bio
Table: Impacts of conventional farming and loss of productivityWhat is Organic extra virgin Olive oil?
To explain what Organic extra virgin olive oil is, we have to start from the name term which has 2 parts. - The first part is the adjective '' Organic '', which is used when the olive tree grower applies organic farming standards on the cultivation of olive tree as these have been defined by European Union regulation EC 834/2007. When ''Organic'' is placed on a product label and before the name then the grower must be certified showing the organic farming standards are followed. This is testified by the audits executed by the relevant regulatory bodies responsible for providing such accreditation. Such labelling requirement is followed by other logos or emblems such as the green starred leaf for EU - The second part is the extra virgin olive oil. Within this definition, there are 2 sections First one is the Virgin Olive oil and according to the Olive oil – Institute of Olive Council, virgin olive oils are the oils obtained from the fruit of the olive tree (Olea europaea L. ) solely by mechanical or other physical means under conditions, particularly thermal conditions, that do not lead to alterations in the oil, and which have not undergone any treatment other than washing, decantation, centrifugation and filtration. Second one is Extra an adjective which is the most important element of a virgin olive oil. Extra Virgin Olive oil has superior taste quality and does not have taste (sensory) faults. Its chemical laboratory analysis should show results below certain limits: one of them is acidity and more specifically of no more 0.8 % on free fatty acids. It appears to have a plethora of health benefits especially the organic ones as they do not have residues of pesticides used to fight off an insect which damages the olive fruit. The lower than 0.8% acidity, the better quality of the extra virgin olive oil is. An extra virgin olive oil with acidity 0.5% is better than the one with acidity of 0.7%. This implies better harvesting method i.e. careful selection of olives and better process condition in the olive mill. Organic food is produced without the use of toxic pesticides containing heavy metals, insecticides, growth hormones and antibiotics. The organic food does not contain chemical preservatives or genetically modified organisms either. Furthermore, the application of irradiation, industrial solvents, or synthetic food additives is prohibited in food processing for making packaged organic foods. If a food product is labelled as organic, then its cultivation or raising in the case of animals should be following certain farming standards and methods. The appropriate application of these farming standards is checked yearly by auditing bodies and a certification is awarded to the farmer or grower. Certified organic food production system is a heavily regulated system and it is not an easy matter as some may believe Only then the farmer or grower can use the word ’organic’ on a food product label of theirs. In Europe, this is further establised and materialised by placing the Organic Leaf logo made by stars on the packaging as shown below along with a code related to certification body in the corresponding country. Organic food never contains GMOContinue on What does organic mean?According to the European Union legislation, the aim of organic food production is to use practices and methods of farming which protect the environment: soil, water, plants and animals and farmers and growers.
In order to maintain soil fertility and plant and animals free from diseases, various approaches are used, namely:
Such is the impact of conventional farming and agriculture that traces of toxic pesticides have been found in small rivers across all Europe, and in US, pesticide residues are in 70% of produce sold (Guardian, 29/05/19). According to the same source in September 2016, it was mentioned that humans have destroyed a tenth of Earth's remaining wilderness in the last 25 years through various ''human'' activities. The weedkiller Round up-glyphosate will never ever be used in organic farming and cultivation, as it is a synthetic toxic and carcinogenic chemical and serious contaminant of the soil and water, including underground water reserves. Organic farming practices never contaminate the soil or waters. European Union organic farming rules cover agricultural products, including aquaculture and yeast. They encompass every stage of the production process, from seeds to the final processed food. This means that there are specific provisions covering a large variety of products, such as: • seeds and propagating material such as cuttings, rhizome etc. from which plants or crops are grown; • living products or products which do not need further processing; • feed; • products with multiple ingredients or processed agricultural products for use as food. EU regulations on organic production exclude products from fishing and hunting of wild animals but include harvest of wild plants when certain natural habitat conditions are respected. There are specific rules for wine and aquaculture too. Source: organicekiosk.com A bit of our lack of knowledge and a bit of usage of not accurate wording from chefs side, we have ended up watching on the web and on TV, episodes on cooking and chefs calling the extra virgin olive oil just oil! Of course, calling the extra virgin olive oil just Oil is incorrect and inaccurate, olive oil is not accurate either though. ”Oil” should be wiped off from our culinary vocabulary. In certain countries, we have seen people calling it “regular” but they mean is the refined olive oil which is a a very low quality (=extremely low quality), product. Extra virgin olive oil is not oil and it is not even olive oil. If all of us love the olive juice, we should start naming this natural product properly. Simirarly, we would not call a silver piece as golden piece because both of them are metals, would we? There is an exception for the usage of ”olive oil” though: ”olive oil” is the name of the juice from olives generally and by itself it consists of a category of products. One of the reason this exception exists in several languages is to differentiate ”olive oil” from the other vegetables oils (juices from vegetables), generally cheap and without health benefits at all, such as sunflower or rapeseed oil. Let’s see together why extra virgin olive oil can not be named as olive oil. There are several types of juice from olive:
b. previously used virgin olive oil mainly in cooking and frying, and c. other oxidised virgin olive oil products. In our opinion, consumers should not consume this product at all. It appears to have no health benefits and no taste or aromas at all.
In certain countries, there is a usage of ”pure olive oil” and we can say categorically that there is no such thing as purity in olive oil as olive oil is a very low quality product which is derived from the refining process of used ”olive oil” products (through cooking, baking, and other oxidised olive oil products). Our advice here is to always read the label of the product! It is our obligation as consumers to do so! By law, in all countries, all olive oil products must have label with all the above information clearly stated. Source: https://organicekiosk.com/oliveoilcategories/ ''Organic'' is a word frequently used on a food product label and although seen and heard a lot we know so little about it.
Organic can be ascribed to food and certain argiculture products such as cotton when the so called organic farming practices and methods are followed. Organic farming is not new, it is an ancient practice used by humans for generations to fight off any diseases and insects in their animals and plants. Organic is not a buzz word- As consumers remain confused and puzzled as we still believe the word ”natural” on the label or on a description of food is the same as the word ''organic'' but it is not, and it will never be! Food production using conventional farming methods involves usage of toxic pesticides including the well known toxic and carcinogenic herbicide Round-up, the glyphosate. We have heard customers arguing that the organic products are expensive and they do not see the taste difference between the conventional food (which is full of toxic compounds, and the organic ones). Organic farming is not for enhancing the taste of the cultivated crop. Organic farming is for the health of consumers, the quality of the soil and the water and the quality of air we breath. Using the conventional farming methods promoted by chemical manufacturers, we bite the hands which feed us Instead of being happy when the organic word is seen on the label, we remain miserable. Organic certified products are products made in the same way as the nature works. Nature works in a simple humble way, as it does not need a drop of any synthetic substance foreign to its composition and the way it works. Nor does it need neonecotinoids neither glyphosate and pesticides. Still we see and hear every the huge damaging impact caused by the non-organic conventional farming. Organic food is related to word ”sustainability” as the soil and water are not contaminated by the toxic chemical pesticides, used in conventional farming to fight off insects, diseases, and weeds. When spraying on the trees and plants, chemical substances remain on the fruits, seeds, leaves and stems of the tree/plant and subsequently they end up in our food. The remaining toxic substances are called residues. These residues can not be washed off with lukewarm water when we do some rinsing in the kitchen sink. There is very little sampling on these products with regards to testing of chemical residues remaining in the food from any regulating organisation/body either nationally or internationally in EU countries. According to Merriam Webster on line dictionary, toxic : ”containing or being poisonous material especially when capable of causing death or serious debilitation” and it uses an example of ”an insecticide highly toxic to birds” World uses over 4.1 million tonnes of pesticides and a recent research published in Environmental Science & Technology Journal on 3rd of February 2021 reveals that up to 50% of these toxic pesticides ends up in the soil. They then get dispersed all over through the processes of volatilisation, wind erosion, leaching and runoff. Possibly a huge amount of them ends in underground water systems. Humans end up eating and drinking contaminated food triggering various diseases with the major one being cancer. These cases have been seen all over the world, especially those cases related to super toxic carcinogenic Round-up. Here in Organic ekiosk, we offer clean products by selling only Organic certified foods, and only from artisan producers, farmers, growers and beekeepers. Organic certified producer follow the strict standards and they are not allowed to use toxic chemical to keep insects and diseases away. We insist in Organic Beekeeping as the conventional beekeeping uses the super toxic compound armitraz traded, in some countries, with the name tic-tac. Symptoms of poisoning with armitraz are the following: ”the clinical manifestations varies from central nervous system (CNS) depression (drowsiness, coma, and convulsions), miosis or mydriasis, respiratory depression, cardiovascular depression (bradycardia, hypotension), hypothermia or hyperthermia, hyperglycemia, polyuria, vomiting and decreased gastrointestinal motility” (Source: BMC Pharmacology and Toxicology, Herath, Pahalagamage, 23/01/2017). We become dizzy by reading only one line of the symptoms, and these are the symptoms of one toxic insecticide. In some cases, more than one pesticide is applied therefore the sum of symptoms might be huge. Humans are at end of food chain and subsequently food contaminated with chemicals ends in human body system, which in turn is converted into a storage system of toxic substances. Human body is not always able excrete these toxic substances through our normal bodily liquids. No wonder why we have seen cancer or other incurable diseases appearing more frequently than a few decades ago and some of these diseases were totally unknown at that time. Do we want our children to be free from all these dangerous and poisonous chemicals? Of course, how is it going to be done? By consuming organic foods, free from any chemicals organic foods will help towards a development of a strong immune system to fight off viruses and flus in the future. Source: https://organicekiosk.com/saving-our-soil-and-water-from-toxic-pesticides/ Probably you have seen the word "natural" used on the name of a product, printed usually with the green colour letters and fully highlighted on the packaging of the product.
Let's make it clear now and tell you the truth that "natural" has been misused by packers and manufacturers. "Natural" is a food or an ingredient which does not contain any man made additive, especially the chemical and the genetically modified ones. Also, removal of a constituent or a fraction of a constituent or its alteration is not a process that nature will follow and therefore it is not natural either. The presence of additives and preservatives including the so called natural flavourings are also an alteration of the way nature works. This word has been so much abused to the point where consumers believe that product with "natural" on is organic too! Organic is word which must be used only by farmers, growers and manufacturers which follow the farming and growing organic standards. Those standards are governed by the principles of not using toxic chemicals such as pesticides, chemical weedkillers such as Round up glyphosate, growth hormones, antiobiotcis, chemical preservatives, and genetically modified organisms. |
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