Rebecca Samos, left, Jagtar Grewal and Rajinder Grewal, pick tomatoes at Elam‘s Organics farm in Cawston.
An agricultural consultant wants to see certification guidelines for organic growers focus on product testing rather than bureaucratic paperwork.
Mischa Popoff says organically produced products are intended to be naturally produced to maintain their purity and nutrient levels.
According to Popoff a farmer must log every minute detail of the work in his or her field in the three years it takes to become organically certified, as well as after receiving certification.
It‘s a practice he believes places too much time and emphasis on filling out paperwork correctly rather than ensuring the crop is free of pesticides and other man-made or synthetic sprays.
He wants inspectors to perform annual, unannounced, random testing on soil and produce to make sure farmers aren‘t trying to get away with calling themselves organic when conducting tests could reveal otherwise.
While a grower can write down they aren‘t spraying because they‘ve been hand weeding, it doesn‘t mean an unscrupulous farmer who wants to take a short cut couldn‘t get away by performing an illegal practice he said.
“I believe almost all organic growers are honest,” said Popoff. “But there are some who would short change or cheat the system.”
Popoff said because the organic food industry has blossomed into a billion-dollar industry worldwide some farmers may see this as an opportunity to cash in.
“Because they can earn a higher profit margin, it‘s tempting for a farmer to lie or use misleading information in filling out their paperwork,” he said.
An inspector could perform a visual inspection of a farm but it‘s still subjective said Popoff. Regular testing would provide the objectivity which is lacking into the organics industry.
While not all farmers Popoff has spoken with agree with his position – insisting instead the current paperwork system is fine – he believes some see the testing as just another item to be added to their already exhaustive checklist.
“The whole idea is to provide an alternative and reduce or eliminate the heap of paperwork farmer fill out,” said Popoff.
When Elam Wills began organic farming 30 years ago, he had no idea it would prompt many conventional orchardists to convert.
Wills, whose farm in Cawston produce foods such as tomatoes, peppers, egg plant, peaches, cherries and apples, said he was motivated to get into organic growing to take a positive step for the environment. Potential financial gains were never considered.
“There was no real strong consciousness of organic,” said Wills. There was no premium revenue on the income.”
Wills is in favour of some form of testing to support the paperwork system as a way for organic farmers to track their work.
“I don‘t personally see that as a problem but the paperwork has to be there as the first step,” he said. “It‘s because you‘ll go out to some conventional (orchardists) who do things properly or play the system right and they could likely pass some of these chemical tests.”
Being able to pass a test is not the true measure of an organic grower said Wills.
“What you are being certified (for) is that you are growing in accordance with the guidelines,” he said. “If the grower is being honest in their approach to it and they grow by those guidelines then that‘s kind of the first safe position that a certifying body can certify on because there may be some background pollution that you‘re not aware of.”
Even if regular testing was conducted, there would probably be a way for someone with the desire to beat the test he said.
“There‘s no more assurance there, if you‘re just going to use that as your criteria than there is that you‘re growing with integrity in accordance with the guidelines,” said Wills.
Wills feels the organic industry holds integrity among its growing community but that does not mean it will be subject to overcoming hurdles as it strives to develop more efficient methodology.
“Any organization is going to have some problems and I suspect that there probably are some growers that are not being entirely truthful.”
Wills admitted while the system isn‘t perfect having a formal paperwork system is a step forward to bettering the quality of produce and drastically reducing the potential for toxic material to find its way into a piece of fruit.
In August, the Organic Trade Association presented concerns about the marketability of non-food organic products to the Committee on Organic Agriculture. The committee is made up of representatives from organic farmers, industry, and consumers, and is responsible for establishing Canada‘s organic production and processing standards under the Canadian General Standards Board.
The Government of Canada is in the middle of implementing a new regulation on organic food. It is expected to be in place by the end of 2008. There is currently no regulation covering the manufacturing of non-food organic products. Top of Page
