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Organic Products
Organic Products
You’ve heard so much talk about going organic and seen new products being stocked everywhere around you. But does it all make you wonder what exactly an organic product is? Why should you buy them? What should you look for while buying them? Here are answers to some of those questions.
What are organic products?
To put it simply, Organic products are made from natural ingredients grown under an organic system of agriculture, without the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides with an environmentally and socially responsible approach. According to the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) "Organic agriculture is a production system that sustains the health of soils, ecosystems and people. It relies on ecological processes, biodiversity and cycles adapted to local conditions, rather than the use of inputs with adverse effects. Organic agriculture combines tradition, innovation and science to benefit the shared environment and promote fair relationships and a good quality of life for all involved..” Thus Organic farming is a combination of techniques to build up soil fertility for sustainable production, mainly using local, natural resources and with least external inputs. Production and protection of crops mainly depend on indigenous wisdom combined with latest scientific techniques such as biocontrol and microbial fertilizers. In organic farming rather than using synthetic pesticides to kill pests, farmers prevent pests by planting a biodiverse range of crops, by rotations, and using natural, biological and environment friendly sprays. This means no artificial pesticides, no herbicides, no hormones and no growth promoters or food irradiation. Organics also prohibits the use of GMO s - or genetic engineering. Organic Standards clearly define the allowed and prohibited production and processing methods.
What are Organic Standards and Certifications?
Organic standards define precisely the minimum requirements that a farm or product should meet in order to be certified organic. There are organic standards on national and international levels. For certification of products for export, the standards of the target market or importing country are to be compiled with. Some private labels such as Naturland, Demeter and BIO SUISSE have certain stipulations in addition to the national standards.
In some countries including India, organic standards are formulated and overseen by the government. The United States, the European Union and Japan have comprehensive organic legislation, and the term "organic" may be used only by certified producers. Being able to put the word "organic" on a food product is a valuable marketing advantage in today's consumer market. Certification is intended to protect consumers from misuse of the term, and make buying organics easy. However, the organic labeling made possible by certification itself usually requires explanation. In countries without organic laws, government guidelines may or may not exist, while certification is handled by non-profit organizations and private companies.
Internationally, equivalency negotiations are underway, and some agreements are already in place, to harmonize certification between countries, facilitating international trade. There are also international certification bodies, including members of the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM), the Organic Crop Improvement Association (OCIA), and Ecocert. Where formal agreements do not exist between countries, organic product for export is often certified by agencies from the importing countries.
In India, the Agricultural & Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) regulates the certification of organic products as per National Standards for Organic Production. “The NPOP standards for production and accreditation system have been recognized by European Commission and Switzerland as equivalent to their country standards. Similarly, USDA has recognized NPOP conformity assessment procedures of accreditation as equivalent to that of US. With these recognitions, Indian organic products duly certified by the accredited certification bodies of India are accepted by the importing countries."
What are Indian organic standards?
In 2000, the Government of India released the National Standards for Organic Products (NSOP) under the National Programme for Organic Production (NPOP). It stipulates that inspection and certification by a nationally accredited certification body is mandatory for labeling and selling products as “organic.” The NSOP is available on http://www.apeda.com/apedawebsite/organic/index.htm
What is the certification process?
Organic certification is a certification process for producers of organic food and other organic agricultural products. In general, any business directly involved in food production can be certified, including seed suppliers, farmers, food processors, retailers and restaurants. Requirements vary from country to country, and generally involve a set of production standards for growing, storage, processing, packaging and shipping that include:
- Avoidance of most synthetic chemical inputs (e.g. fertilizer, pesticides, antibiotics, food additives, etc), genetically modified organisms, irradiation, and the use of sewage sludge;
- Use of farmland that has been free from chemicals for a number of years (often, three or more);
- Keeping detailed written production and sales records (audit trail);
- Maintaining strict physical separation of organic products from non-certified products;
- Undergoing periodic on-site inspections.
- For first-time farm certification, the soil must meet basic requirements of being free from use of prohibited substances (synthetic chemicals, etc) for a number of years. A conventional farm must adhere to organic standards for this period, often, two to three years. This is known as being in transition. Transitional crops are not considered fully organic.
- Certification for operations other than farms is similar. The focus is on ingredients and other inputs, and processing and handling conditions. A transport company would be required to detail the use and maintenance of its vehicles, storage facilities, containers, and so forth. A restaurant would have its premises inspected and its suppliers verified as certified organic.
What is the purpose of certifying Organic Products?
Organic certification is intended to assure quality and prevent fraud, and to promote commerce. While such certification was not necessary in the early days of the organic movement, when small farmers would sell their produce directly at farmers' markets, as organics have grown in popularity, more and more consumers are purchasing organic food through traditional channels, such as supermarkets. As such, consumers must rely on third-party regulatory certification.
For organic producers, certification identifies suppliers of products approved for use in certified operations. For consumers, "certified organic" serves as a product assurance.
What do the Organic Labels Mean?
The Government of India strictly regulates the use of organic labels. Standard mentioned below need to be met for a product to be able to display an Organic label ( as certified by APEDA)
- "Produce of organic agriculture” - Single ingredient products may be labeled as "produce of organic agriculture" or a similar description when all Standards requirements have been met.
- "Certified Organic” - For mixed products where not all ingredients, including additives, are of organic origin may be labeled as “Certified Organic" or similar and should carry the logo of the certification programme, only when a minimum of 95% of the ingredients are of certified organic origin.
- "Made with organic ingredients” - Where less than 95% but not less than 70% of the ingredients are of certified organic origin, products may not be called "organic". The word "organic" may be used on the principal display in statements like "made with organic ingredients" provided there is a clear statement of the proportion of the organic ingredients. An indication that the product is covered by the certification programme may be used, close to the indication of proportion of organic ingredients.
- Where less than 70% of the ingredients are of certified organic origin, the indication that an ingredient is organic may appear in the ingredients list. Such product may not be called "organic".
All raw materials of a multi-ingredient product are required to be listed on the product label in order of their weight percentage. Raw materials of organic certified origin should clearly mention this. All additives need to be listed with their full name.
The logo used under the APEDA’s certification programme is called “India Organic”. This is the seal that is used on all its certified organic products indicating that it has been organically produced and that it originates from India.
What are the Benefits of going organic?
Principle of organic farming is to allow Mother Nature to provide us food the way nature intended. The soil is of central importance. Organic farmers nourish the soil and its micro universe of life forms rather than force feeding the plants to grow unnaturally fast. Because animal welfare matters in organic farming, animals are treated with care and respect. There are no cages, animals move free, grazing on grass and other natural pastures.
- Better taste - Most people who eat organic food say that organic food tastes better.
- Healthier –Since organic foods have far less residues of pesticides, growth promoters and antibiotics they are considered to be healthier than non-organically produced food. Many researches have shown that organic food contains more vitamins, nutrients and cancer-fighting antioxidants than non-organic food.
- Animal friendly - Organic farming places great emphasis on animal welfare and is more animal friendly, where animals are not treated with synthetic growth hormones or drugs.
- GMO free - Genetically Modified Organisms are not allowed in organic agriculture.
- Low Cost in the Long run - By avoiding expensive inputs of agrochemicals, organic farmers can manage to reduce production costs and get out of the debt traps. By being healthier for consumers, they can save health related expenses in the long run.
- Sustainable and Environment friendly - Organic production aims, at all times towards sustainability while having best management of the environment and wildlife as a priority. This implies a sustainable management of natural resources; soil water and bio diversity. Organic systems are less dependent on non-renewable resources.
- Traditions meeting Science - Organic systems rely on a modern and scientific understanding of ecology and soil science, while also integrating traditional agricultural knowledge.
What Organic Products does India Produce and Export?
According to APEDA, currently, India ranks 33rd in terms of total land under organic cultivation and 88th position for agriculture land under organic crops to total farming area. The cultivated land under certification is around 2.8 million Ha (2007-08). This includes 1 million hac under cultivation and the rest is under forest area (wild collection).
India produced around 3,96,997 MT of certified organic products which includes all varieties of food products namely Basmati rice, Pulses, Honey, Tea, Spices, Coffee, Oil Seeds, Fruits, Processed food, Cereals, Herbal medicines and there value added products. The production is not limited to the edible sector but also produces organic cotton fiber, garments, cosmetics, functional food products, body care products, etc.
India exported 86 items last year (2007-08) with the total volume of 37533 MT. The export realization was around 100.4 million US $ registering a 30% growth over the previous year. Organic products are mainly exported to EU, US, Australia, Canada, Japan, Switzerland, South Africa and Middle East. Cotton leads among the products exported (16,503 MT).
What are the challenges faced by farmers going in for organic certification?
High certification costs involved - Since certification is carried out by a team of experienced professionals, the fee charged by most certifying agencies is relatively high. Most small and marginal farmers find it prohibitively high and therefore unable to opt for certification.
Increased Effort - Certification of a farm requires strict adherence to specified process for manufacturing, processing, transportation, storage and packaging. This substantially increases costs and efforts for a small and marginal farmer.
Long time taken for certification – in most countries a farm needs to use organic methods of agriculture for at least three years (or more) for receiving an organic certification
Sources of Information:
http://www.apeda.com/apedawebsite/organic/index.htm
http://www.apeda.com/apedawebsite/organic/ORGANIC_CONTENTS/English_Organic_Sept05.pdf
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organic_products
http://www.indocert.org/agriculture.aspx
http://www.usda.gov
Sustainable Development
Look at the world we live today. Do we always tend to worry about the kind of planet we would leave for our children and their subsequent generations. Do we think that things would be much better, if only this or that could have been different? Are we able to make the necessary choices which would make a positive difference to us and our children's lives? Are there enough options available in the market for us to make these choices? Choices for a good.....sustainable....meaningful living.
Since the Industrial Revolution, there have been numerous technological and manufacturing revolutions, advancements and refinements, leading to improved lifestyles for many of us. These changes have had an enormous impact in the way we live in the planet today. But these changes haven't been equitable or sustainable. There are people who still find it hard to get their two square meals a day, many in Asia and Sub Saharan Africa surviving even under a $ a day. There have been irreparable damages to our physical environment and general well being due to the lifestyles we follow, which is usually energy intensive and resource depleting.
The world today is stretched to meet the demands of its ever increasing population with its existing resources. The available technologies are unable to factor in the negative externalities. Policies that exist tend to address these complex issues restrictedly.
Given this scenario, it is pertinent that decisions to counter these issues have to come from individual, family and community levels. The challenge would be to emulate a lifestyle which is sustainable at these three levels, so as to bring a positive impact in the way we live in. This would lead to a definitive change in the existing policies and also create a “market” which would promote sustainable living. The journey to achieve this would be relatively slow but a challenging one. We need to persevere to get there.
The world today presents numerous contradictions to sustainable living. For example, promotion of organic agriculture in recent times and the increase in indigenous people adopting “modern” agricultural practices viz., high yielding varieties of seeds, synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. Another could be the energy environment we live in. More than half of the world's energy requirements today are met through coal. Coal drawn although cheaper presents numerous challenges to the environment in terms of air and water pollutants. Although a majority of the population still perceive energy to be from hydel power.
Sustainable Development promotes resource use, aimed towards meeting human needs whilst preserving the environment in a way that the needs can be met not only in the present, but also in the indefinite future.
The idea of sustainability though, has been in use since more than 30 years, and can be traced back to the new mandate adopted by IUCN (1969). It was a key theme of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm (1972). The concept was coined explicitly to suggest that it was possible to achieve economic growth and industrialization without environmental damage. In the ensuing decades, mainstream sustainable development thinking was progressively developed through the World Conservation Strategy (1980), the Brundtland Report (1987), and the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio (1992), as well as in national government planning and wider engagement from business leaders and non-governmental organizations of all kinds.
Sustainable Development as a term though, has come into much prominence after its usage by the Brundtland Commission, created by the United Nations in 1983 to reflect about ways to save the human environment and natural resources and to prevent deterioration of economic and social development. The Commission defined Sustainable Development as given below:
“Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. It contains within it two key concepts:
a. the concept of 'needs', in particular the essential needs of the world's poor, to which overriding priority should be given; and
b. the idea of limitations imposed by the state of technology and social organization on the environment's ability to meet present and future needs.
Sustainability is also one of the eight goals under the UN Millennium Development Goals, associated with eighteen (18) targets and forty-eight (48) indicators intended to be the yardsticks for measuring improvements in people's lives.
The concept of sustainable development covers three major areas viz., Economy, Society and Environment. It also encompasses the entire humanity and is not restricted to any particular segment. Now, cultural sustainability is also being considered as inclusive along with economical, social and environmental sustainability.
Sustainable development has also been stated as the way in which developing nations undergoing the process of industrialization will avoid becoming like current industrialized carbon intensive nations with high level of emissions.
The need today thus, is for a lifestyle, which can promote and inculcate in each one of us a character of sustainability in our economic, social, ecological and cultural selves. Although its a big ask, we can definitely reach there by taking one step at a time. The time to start has to be NOW..!!
(Source: UCN. 2006. The Future of Sustainability: Re-thinking Environment and Development in the Twenty-first Century.
Report of the IUCN Renowned Thinkers Meeting, 29-31 January, 2006
What is Fair Trade?
What is Fair Trade?
Fair Trade is an economic partnership based on dialogue, transparency, and respect. This system of exchange seeks to create a just and sustainable international trading system1. The movement advocates the payment of a fair price as well as social and environmental standards in areas related to the production of a wide variety of goods. It focuses in particular on exports from developing countries to developed countries, most notably handicrafts, coffee, cocoa, sugar, tea, bananas, honey, cotton, wine, fresh fruit, chocolate and flowers.2
Fair trade's main objective is to deliberately work with marginalized producers and workers in order to help them move from a position of vulnerability to one of security and economic self-sufficiency. It also aims at empowering them to become stakeholders in their own organizations and actively play a wider role in the global arena to achieve greater equity in international trade
Fair Trade organizations have a clear commitment to Fair Trade as the principal core of their mission. They, backed by consumers, are engaged actively in supporting producers, awareness raising and in campaigning for changes in the rules and practice of conventional international trade.
What are Fair Trade Principles?
Some of the principles commonly adhered to by most Fair Trade organizations are mentioned below.
- Creating opportunities for economically and socially disadvantaged producers
- Developing and ensuring Transparency and Accountability.
- Capacity building
- Promoting Fair Trade.
- Payment of a Fair Price
- Gender Equity
- Ensure Good Working conditions
- Ensuring the Rights of Children
- Cultivating Environmental Stewardship
- Trade Relations
- Respecting Cultural Identity
How does Fair Trade work?
Most Fair Trade producers, importers, retailers are members of or are certified by one or several national or international federations. These federations coordinate, promote, and facilitate the work of fair trade organizations. Some of the largest and most influential international organizations are mentioned below:
The Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International (FLO) was established in 1997 as an association of three producer networks and twenty national labeling initiatives that promote and market the Fair trade Certification Mark in their countries. The FLO labeling system is the largest and most widely recognized standard setting and certification body for labeled Fair trade. It regularly inspects and certifies producer organizations in more than 50 countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
The World Fair Trade Organization (WFTO, formerly the International Fair Trade Association or IFAT) was established in 1989 and is a global association of Fair trade producer cooperatives and associations, export marketing companies, importers, retailers, national, and regional fair trade networks and fair trade support organizations. In 2004 WFTO launched the FTO Mark which identifies registered Fair Trade Organizations (as opposed to the FLO system, which labels products).
The Network of European Worldshops (NEWS): was established in 1994, is the umbrella network of 15 national Worldshop associations in 13 different countries all over Europe.
The European Fair Trade Association (EFTA): created in 1990, is a network of European alternative trading organizations which import products from some 400 economically disadvantaged producer groups in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. EFTA's goal is to promote fair trade and to make fair trade importing more efficient and effective. The organization also publishes yearly various publications on the evolution of the fair trade market. EFTA currently has eleven members in nine different countries.
In 1998, these four federations created together FINE, an informal association whose goal is to harmonize fair trade standards and guidelines, increase the quality and efficiency of fair trade monitoring systems, and advocate fair trade politically.
The Fair Trade Federation (FTF): created in 1994, is an association of Canadian and American fair trade wholesalers, importers, and retailers. The organization links its members to fair trade producer groups while acting as a clearinghouse for information on fair trade and providing resources and networking opportunities to its members.
The Fair Trade Action Network: created in 2007, is an international fair trade volunteer web-based network. The association links volunteers from a dozen of European and North American countries, actively supports Fairtrade Town initiatives and encourages grassroots networking at the international level.
What is the history of the fair trade movement?
Fair trade principles have deep roots in European societies long before the first structured alternative trading organizations (ATOs) emerged following World War II. Many of the fundamental concepts behind fair trade actually show a great resemblance with pre-capitalist ideas about the organization of the economy and society.
The notion of the ‘old moral economy’ is a fitting example of such conceptions. E. P. Thompson, in his work on 18th century England, described a society where “notions of common well being, often supported by paternalistic traditional authorities, imposed some limits on the free operations of the market”. Farmers were then not allowed to manipulate prices by withholding their products to wait for price increases. The actions of the middlemen were always considered legally suspect, were severely restricted and the poor were provided opportunities to buy basic staple foods in small parcels. Fair trade was already seen as a way to address market failures; although the concept mainly revolved around consumer, rather than producer, rights.
In 1827 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, a moral and economic boycott of slave-derived goods began with the formation of the "Free Produce Society", founded by Thomas M'Clintock and other abolitionist members of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers). In the "Free Produce" movement, they sought to fight against slavery with a new tactic, one that emphasized the value of the honest labor of free men and women, and to try and determine the unseen added costs to goods such as cotton and sugar which came from the toil of slaves. In 1830, African Americans formed the "Colored Free Produce Society", and women formed their own branch in 1831. In 1838, supporters from a number of states came together in the American Free Produce Association, which promoted their cause by seeking non-slave alternates to products from slaveholders, forming non-slave distribution channels, and publishing a number of pamphlets, tracts, and the journal Non-Slaveholder. The movement did not grow large enough to gain the benefit of the economies of scale, and the cost of "free produce" was always higher than competing goods. The national association disbanded in 1847, but Quakers in Philadelphia continued until 1856.
There have been a few instances in which fair trade in the 'old moral economy' was focused on producer rights: as early as 1859, Dutch author Multatuli (the pen name of Eduard Douwes Dekker) questioned the injustice of the colonial and capitalist system towards commodity producers in his novel Max Havelaar. The fictional tale recounts the story of Max Havelaar, a Nederlandse Trade Company employee, who leaves everything to work in solidarity with local Indonesian workers. This account draws a direct correlation between the wealth and the prosperity of Europe and the poverty of the suffering of other parts of the world.
Sources of Information:
http://www.wfto.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1&Itemid=12
Fair Trade Federation
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_fair_trade#The_origins_of_fair_trade
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