Canada and a few other rich countries are being accused of undermining an international moratorium on controversial terminator seeds, which are genetically engineered to produce sterile crops. Critics say the terminator seeds give biotech companies a foolproof way of protecting their patent rights [while increasing] farmers' costs. At a conference in Spain under the framework of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, negotiators passed a recommendation to permit testing of the seeds. The motion must still be approved by a high-level conference in Brazil in March.

"If terminator technology is put on the market it will be only a short number of years before that's the only technology in which you can buy new seeds," said Pat Mooney of ETC group, which promotes sustainable agriculture. Lucie Sharratt, who attended the UN conference in Spain, said Canada joined the United States [and other countries] in watering down the moratorium.

KANSAS CITY, MI - A coalition of farmers, consumers and environmental activists on Thursday [Feb. 16] sued the U.S. government over its approval of a biotech alfalfa that critics say will "spell havoc for farmers and the environment." Opening another front in the battle over genetically modified crops, the lawsuit contends that the U.S. Department of Agriculture improperly is allowing Monsanto Co. to sell an herbicide-resistant alfalfa seed while failing to analyze the public health, environmental, and economic consequences of that action.

The lawsuit asks the federal court in San Francisco to rescind the USDA's decision until a full environmental review has been completed. The suit asserts that the genetically modified alfalfa will probably contaminate conventionally grown alfalfa at a fast pace, ultimately forcing farmers to pay for Monsanto's patented gene technology whether they want the technology or not.

The plummeting mineral content of milk, meat and vegetables over the past 60 years will have grave consequences for the future health of the UK, according to a shocking food analysis. Dr David Thomas, a primary healthcare practitioner and independent researcher, made a comparison of government tables published in 1940, and again in 2002. [The study found that] the iron content in 15 different varieties of meat had decreased on average by 47 per cent, with some products showing a fall as high as 80 per cent, while the iron content of milk had dropped by over 60 per cent. Copper and magnesium, essential for enzyme functioning, also showed losses in meat products. Magnesium levels have typically fallen by 10 per cent while copper levels have fallen by 60 per cent. Dairy foods have experienced a 90 per cent fall in copper, while the calcium loss in high-value Parmesan cheese was an extraordinary 70 per cent, implying a considerable dilution of the original highly concentrated recipe.

"Processed and manufactured food has resulted in increasingly denatured products, with no micronutrients," [says] Thomas. "As time has gone on, things have got lost. With the current obesity crisis, lo and behold; people are beginning to realise that good food makes good sense." But the default meal for many children remains a plate of rendered meat, chips and Coke.

Picture an organic farm owned co-operatively by local farmers working the land and selling produce. Add an historic farmhouse lovingly restored and maybe a restaurant visited by tourists, hikers and cyclists exploring the farm's trails, wetlands and ecological parklands. That's The Land Conservancy's vision for Keating Farm, a landmark heritage farm its members bought in June [2005] to save from housing development. "We're trying to create an agricultural model where the community has ownership of what they're doing and putting Keating's farmland back into production," TLC's agricultural programs manager Ramona Scott said.

TLC aims to establish the co-operative to avoid selling the farm. Land-use plans will be displayed at a Feb. 20 meeting [as well as] more on where the group is coming from and going to with the co-op. "We'd operate Keating in a traditional way mixed with new technology, farm-gate sales and events," she said, adding Feast of Fields organizers have already expressed interest in holding their event at the farm. "It's a way for communities to take charge and protect farmland so it'll be there forever."

Genetically modified crops were introduced 10 years ago, but 2005 saw plenty of evidence that the technology was introduced long before the science was ready. [This article presents a rundown of] some of last year's highlights, so to speak.

France is proposing a new law that would effectively absolve the government of financial responsibility for contamination caused by genetically modified (GMO) crops, a move condemned by environmental groups. In legislation put forward this week, France's research ministry suggested that farmers growing GMO crops would have to contribute to a fund to compensate for any contamination claims from neighboring growers of traditional varieties.

The current EU law states farmers finding more than 0.9 percent of GM materials in conventional crops must label the products as containing GMOs, which can lead to lower prices, but does not speak of any compensation fund or law. Environment campaigners and some growers groups protested that the proposal, which forces farmers to pay up to 100 euros per hectares of GM crops for a maximum of five years, also puts the whole responsibility of contamination on farmers' shoulders. "The proposed legislation is planning to force farmers to carry the can. It thereby organizes a total impunity for the food industry, seed makers and transporters," Greenpeace said.

In a report released quietly just before Christmas, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's investigative arm disclosed that the department failed to properly monitor thousands of acres of experimental biotechnology crops. The report by the department's inspector general said USDA didn't thoroughly evaluate applications to grow experimental crops and then didn't ensure the genetically engineered plants were destroyed after experiments.

In several cases, the agency didn't even know where so-called field trials were located. Many scientists worry that biotechnology crops will inadvertently cross-pollinate with conventionally grown crops. That poses a particular problem for organic farmers who charge a premium to guarantee customers their groceries are free of genetic engineering.

The people who are drafting a new national organic standard are concerned that one of the fundamental principles enshrined in the standard is under attack. Canadian Organic Initiative co-ordinator Paddy Doherty said senior Officials in the Canadian Food Inspection Agency have suggested the standard should require that organic poultry be kept indoors to protect the public against an outbreak of avian flu. "If the threat from avian influenza increases, so does the challenge to the principle of outdoor access," Doherty said. And that, he said, would be disastrous because it is one of the fundamental guiding principles of organic animal husbandry.

In hopes of drawing attention to the organic sector and to consolidate provisions for U.S. organic agriculture and farmers, the Organic Trade Association (OTA) is seeking support to establish an organic title within the next Farm Bill. "The 2007 Farm Bill is the key piece of legislation coming up that can influence organic agriculture and trade for years to come. We envision that all sectors of the organic business community can benefit if we work together on a Farm Bill that addresses the entire organic value chain," said Katherine DiMatteo, OTA's executive director.

A membership-based business association, OTA is seeking provisions within the Farm Bill to benefit the organic farm community and that, in turn, will benefit any businesses that depend on this community. As a result OTA is currently reaching beyond its membership to encourage discussion of its Farm Bill proposal.

In July 2003, a farmer living in a small village in the south of Mindanao Island of The Philippines, found himself and his entire family suddenly falling ill with fever and respiratory, intestinal and skin ailments. They were not alone; at least fifty-one residents of Sitio Kalyong had similar complaints at around the same time. They all lived within 100 m of a field planted with GM maize, and their illnesses coincided with the GM maize flowering time. The field in Sitio Kalyong belonged to a local official who bought five bags of Monsanto's Bt maize seed, enough to plant 5 hectares. The local official stopped planting the Bt maize after 2003.

As part of an investigation to determine what made the villagers ill, one of the farmers was "volunteered" to venture inside the Bt maize field in the presence of more than 10 witnesses, as he explained via an interpreter. "Within 5 minutes, I could not breathe and felt something extraordinary on my face," he recalled. The others could see that his face had swollen up and remarked that it was "very dangerous". Many if not all of the villagers exposed to GM-maize pollen in 2003 have remained ill to this day. Furthermore, there have been five unexplained deaths in the village.

Evidence released in January by the Mental Health Foundation in the United Kingdom and the UK group Sustain reveals that changes to the human diet in the last fifty years or so could be an important factor behind the major rise of mental illness in the country. According to the organizations, significant changes in the way food is produced and manufactured have not only reduced the amounts of essential fats, vitamins and minerals consumed, but have also disturbed the balance of nutrients in the foods eaten. The two studies are available for free download online. Feeding Minds: the impact of food on mental health has been written for stakeholders within the mental health sector. Changing Diets, Changing Minds: how food affects mental well-being and behavior has been written for stakeholders in the food and farming sectors.

Natural chemicals found in soya beans and vegetables such as broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower boost the body's ability to repair damaged DNA and may prevent cells turning cancerous, scientists said [Feb. 7]. Studies have suggested that eating vegetables appears to provide some protection against certain cancers, but until now the reason why has been a mystery. Researchers at Georgetown University in Washington DC believe the answer lies with two naturally occurring compounds. The first, indole-3-carbinol or I3C is abundant in vegetables including broccoli and cabbage, while the second, genistein, occurs naturally in soya beans.

Capers Community Markets, a natural and organic foods retailer based in Vancouver, B.C., [has] announced that it is the first company in Western Canada to be designated a certified organic retailer by Quality Assurance International (QAI). The Organic Certification Program for Retailers, awarded by QAI, an independent third-party certification organization, recognizes compliance with the United States Department of Agriculture's National Organic Program Standard.

All of Capers' three Greater Vancouver locations are now certified in Produce, Bulk Grocery, and Pre-packaged goods. At present, Canada does not have a national standard and certification system, but it is currently in the process of developing and implementing one. (The organic industry in B.C. is currently regulated by the Canadian Organic Association of B.C.). The Canada Organic Initiative Project, which has utilized successful elements from the USDA's standards, is in its final phase.

Nature's Path hopes to scoop up its share of the $17.9 million [USD] organic pasta category with the launch of LifeStream whole grain and flax pastas. The whole grain/high fiber segment, estimated at $4.8 billion per Packaged Facts, got a boost last year when the revised USDA dietary guidelines advised greater consumption of whole grains. That unleashed a floodgate of products from cereals to breads and muffins to pastas. The new line of whole grain and flax pastas will be touted in a print ad, developed in-house by the Richmond, B.C., Canada-based company, which breaks in April issues of titles like Self, Woman's Day, Psychology Today and Organic Gardening.

OTTER POINT, B.C. - Organic farmer Mary Alice Johnson's hourly wage amounts to chicken feed, but with each passing year her desire to be outside, working the land, grows. "I would do this if I lost money," she said during a break from planning her summer gardens. Her dedication is driven by a desire to see that high-quality produce continues to be grown using organic methods, and by her worries that farmers are a dying breed. "So many farmers are getting old," said Ms. Johnson, a 62-year-old Colorado native who used to work as a teacher. "We need a way to transfer their knowledge base."

Because organic farming is labour intensive, Ms. Johnson always welcomes an extra pair of hands. So for the past decade, she has been sharing her skills through a national program that matches farmers with apprentices interested in learning how to grow and market organic food. The apprenticeship program is administered by Stewards of Irreplaceable Land or SOIL, a non-profit organization.

He made millions from selling organic food to well-heeled Americans [with] his meat, veg and laid-back style. [Meet] the founder of Whole Foods: hippie entrepreneur John Mackey. [But,] Whole Foods' journey to self-actualisation has taken time - some 25 years or so. "They said our first store in Austin would not work. Then they said it would not work outside Austin, that it would not work outside Texas, that we would never succeed in California or Chicago or New York. People dismissed us as a sort of a fad, just a bunch of weird food hippies. But we've proved them wrong everywhere we've gone, and we'll carry on."

Over the last two-and-a-half decades, Mackey has proved almost everyone wrong and, in the process, has turned conventional business wisdom on its head. He has transformed 'hippy business' from a recipe for disaster to a prescription for world-beating - and, perhaps, world-changing - growth. Whole Foods sells natural food from reputable, small-scale suppliers. It is battling the industrialisation of farming.

Hemp is perhaps best known for its Omega-3 and -6 fatty acids that make it a great addition to a healthy diet, and as a cotton substitute in ecologically-sound clothing and bedding. But it is also a versatile, environmentally-sound building material. A hemp crop can be grown without the use of herbicides or insecticides and produces up to four tonnes of material per acre per year. Hemp is categorized as a bast fiber crop. It has a stem consisting of an outer skin containing long, strong fibers and a hollow wood-like core or pith. Processing the stems results in two materials: hurds and fibers, both of which have properties that make them extremely useful in building construction.

A hemp demonstration house in rural Ontario [is owned by] the founders of Hempola, a manufacturer of hemp food and body care products. The walls of their spectacular 4,500-square-foot octagonal home north of Toronto are filled with hemp bales in a technique similar to straw bale construction. The floor and ceiling beams of mostly reclaimed wood are stained with hemp oil and the roof is shingled with hemp composite.

[This article describes the advantages and strengths of a number of hemp-based construction materials.]

Farmers who weathered a wave of cheap imports in the last decade by coaxing their fields to yield hundreds of harder-to-find varieties are increasingly betting on organic flowers, a nascent industry that is taking bloom on the heels of the organic food boom. Many in the industry hope the decision to go organic will eventually be an environmentally friendly but also a financially sound alternative for farmers trying to stay afloat.

Though the market for organic flowers is still small - sales totaled $8 million [USD] in 2003, a fraction of the $19.4 billion consumers spent on all flowers nationally - it's growing fast. There's no evidence that organic flowers are healthier, but consumers are increasingly willing to pay more for products made without chemicals harmful to workers or the environment. Organic flower sales are expected to grow 13 percent annually through 2008, according to the Organic Trade Association.

The market for organic food in [Germany] was worth 4-million [euros] last year, a rise in sales of more than 10 percent compared with 2004. Market analysts attribute this phenomenon to a series of food scandals and to fears inflamed by bird flu which has prompted customers to seek out products stamped with the organic label. The big winners in this movement are the organic supermarkets which saw their turnover rocket 20.3 percent in the first quarter of 2005. Around 250 organic supermarkets have opened in Germany in recent years.