Australian Organic is standing with the National Farmers’ Federation (NFF) and calling on the government to recognise agriculture and the food supply chain to be deemed as an essential service, in response to COVID-19 measures. There are around 2,000 certified organic primary producers in Australia, including farmers, graziers, apiarists and wild harvesters. Australian Organic CEO […]
Ivory Coast: Fairtrade Boosting Cocoa Farmers Income
Fairtrade International says sales of fairtrade certified cocoa from the Ivory Coast in the fourth quarter of 2019 increased farmers’ earnings by approximately US $15.1 million compared to non-fairtrade cocoa. About two-thirds of the world’s cocoa is grown by smallholder farmers in the Ivory Coast and Ghana. More than 190,000 Ivorian cocoa farmers are members of […]
Call for Greater Assessment of Organic Products
French, Danish and Swedish researchers say there needs to be a better system to compare conventional and organic production systems which accounts not only for differences in crop yields, but for the environmental impacts of the different systems. According to three scientists, the most widely used method of analysis often tends to overlook vital factors, […]
Canada Organic Food Sales Surge
The Canadian market for organic foods is now worth Can $5 billion (USD 3.7 billion). According to Statistics Canada, retail sales have increased 57% over the past five years. Two in three Canadians (67%) now spend at least some of their weekly grocery budget on organic items, up from about 50% in 2014. The rise in organic […]
New Zealand: Plastic-Free Cup Going for Organic Certification
After more than two years of research, a South Island company has developed what it believes is the country’s first plastic-free biodegradable coffee cup. Christchurch-based Glopac wants to go a step further and get certification for organic composting for its cups, but that has become a long and frustrating battle. The company’s general manager Chris […]