Best Wishes for 2012!
May this year bring many opportunities your way & may your resolutions for the days ahead stay firm turning all your dreams into reality and all your efforts into great achievements.
Changes to the SOD Board of Directors
SOD Board of Directors would like to thank Pat Godhe and Dean Gregory for their time on the SOD Board and wish them success in their future endeavours. The Board filled their vacancies at the December 8, 2011 Board Meeting. Welcome to Lyn Brown (Treasurer) and Harvey Buhr.
2011 SOD Highlights
SOD’s Board of Directors had the opportunity to meet with the Ministry of Agriculture on March 25, 2011.
The agenda included:
A discussion of the gaps and needs of the organic industry that the Ministry or Crops Branch can address
SOD’s letter to the Minister of Agriculture recommending the Provincial Government adopt the COR regulations for Saskatchewan
Stopping GMO Alfalfa
Funding for coordination of Organic Research and Extension
Funding and long-term viability – SK Organic Commission and funding for the Organic Federation of Canada
Carbon sequestration
Dining With The Stars
Dining With The Stars was part of the SOD Food Miles Campaign Committee’s initiative to create awareness of local and organic foods. Marion McBride, FMC Publicity Coordinator, worked with eighteen local producers and thirteen restaurants from various parts of the province to create gourmet organic meals carefully prepared by the chefs from these chosen restaurants. These same producers became “stars” as part of the guest list for at least one of the dinners. Local celebrities/stars from entertainment, politics, sports, the media and the arts were invited to be the hosts for the thirteen dinners. Media were invited to many of the dinners and tickets were made available to the public to join the fun. The goal was to turn these thirteen events into a full season of programming for a television series highlighting the local organic food opportunities here in the province. On October 16th, as part of National Organic Week celebrations, the Royal Saskatchewan Museum hosted a gala series launch. For more details on the Dine With The Stars Project or to use the Directories that were developed, visit SOD’s Food Miles Campaign page.
SOD website
SOD website www.saskorganic.com received a new look and as a SOD member you have a number of advantages. Every SOD member has their own profile and you can feature your farm on that page. You can post classified ads for free and update your information on the Organic Producers’ Directory by simply contacting the office at 306-569-1418 or email admin@saskorganic.com.
On the National Scene
Low Level Presence of GMO’s
On December 5th , during the House of Commons Debates, the Hon. Gerry Ritz, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and Minister for the Canadian Wheat Board, CPC was questioned about low level presence of GMO’s .
His response was: We are continuing to discuss with industry the best way to move forward on low level presence. Of course, globally, everyone was at zero. With the efficacy of scientific testing, it has gone beyond that now. Zero is no longer zero. There is a global movement to move toward 1%, which of course will not hurt organics. It is actually there to protect organics to make sure we all ship in the same containers and we all ship on the same ocean-going freight. It is a matter of making sure that organics are protected when there is a crossover like that.
To read more, you can go to http://www.parl.gc.ca/HousePublications/Publication.aspx?Language=E&Mode.... Click on Oral Questions (menu on the left side of the page) and scroll (a long way down) to Agriculture
SOD: Organic Agriculture Protection Fund has been working closely with the Canadian Biotechnology Action Network (CBAN) over the past year to stop genetically modified alfalfa. CBAN is producing an animated video to educate consumers about genetically modified alfalfa. The video will be launched in early 2012.
The Organic Federation of Canada (OFC) has their Position Paper on Low Level Presence posted on their website. Arnold Taylor is the representative for Saskatchewan and holds the Executive Position of Vice President on the Organic Federation of Canada Board. Arnold attends SOD Board Meetings regularly to keep the Board informed of OFC activities.
Growing Forward 2: 2013-2018
In July 2008, Federal, Provincial and Territorial Ministers announced the The Growing Forward Policy Agreement. This 5 year agreement will expire on March 31, 2013 and a successor framework must be in place by then.
Ted Zettel is the representative for the Organic Council of Ontario and the President of OFC. He made a presentation at the Standing Committee on Agriculture to convince the MPs to support the growth of the organic sector by allocating funding for the standards revision, continuing to support organic research by renewing the science cluster initiatives and by imposing a moratorium on GE alfalfa commercialization in Canada. The submission is posted on the Organic Federation of Canada website.
Upcoming Events
Guelph Organic Conference
January 26-29, 2012
Organic Science Conference
February 21-23, 2012
