New regulations surrounding the production of organic food in Canada will be beneficial to consumers, says an organic farming expert.
Later this year, the Canadian federal government will introduce a 'Canada Organic' logo that will identify food that has been accredited as being organic.
"I think it's a really great thing for consumers and the logo is going to make it that much easier for consumers to be able to identify and purchase organic food. That's a benefit for the environment and for their personal health," Laura Telford of the Canadian Organic Growers told CTV's Canada AM.
Organic food is generally produced without the use pesticides, fertilizers and herbicides that would be present in more conventional approaches to agriculture.
To obtain the new 'Canada Organic' label, farmers are required to fill out an application detailing how they farm and the substances used in the production of their food. Once they are approved they will receive permission to put the 'Canada Organic' label on their product. Annual checks will be conducted on farms to ensure the standards of the 'Canada Organic' label are being met, Telford said.
The regulations were announced last December by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and mark the first time that national standards will be applied to the production of organic food.
Previously, Quebec and British Columbia were the only provinces to regulate organic produce in the country.
The regulations come at a time of an unprecedented boom in the purchase of organic food by Canadian consumers.
According to a Certified Organics report released earlier this year, over half of all Canadian households purchased organically grown food in the last year.
Some consumers are buying organic food because of their concerns over pesticide use and would like to buy local organic food so there is minimal impact to the environment in the transportation of the food.
The Certified Organic Growers Association reported that there were 3,618 certified organic growers in Canada in 2005. At the time of the report, an additional 241 farmers were in the process of converting their traditional farms to organic.
This trend comes at a time when the farming industry is facing difficult times. A Statistics Canada report released in May indicated the number of Canadian farms declining by seven per cent over the last five years leaving 17,550 fewer farms and 19,140 fewer farmers.
"Organic agriculture..it doesn't fit in with that picture of declining agriculture. We're the only part of agriculture that's seeing massive increases," Telford said.
As well as providing more clarity and choice to Canadian consumers, the aim of the new regulations will be to expand the opportunities of Canadian organic farmers to export their products abroad.
If you have any comments or questions about our organic series, please email us at organic@ctv.ca.
