Following our public webinar on Tuesday 30 May, we have drafted a submission on the National Organic Standard (NOS). This standard will form the future rules that organic farmers, growers, processors and retailers will be held to.
This meeting has been called by the Soil & Health National Council and is open to all members. The purpose of the meeting is to discuss the priorities of the Association in the face of steep cost increases relating to Organic NZ magazine publishing, and an ongoing associated budget deficit. National Council wants to inform…
A remit passed at the 2022 Soil & Health AGM calling for advocacy on climate change action through organic regenerative farming. The following letter was sent to Ministers and MPs on 18th April 2023. To:Hon Damian O’Connor MP, Minister for Primary Industries;Hon James Shaw MP, Minister of Climate ChangeChris Luxon MP, Leader of the OppositionTodd…
About the video We all know that heavy rains cause soil loss and runoff. And we understand these are harmful to fresh water and the wider environment. But many farmers, gardeners and land owners are unsure about where to start fixing these problems. Join Philippa Jamieson, former editor of Organic NZ magazine, in conversation with…
The Therapeutic Products Bill is intended to replace the Medicines Act 1981 and Dietary Supplements Regulations 1985 and brings natural health products (NHP) into the regulation system for health products within Aotearoa/New Zealand. Read our full submission here. Summary of our submission This submission from Soil & Health focuses on the regulation of natural health products. …
Learn how to eliminate glyphosate and other harmful herbicides. This recording is available to members, below. Please log-in using the email associated with your membership. If you have trouble logging-in please contact our team by email: About the video This webinar is part of the Soil & Health Association’s campaign to strengthen regulation of…
This is a four-part video series of Ben Cheah’s Auckland garden. The following content is accessible for members only, please sign in.
The Soil & Health Association will provide a grant of up to $100 for the running of any public event led and organised by an association member. Grant conditions Applications for grant funding must use the form provided below Applications should show how the proposed event will deliver benefits to one or more of the…
Event details The 2022 AGM was held in Wellington on September 24th as part of a two-day event with Organics Aotearoa New Zealand (23-24 September) The AGM began at 9.15am at the Prefab Hall, 14 Jessie Street, Te Aro, Wellington Virtual attendance (via Zoom) was combined with in-person attendance Draft minutes The draft minutes of…
The Soil & Health Association is welcoming last week’s “Knowing what’s out there” report by the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment. The report criticises New Zealand’s lack of monitoring and regulation of environmental harm from chemicals.
We hear from Judie Keats of Kelmarna gardens The following content is accessible for members only, please sign in.
We hear from Soil & Health General Manager Pete Huggins about the work of the Association in 2021. The following content is accessible for members only, please sign in.
The Soil & Health Association welcomes the opportunity to submit on this proposal to revise and update the definitions in the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code (the Code) for ‘food produced using gene technology’ and ‘gene technology’, to make them clearer and to better reflect existing and emerging genetic technologies, including new breeding techniques…
The Soil & Health Association is joining other environmental groups calling for immediate action to tackle farming emissions. Consultation on the government’s draft Emissions Reduction Plan closes today and environmental groups are united in calling for stronger action. “It’s unacceptable that agriculture, our largest emitting sector, is the least developed and most poorly explained aspect…
The New Zealand Environmental Protection Agency’s call for information on the use of glyphosate in Aotearoa is a missed opportunity to properly risk assess the substance says Jodie Bruning, spokesperson for the Soil & Health Association. Today the EPA extended the process for a second time. Submissions were due to close today but now close…
We submit that Aotearoa New Zealand urgently needs a genuine risk assessment of glyphosate and glyphosate-based herbicides (commercial products containing glyphosate and other chemicals) that are being sold and used in this country.
The European Union’s highest court has rejected Bayer’s bid to overturn a European law which heavily restricted the use of bee-harming pesticides. In 2013 the European Union banned neonicotinoid, or ‘neonic’ use on bee-attractive crops. In 2018 the ban was extended to use on all outdoor crops, including annual arable crops, cereals and horticultural crops. The General Court decision, released Thursday, is…
A blasé approach to glyphosate regulation in New Zealand threatens our international reputation and poses a risk to New Zealand consumers, Soil & Health Association spokesperson Jodie Bruning said today. “Japanese authorities have now rejected five shipments of glyphosate-contaminated honey from New Zealand’. “New Zealand needs to take glyphosate contamination seriously. The International Agency for Cancer…
Summary of our submission In general we support the spirit of this first Climate Change Commission (CCC) report, but we want strong and decisive action, and we want it more quickly than the report recommends. We think that the Commission’s proposed budgets need to be substantially enhanced to create greater emissions reductions over the next…
Concerns for the future of New Zealand’s domestic organic industry have dampened enthusiasm for the Organic Products Bill which returned from Select Committee with some significant and useful changes, says the Soil & Health Association. “We represent the thousands of people buying, growing and selling organic products,” says Soil & Health’s general manager Pete Huggins….
Today’s Climate Commission advice shows we need a transition from synthetic fertilisers and other harmful practices towards organic and regenerative agriculture, said Soil & Health Association spokesperson Jenny Lux today. “Organic regenerative farming is a huge opportunity for New Zealand, both economically and environmentally. Early movers have shown that we can make that shift rapidly….