Genetic Engineering Panel Discussion: Where are we at in Aotearoa New Zealand
| |

Genetic Engineering Panel Discussion: Where are we at in Aotearoa New Zealand

On 21 November 2023, the Soil and Health Association NZ held an online webinar for an update and discussion about GE. We had over 200 attendees and some great discussion! Scroll down to read more about the webinar and to access the full recording. If you benefited from this webinar, please consider donating to Soil & Health to support our vital work, details below.

2023 AGM Remits

On this page you can read about our one proposed remit and vote (scroll to the bottom to vote). For information about the AGM, AGM papers, and to register to attend, please visit our AGM page. We have one remit, which is to adopt a revised constitution. Remit to AGM: To Adopt the draft Constitution…

2023 AGM of the Soil & Health Association

2023 AGM of the Soil & Health Association

The 2023 AGM will be held at 10am over Zoom on Saturday October 7th. Save the Zoom link ahead of time: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/85315336734 Register now Loading… Vote in the 2023 Election of National Council Read about the candidates and vote here: soilandhealth.org.nz/association-meetings-and-events/2023-election-of-national-council Electronic voting will close 5pm Thursday 5 October. If you attend the AGM as…

Special General Meeting – Saturday 3 June 2023, 10am to 12pm

Special General Meeting – Saturday 3 June 2023, 10am to 12pm

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…

Letter to Ministers and MPs: Seizing the opportunities of organic regenerative farming
| |

Letter to Ministers and MPs: Seizing the opportunities of organic regenerative farming

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…

Heavy rain, soil and waterways – what’s the effect and what we can do about it?
| | |

Heavy rain, soil and waterways – what’s the effect and what we can do about it?

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…

Submission of the Soil & Health Association on the Therapeutic Products Bill

Submission of the Soil & Health Association on the Therapeutic Products Bill

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. …

Goodbye Glyphosate! Rethinking Weeds
| | |

Goodbye Glyphosate! Rethinking Weeds

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…

2022 AGM of the Soil & Health Association

2022 AGM of the Soil & Health Association

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…

Wake-up call on the environmental and human health harms of toxic agrichemicals
| | |

Wake-up call on the environmental and human health harms of toxic agrichemicals

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.

Submission of the Soil & Health Association on definitions for gene technology and new breeding techniques

Submission of the Soil & Health Association on definitions for gene technology and new breeding techniques

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…

Soil & Health joins call for immediate action on farming emissions
| |

Soil & Health joins call for immediate action on farming emissions

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…

Glyphosate risk assessment urgently needed
|

Glyphosate risk assessment urgently needed

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…

Bayer Fails to Overturn European Ban on Bee-Harming Pesticides
| | |

Bayer Fails to Overturn European Ban on Bee-Harming Pesticides

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…