Policies – Soil and Health Association of NZ

Maori organics and Te Tiriti o Waitangi

26 February 2017/in Policies

Long before Europeans arrived on Aotearoa’s shores, Māori were prolific gardeners. Today in Aotearoa many whānau, hapū, iwi and Māori communities are using organic gardening practices to promote self-sufficiency in their whānau and communities.

The Soil & Health Association:

Encourages the practice of hua parakore – Māori organic growing, across Aotearoa. This is a way for Māori to bring kaupapa Māori to mara kai practices, to reconnect to whenua, tupuna and as way of restoring cultural identity.
Acknowledges the creation narratives of Aotearoa, and are committed to enhancing them not diminishing them.
Encourage and support iwi, hapū and whānau to save and use their own local, traditional and heritage seed varieties, to plant a diversity of cultivars and distribute locally adapted varieties of seed.
Encourage the development of food gardens and gardening education in marae and kura kaupapa / Māori schools.
See Māori organic gardening and farming as way of fulfilling tino rangatiratanga under Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
Believe iwi, hapū and whānau have a Te Tiriti right that guarantees their choice of staying free from pesticide pollution and GMO contamination.
Believe that genetic engineering is a threat to mātauranga (knowledge) located with tangata whenua throughout the different tribal regions of Aotearoa.
Believe that the use of GMOs in Aotearoa would be a breach to tikanga Māori (Maori protocols), a breach of the Te Tiriti o Waitangi, and a threat to both the health of Māori and the environment.
Believe that iwi, hapū and whānau have a Te Tiriti right to all of their agricultural Taonga species remaining free from pesticide and GMO contamination.
Believe there is a need to rebuild diverse rural economies through organics for sustainable jobs for Māori.

Photo credit: Nick Holmes

Healthy Soil

26 February 2017/in Policies

The health of our food and therefore the health of people is dependent on the health of the soil. Most of the food we eat has been grown in a fragile layer of topsoil that has been formed over thousands of years. Topsoil is being lost at an ever-increasing rate due to extractive agriculture and forestry practices. Industrialised agriculture, through the use of agrichemicals, overstocking, heavy machinery and a lack of soil cover, is destroying soil structure, causing soil compaction and erosion, and the depletion and loss of soil organic matter and nutrients. Organic agricultural methods, in contrast, use sustainable soil and crop management practices (including species-rich pastures) that work to protect and enhance soil fertility, structure and biological activity in the system.

The Soil & Health Association, as our name suggests, believes in restoring soils for the production of healthy food, therefore healthy people and a healthy earth.

We support organic agriculture and farming systems that foster soil health and produce healthy and nutritious food.

We encourage the use of organic residues and the recycling of biodegradable organic wastes such as manures, green manures, seaweed, and compost.

We encourage the use of minerals in their natural forms as fertilisers to re-establish soil mineral balance and to nourish soil microbes.

We are opposed to the use of synthetic fertilisers.

Photo credit: Nick Holmes

Animal welfare

24 February 2017/in Policies

Every year thousands of animals in New Zealand are farmed intensively, kept in unhygienic and cramped conditions, with high levels of stress and injury, and unable to express normal behaviours. This is ethically unacceptable and contrary to the stated principles in the Animal Welfare Act. Additionally, large numbers are subjected to cruelty through drug and chemical testing.

The Soil & Health Association advocates for the highest standards of animal welfare.

We believe that:

All animals should be treated with compassion and respect and be optimally nourished.

If animals are to be slaughtered then this should be done in the most humane way possible and as close to the point of production as possible to reduce stress on the animals.

Any farming methods that cause animals to suffer or prevent them from expressing normal patterns of behaviour should be phased out.

Drug and chemical testing should use in silico and in vivo methods to the greatest extent possible.

We are also opposed to:

The live exporting of animals.

The use of sow crates, battery cages, colony cages, and standing-room-only pens for cattle, and any other forms of close confinement for animals that prevent them from expressing their natural instincts and tendencies.

Cruel practices such as debeaking and toe-cutting of poultry, tail docking of cows and pigs and mulesing of sheep.

Vivisection.

Unnecessary testing of drugs and chemicals on animals including testing GMO and GE cloning.

We support the internationally recognised Five Freedoms of animal welfare.

Photo credit: Nick Holmes

Seed saving

24 February 2017/in Policies

Much of the agricultural diversity that has taken 10,000 years to create is under threat due to industrialised agriculture. As late as 1900 there were over 1500 different food crops, each further represented by thousands of different cultivated varieties. Today however over 90% of the world’s food is made up of only 30 different food crops, and of these only four (wheat, rice, corn and soybeans) provide 75% of the calories consumed by humans.

Industrialised agriculture has forced reliance on a small number of crops with narrow genetic diversity. These highly specialised crop cultivars require stable climates and specific growing conditions, making them highly vulnerable to any disturbances. As a result we are seeing a loss of long-term and local crop diversity and resilience, which in turn favours large agribusiness companies by allowing them to have a monopoly on seed supply. This is all at the expense of farming livelihoods and food security with an increased risk of large-scale crop failures, pest and disease outbreaks and pandemics. In addition, industrialised agriculture has led to a reduction in the nutritive value of food.

The Soil & Health Association:

Believes that everyone should have the right to save their own seed and the right to grow, consume and distribute locally adapted varieties of seed.

Supports any government initiative that improves the situation for locally saved seeds and propagation material useful for organic cultivation.

Encourages people to use their own local, traditional and heritage seed varieties and to plant a diversity of cultivars, both for personal and commercial production.

Supports local seed banks, seed libraries and the conservation of locally selected seed varieties.

Advocates for the mandatory labelling of all ingredients used in any seed treatment.

Photo credit: Nick Holmes

GE/GM

24 February 2017/in GE, Policies

Genetic engineering (GE), also known as genetic modification (GM), is one of the most controversial technologies of recent times. Soil & Health has found no economic, health or environmental benefits from GE. There is great uncertainty around the adverse effects of GMOs (genetically modified organisms) on natural resources, ecosystems and also on human health. The risks are large and consequences could be irreversible. If GMOs were to be released into the environment, they can be very difficult, if not impossible, to eradicate. The GE-free food producer status of an individual, district or region would likely be permanently lost, along with any marketing advantages that status provides.

Current laws are inadequate to hold GMO users liable for any adverse consequences, intended or even if unintended. Therefore the public is likely to have to pay for anything that might go wrong.

The Soil & Health Association is opposed to the use of GE ingredients and GMOs in human and animal food, and is opposed to the outdoor use of any GE crops, animals and other organisms in Aotearoa New Zealand. We believe that we would do better for our farmers, environment and human health by retaining our market advantage of being GE free.

We support:

New Zealand remaining a GE-free country.
The establishment of GE-free regions, in the event of there being no Aotearoa New Zealand wide GE-free strategy.
Mandatory and comprehensive labelling for any products containing GE ingredients (including products from animals fed GE feed).
The precautionary principle and the imposition of strict conditions and severe penalties must be placed on any research and trialling of GE.
A ban on field-testing and production of GE crops, animals, trees and other organisms in New Zealand.
A ban of all GE food and animal feed imports into Aotearoa New Zealand.
Strong precautionary approach to new/novel technologies.

Photo credit: Nick Holmes

Food Sovereignty, resilience & security

24 February 2017/in Policies

Everyone should be able to access affordable, safe and nutritious food that is produced in a way that enhances the environment.

The Soil & Health Association is committed to strengthening food sovereignty in Aotearoa New Zealand by:

Supporting the right to food as recognised by the Universal Declaration on Human Rights.
Acknowledging Te Tiriti o Waitangi / The Treaty of Waitangi
Opposing local food supply being largely subject to international market forces.
Opposing multinational corporations’ control over seed and fertiliser patents.
Advocating for government support of local food production and processing, for example through food procurement policies.
Advocating for increased resilience and self-sufficiency of food production.-
Supporting local food economies and initiatives such as community-supported agriculture, community gardens and food forests, public orchards, seed banks and farmers markets.
Encouraging the development of food gardens and gardening education in public institutions such as early childhood centres, schools, marae, prisons, hospitals and retirement homes.

We believe in the right of people to:

Be able to access safe and nutritious food, grow diverse and nutritious food, and equip themselves with the resources and knowledge needed to sustain themselves and their communities.

We believe that:

Control of food should be placed in local communities and in a way that is socially, economically and culturally appropriate to their bioregion.

Organic, agroecological and regenerative farming can meet Aotearoa New Zealand’s nutritional needs, our climate change obligations, and improve the prosperity of our economy.

Climate change

24 February 2017/in Policies

Agriculture, poorly executed, is one of the largest contributors to climate change. In Aotearoa New Zealand nearly 50% of greenhouse gas emissions are caused by agriculture. Agriculture can contribute to climate change through the use of synthetic fertilisers, which tend to burn up carbon in the soil, destabilize soil microbe populations and release nitrous oxide. This adds to nutrient deficient, unhealthy, pesticide dependent plants and animals, greater fossil fuel use in transportation, and the release of CO2 into the atmosphere from soil degradation and erosion. Organic agriculture however can work to mitigate climate change through:

Reducing greenhouse gases, especially the release of CO2 from the soil, by avoiding high synthetic soluble nitrogen fertilisers and minimising nutrient losses.

Sequestering carbon in soil and plant biomass by building organic matter in soil, encouraging a greater use of trees and perennial plants, and protecting and enhancing indigenous ecosystems.

Minimising energy consumption by eliminating the energy required in manufacturing synthetic fertilisers, and by reducing reliance on external inputs, by using internal farm inputs as much as possible, thus reducing fuel used for manufacture and transport.

Minerals such as lime, magnesium and trace elements that provide the mineral balance and amounts needed for microbial, root and humus growth, which is fundamental for building healthy soils and sequestering carbon.

Reducing methane emissions from ruminant animals by having lower stock density and by planting high-tannin species such as birdsfoot trefoil, and deep-rooted herbs that recycle minerals with natural efficiency, which in turn reduce methane emissions from stock that eat them.

Using agro-ecological systems that implement crop and stock rotation systems, with Holistic Management which build healthy soils, healthy plants and healthy livestock.

The Soil & Health Association believes it is possible to rapidly and profitably transform Aotearoa New Zealand agriculture from a net emitter of greenhouse gases to net sequesterer. Soil & Health commits to providing education and information to farmers on approaches to grazing and cultivation and agroforestry/farm forestry that will quickly turn NZ agriculture into a net sequesterer of atmospheric carbon in the form of long-term humus in productive, profitable soils and sustainable woodlots.

We are committed to:

Supporting organic farming and land-use practices that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and work to mitigate climate change.

Encouraging appropriate organic agriculture practices that sequester carbon in soil and plant biomass such as taller grass grazing, agro-forestry, cover cropping, mixed cropping, food forests and urban gardens.

Supporting small-scale and local food production and consumption to reduce emissions released through transportation.

We believe that organic agriculture:

Is part of the solution to climate change.

Can and should form the basis of national governmental policies and common farming practices to reverse climate change.

Photo credit: Nick Holmes

Organics

24 February 2017/in Policies

Agriculture is one of humankind’s most basic activities because all people need to nourish themselves daily.

It is therefore also the biggest way we as humans affect the world around us. Agriculture however, poorly executed, is one of the largest contributors to climate change and is the greatest immediate threat to species and ecosystems around the world. Agriculture can also involve the unethical mistreatment and exploitation of both people and animals.

The Principles of Organic Agriculture, established by the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM), serve to inspire the organic movement in its full diversity, presented with a vision of their world-wide adoption.

The Soil & Health Association supports IFOAM’s four principles of organic agriculture which are:

Health – organic agriculture should sustain and enhance the health of soil, plant, animal, human and planet as one and indivisible
Ecology – organic agriculture should be based on living ecological systems and cycles, work with them, emulate them and help sustain them
Fairness – organic agriculture should build on relationships that ensure fairness with regard to the common environment and life opportunities
Care – organic agriculture should be managed in a precautionary and responsible manner to protect the health and well-being of current and future generations and the environment.

Read our recent discussion of organics – Safe Food & Healthy Families