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

Japanese glyphosate scare highlights lack of regulation in New Zealand
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Japanese glyphosate scare highlights lack of regulation in New Zealand

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…

Concerns remain on improved Organic Products Bill 
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Concerns remain on improved Organic Products Bill 

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….

Green Party organics policy adds vital ingredient to national debate on the environment
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Green Party organics policy adds vital ingredient to national debate on the environment

“It’s encouraging to see the Green Party reinforce their commitment to organic agriculture from their position in government,” says Jenny Lux, spokesperson for the Soil & Health Association, New Zealand’s largest organic membership organisation. “We’d like to see all political parties exploring the opportunities regenerative organic agriculture offers in terms of environmental protection, healthy food,…

Worried about ‘free-range’ chickens? Choose organic!
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Worried about ‘free-range’ chickens? Choose organic!

“The only way to ensure that the chickens you are eating are genuinely free range is to choose organic,” says Marion Wood, co-chair of the Soil & Health Association. “And what better time to start than during Organic Week which is right now.” She points out that there is no enforceable industry standard for free-range…

Christmas comes early for the Organic Sector
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Christmas comes early for the Organic Sector

“This is an amazing Christmas present for the organic community and we’re delighted”, says Bailey Peryman, Co-Chairperson for the Soil & Health Association, welcoming the Government’s announcement to progress with a national standard for organic production next year. “People want clean, safe food, and are increasingly turning to organic foods and products but it’s difficult to be sure that they really are…

Where’s our food from? Better labelling a step forward
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Where’s our food from? Better labelling a step forward

The blindfold will finally be lifted when it comes to buying food, but the Soil & Health Association says consumers need even greater transparency. Soil & Health welcomes the passing into law of the Consumers’ Right to Know (Country of Origin of Food) Bill. The Bill, which requires food to carry country of origin labelling,…

Health not herbicides: time to phase out glyphosate
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Health not herbicides: time to phase out glyphosate

Our public agencies must protect human health and ecosystems, and use rigorous independent science rather than industry data, says the Soil & Health Association. Soil & Health welcomes the release of a paper by the Green Party that exposes many flaws in an Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) report on glyphosate-based herbicides (such as Roundup). The…

GE potatoes set to sneak into our food
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GE potatoes set to sneak into our food

The Soil & Health Association has serious concerns about another GE food line being approved in New Zealand – this time for six food lines derived from potatoes. Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ), the organisation that controls food approvals for New Zealand and Australia, is calling for submissions on an application to permit GE…

Court ruling highlights the dangers of RMA reforms
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Court ruling highlights the dangers of RMA reforms

A new court ruling highlights how the Government’s RMA reforms will ride roughshod over public participation in resource management and the power of councils to regulate the use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) within their territories, says Soil & Health Association chair Marion Thomson. On Friday the High Court rejected Federated Farmers’ bid to oppose…

Comprehensive New Review of Monsanto’s Glyphosate Underscores Urgent Need for Global Action
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Comprehensive New Review of Monsanto’s Glyphosate Underscores Urgent Need for Global Action

In a “state of the science” review released today, Pesticide Action Network (PAN) International presents a large body of research documenting the adverse human health and environmental impacts of glyphosate and glyphosate-based herbicides and underscores the need for these to be phased out globally. Environmental and health advocates say the monograph on the world’s most…

GE Free from the Bombays to Cape Reinga
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GE Free from the Bombays to Cape Reinga

GE Free Northland and the Soil & Health Association are celebrating the Far North and Whangarei District Councils’ decisions to retain precautionary and prohibitive genetically modified organisms (GMOs) provisions in their new District Plans.  This follows Auckland Council’s recent decision to retain similar precautionary and prohibitive GMO provisions in the new Unitary Plan.  The result…

Auckland to stay GE Free under new Unitary Plan
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Auckland to stay GE Free under new Unitary Plan

The Soil & Health Association congratulates Auckland Council on its decision to retain the valuable precautionary and prohibitive genetically modified organisms (GMOs) provisions in the new Auckland Unitary Plan, which protect the Auckland region’s GE-free status. Auckland Council is now the second local authority in New Zealand to officially become GE-Free in its local plan,…

Joining forces to clean up food and farming
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Joining forces to clean up food and farming

The urgency of what’s happening to our food supply has motivated two key organic organisations to join forces. To counter industrial-style factory farming and food production, which is causing environmental degradation and ill health, Soil & Health and BioGro are working together to offer clean, green organic solutions. The Soil & Health Association (publisher of…

Celebrating NZ’s first official GE-free food producing region
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Celebrating NZ’s first official GE-free food producing region

Hastings District Council’s decision to ban GE in their district is welcome news, says the Soil & Health Association. The just-released Hastings District Plan prohibits the release and field trialling of genetically engineered organisms, creating the first official GE-free food-producing region in New Zealand, and joining a number of regions around the world.1   “With…

Maize spill shows risks of GE seed escape
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Maize spill shows risks of GE seed escape

New Zealand’s valuable GE-free status is under threat from biosecurity breaches, says the Soil & Health Association. Two spills in New Plymouth last week of maize imported from the USA show how it’s possible for genetically engineered seed to escape containment – and potentially grow.   “Well over 80% of maize grown in the US…

Local tomatoes and capsicums hotter than nuked Aussie imports
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Local tomatoes and capsicums hotter than nuked Aussie imports

“There is no consumer demand for irradiated food from Australia, and labelling these new imports as irradiated will merely increase demand for New Zealand varieties of the same,” says Debbie Swanwick, Spokesperson, Soil & Health – Organic NZ. New Zealand currently imports irradiated mangoes, papayas, custard apples and lychees from Australia, and tomatoes and capsicums…

Country of origin labelling initiative applauded
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Country of origin labelling initiative applauded

“Soil & Health applauds the recent initiative by Quality Mark to identify on the label all beef and lamb that is not grown in New Zealand,” says Debbie Swanwick, Spokesperson for Soil & Health – Organic NZ. Numerous groups and organisations, including Soil & Health, Horticulture New Zealand and the Green Party, have been campaigning…

Local solutions needed to save orchards
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Local solutions needed to save orchards

“The demise of many established orchards throughout the country may create a short supply of fruit in coming years and increase prices,” says Debbie Swanwick, Spokesperson, Soil & Health – Organic NZ. “We need local solutions such as co-ops or community supported agriculture (CSA) models to ensure their survival.” The small profit margins received by…