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
Clean waterways
/in Health, WaterNew Zealand’s waterways are in a dire state with a staggering 60% of monitored rivers being unsafe for swimming and 74% of freshwater fish species are threatened. A big factor in this is nitrogen pollution from the increasing intensification of agriculture. Much of the nitrogen pollution comes from cattle urine diffusing through soils and pasture root zones, and from soluble synthetic nitrogen fertilisers, so while planting stream banks and fencing off streams is good, it cannot solve this issue on its own. Going organic is part of the solution to fixing polluted fresh waterways in New Zealand. Organic dairy farming does not use any soluble nitrogen fertilisers, has lower stock density, promotes greater biodiversity, has grass-fed cows, and feed supplements are free of GE ingredients and palm kernel.
Soil & Health Association believes that the bottom line for human health in fresh water bodies should be that they are safe for primary contact i.e. for swimming. Soil & Health believes that freshwater pollution is not merely about farmers breaching rules. What is required is government intervention to lift water quality standards and incentivise more sustainable and organic methods of farming.
Soil & Health supports:
Fencing off stock from waterways.
Riparian strips and buffer zones of vegetation.
Sustainable stock numbers.
Organic and biological farming methods that involve nitrogen fixing pasture species, and healthy living soils with good moisture-holding capacity.
Mixed rotational farming.
Photo credit: Nick Holmes
Safe food
/in Food, Health and FoodThere are increasing levels of diet-related health issues in Aotearoa New Zealand. Many illnesses have been linked to food including diabetes, attention deficit disorder, fertility problems, thyroid disorders, obesity, Alzheimer’s and cancer. Aotearoa New Zealand has the third highest adult obesity rate in the OECD and one in ten children are obese. The majority of people in the developed world eats excessive quantities of highly processed pre-packaged foods and have no idea about the number of harmful chemicals they are exposed to every day through the food they eat. Many pesticides have been consistently linked to cancers and other long-term illnesses.
Micronutrients are essential for good health but are commonly lacking or diminished in industrially produced food. This has led to a demand for safe, organic food free of harmful chemicals. There is a growing awareness of food and how it determines health. People are now becoming more aware of what is in our food and demanding to know how it is grown.
The Soil & Health Association believes that everyone has a right to safe food, which covers the right to have food free from:
Microbial contamination, harmful organisms, pesticide, harmful chemical, and heavy metal contaminants, harmful additives, irradiation, and genetic engineering.
Soil & Health believes that government intervention and regulation are required to ensure that everyone has access to a healthy, balanced diet, and the knowledge and means with which to make the best food choices.
Soil & Health supports:
Healthy food being available in all public institutions such as early childhood centres, schools, hospitals, retirement homes and prisons.
Education in schools about healthy diets and nutrition.
A greater emphasis on primary and preventive health care.
Photo credit: Nick Holmes
Food labelling
/in Food, Health and FoodTo know our food is safe and free from contamination and harmful residues is a fundamental human right. However the right to know exactly what we are eating is often taken away and even routinely denied to us. While growing our own food or buying local and organic food remains the best way to ensure we know what we are eating, we must also know what has been sprayed onto crops and soil, added to foods, and used in the processing of the food we purchase.
Soil & Health is committed to advocating for clear and honest food labelling in Aotearoa New Zealand. We believe that transparent food labelling is fundamental in allowing people to make informed choices.
We stand for:
Country-of-origin labelling.
Labelling of the origin and production method for all meat, eggs and dairy products used in any food, and the source of all seafood. The country where the product is processed should also be identified.
All oils (e.g. palm oil, canola etc.) being specifically declared as an ingredient where used, not just as a ‘vegetable oil’.
Regulations and guidelines on claims about natural, sustainable, locally produced, fairly traded, and organic, being developed to ensure that people are not misled or deceived.
GE foods or foods containing GE ingredients being labelled as including or containing GE ingredients.
Labelling of any irradiated food or food ingredient.
Labelling standards for animal welfare claims.
Photo credit: Nick Holmes
Fluoride in local body water supplies
/in Freshwater, HealthIn New Zealand around 60% of public water supplies have fluoride added to prevent dental decay. The main chemicals used to fluoridate drinking water are known as silicofluorides. These fluorides are not pharmaceutical-grade fluoride products but unprocessed toxic industrial by-products of the phosphate fertiliser industry. There is conflicting evidence on the benefits of water fluoridation to dental health. There is also a growing medical concern about the cumulative negative wider health impacts of ingestion of fluoride. Many people in New Zealand already manifest dental symptoms of fluorosis – fluoride overdose. New Zealanders are already ingesting elevated levels of fluoride from plants and animals raised on land treated with phosphate which contains naturally occurring fluorides.
The Soil & Health Association is opposed to artificial fluoridation of public water supplies in New Zealand. We believe that adding fluoride to local body water supplies is a form of forced medication. We believe that individuals should have a right to choose whether they want to ingest fluoride or not. We believe that dental health is best achieved through a healthy diet and eating fresh, wholesome organic foods.
Photo credit: Nick Holmes
Animal welfare
/in PoliciesEvery 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.
Seed saving
/in PoliciesMuch 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
/in GE, PoliciesGenetic 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:
Photo credit: Nick Holmes
Food Sovereignty, resilience & security
/in PoliciesEveryone 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:
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
/in PoliciesAgriculture, 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.
Organics
/in PoliciesAgriculture 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:
Read our recent discussion of organics – Safe Food & Healthy Families
Photo credit: Nick Holmes