I am forwarding this a propos to the recent question posed on cow manure
composting.
The latest proposal would allow nonorganic feedstocks to be used:
http://www.ams.usda.gov/nop/rule2000/production_handling.htm
"(2) Nonorganic Plant and Animal Waste Materials. The first proposal
permitted the use of any uncomposted plant or animal wastes. It also allowed
use of composted plant or animal wastes obtained from nonorganic sources,
such as commercial compost products. Several consumer and environmental
groups objected to permitting the use of plant or animal wastes from
nonorganic sources. Such materials, they argued, could potentially contain
residues of prohibited substances that could compromise the integrity of the
organic farm system. However, off-farm plant and animal wastes from food
processing, municipal yard waste facilities, and other sources are used
extensively in existing organic operations and are generally permitted by
organic certification programs. Bone meal, fish meal, and seaweed meal are
also commonly used as organic farm inputs. Commercial fertilizer products
that contain mixtures of such plant and animal by-products are commonly
permitted for use in existing organic certification programs, subject to
certifying agent review. Using such organic wastes is consistent with a
system of organic production and handling, which calls for recycling organic
wastes to return nutrients to the land. We believe that concerns about
potential contaminants in plant and animal waste materials can be addressed
by the requirement in this proposal that these materials be managed in a
manner that prevents such contamination. For example, cotton gin trash that
had been treated with a prohibited substance could only be used if the
organic system plan specified composting the material before adding it to
the soil. Composting has been shown to effectively biodegrade synthetic
organic compounds, and the organic system plan could also call for the
compost or soil to be monitored regularly for specific residues."
-----Original Message-----
From: kathryn marsh <kmarsh@iol.ie>
date: Saturday, February 19, 2000 10:32 AM
Subject: Re: organic farming
>>I read the regulations of the European Council regarding approved
>>practices for the production of organic foods. An interesting statement
>>is that organic farms may use organic matter (raw or composted) as a
>>soil amendment only if the organic matter originated from holdings
>>producing according to the rules of the organic regulation. This means
>>that compost is not organic unless it is made from materials coming from
>>an organic farm. That eliminates a whole bunch of compost from the
>>organic market.
>>
>>Herb Brodie
>>
>There is a current EU derogation from this rule because of the difficulty
>of getting enough manure for organic farms. Manure has to be from animals
>from an ethical system that have not been fed GM feed. This is being
>interpreted differently by different certifiers at the moment
>
>kathryn
>
>
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