The Greening of China’s Food - Green Food, Organic Food, and Eco-labelling

China is rapidly adopting, adapting and developing green technology and ideas. China is now a world leader in organic production and this can have implications for world food production. This paper examines the rapid rise of green food and organic agriculture in China, the multiple motivations that have driven it, and the innovative implementation strategies underpinning it. The first organic export from China was in 1990. The Chinese national organic standard and national organic logo were established in 2005. Thirty eight certifiers now operate in China servicing both domestic and export markets. While “Organic” is still poorly understood in the Chinese domestic market, “Green Food” is well known and readily available. Green Food is a Chinese innovation and dates from 1990. The China Green Food Development Centre was founded in 1992 to oversee the implementation of this food production innovation. Certification for Green Food production involves the regulation of inputs, with the objective of reduced use of pesticides, the oversight of production, and the residue testing of the produce. This Green Food strategy has been used as a “half-way house” between chemical food and organic food production. In 1995 Green Food certification was split into Grade A and Grade AA. It is this bifurcation of Green Food standards that laid the groundwork for the rapid articulation from Green Food certification to organic certification, and thus enabled the reported dramatic ten-fold increase in organic hectares in China in 2006 - and thereby placed China second in the world in terms of hectares under organic management, after only Australia. Longitudinal data are examined to reveal China’s organic and green trajectories, and potential future scenarios are presented. The new phenomenon of Chinese certified organic produce raises many questions. Data is presented to illuminate what role country of origin labelling (CoOL) might play, now and in the future, in a world market that is wary of Chinese food quality. China has gone well beyond being an adopter of organic concepts, and is now an active organic innovator - how successful and how exportable might these innovations be? Is the development of Chinese organics a threat or an opportunity, and for whom? China's organic sector production is valued at between US$5.6 and US$10.2 billion. China's Green Food production is valued at US$20.7 billion. China's Hazard-free agricultural production is valued between US$29.1 an US$39.7 billion. The total value of China's eco-labelled food production is between US$55.4 and US$70.6 billion. This paper reports on the new phenomenon of the export of China's Green Food production standards and certification procedures to other countries, including Canada

Aquaculture Asia, Vol. 7, No. 3, pp.1-60, July - September 2002

CONTENTS: Sustainable Aquaculture - Peter Edwards writes on rural aquaculture: Aquaculture for Poverty Alleviation and Food Security - Part II. Shrimp pond waste management by U Win Latt. The role of rural extension in the sustainable development of Chinese aquaculture by Min Kuanhong. Farmers as Scientists: Diversity enhances profitability and sustainability by M.C. Nandeesha. Properties of Liming Materials by Claude E. Boyd, Mali Boonyaratpalin & Taworn Thunjai. Seed Production of Mud Crab Scylla spp. by Emilia T. Quinitio, Fe Delores Parado-Estepa and Eduard Rodriguez Genes and Fish: The dilemmas of strain selection by Graham Mair. Seed Production of the Crucifix Crab Charybdis feriatus by Fe Delores Parado-Estepa, Eduard Rodriguez and Emilia T. Quinitio. Aquaculture Fundamentals: A general approach to disease treatment & control by Simon Wilkinson. Marine Finfish Aquaculture Network meets in Vietnam. New APEC Project: Improving Coastal Livelihoods Through Sustainable Aquaculture Practices. Breeding and Seed Production of the Mangrove Red Snapper by Arnil C. Emata. APEC, FAO, NACA, and OIE enhance Capacity on Risk Analysis (IRA)in Aquatic Animal Movement in Asia-Pacific region by Melba Reantaso. Advice on Aquatic Animal Health: Questions & answers on drugs and chemicals by Pornlerd Chanratchakool. Responsible use of antibiotics in shrimp farming by Sara Graslund, Karin Karlsson and Janenuj Wongtavatchai. Molecular methods for rapid and specific detection of pathogens in seafood by Iddya Karunasagar, Indrani Karunasagar and H. Samath Kumar. Practical approaches to health management for cage cultured marine fishes by Leong Tak Seng

Emerging Risks in the Dutch Food Chain report on project 2: Application of indicator analyses on several critical points in the salmon production chain and identification of related data sources

An indicator analysis was performed on the fish production chain by assessing the indicators which may be of importance for the detection of emerging risks. The indicators were embedded in a “risk pathway”, in which the relations between different indicators could be illustrated. The risk pathways illustrate the main characteristics of the salmon production chain. However further research is required in order to develop further interaction with other sectors, and production chains to bring emerging risk detection to the next level. In relation to the assigned indicators, a selection of (electronic) data sources were identified in order to be able to combine data flows with indicators and risk pathways. The indicators were analyzed for availability, sources of data entry, validation of data sources, update frequency and delay in input. The combination of risk pathways, indicators and data sources, will be one of the key information sources for the further development of an Emerging Risk Detection Support System (ERDSS)

Natural poultry health

guide to keeping your flock healthy with herbs and other natural product

Scoping a public health impact assessment of aquaculture with particular reference to tilapia in the UK

Background. The paper explores shaping public health impact assessment tools for tilapia, a novel emergent aquaculture sector in the UK. This Research Council’s UK Rural Economy and Land Use project embraces technical, public health, and marketing perspectives scoping tools to assess possible impacts of the activity. Globally, aquaculture produced over 65 million tonnes of food in 2008 and will grow significantly requiring apposite global public health impact assessment tools.<p></p> Methods. Quantitative and qualitative methods incorporated data from a tridisciplinary literature. Holistic tools scoped tilapia farming impact assessments. Laboratory-based tilapia production generated data on impacts in UK and Thailand along with 11 UK focus groups involving 90 consumers, 30 interviews and site visits, 9 visits to UK tilapia growers and 2 in The Netherlands.<p></p> Results. The feasibility, challenges, strengths, and weaknesses of creating a tilapia Public Health Impact Assessment are analysed. Occupational and environmental health benefits and risks attached to tilapia production were identified.<p></p> Conclusions. Scoping public health impacts of tilapia production is possible at different levels and forms for producers, retailers, consumers, civil society and governmental bodies that may contribute to complex and interrelated public health assessments of aquaculture projects. Our assessment framework constitutes an innovatory perspective in the field

Food Safety as a Global Public Good: Is There Underinvestment?

Globalization of the food system is shaped by demand trends that bring about deep integration of agricultural production and marketing. As diets and food quality become more similar around the world, risks are shared across borders, creating global public "goods" and "bads." Examples of globally shared food safety risks include acute risks such as microbial pathogens, as well as chronic risks, such as those arising from pesticide residues or mycotoxins. Food safety is addressed as a global public good through private sector efforts, institutional innovations such as the SPS agreement under the WTO, and trade capacity building efforts to improve food safety management for developing country exports. Data on food safety import violations from the U.S. and the EU show where the global food system is experiencing failures in delivering safe food. Microbial pathogens in seafood are an area of common concern; other problems reflect differences in standards between these two major high income markets. WTO's database on trade facilitation shows that most efforts focus on general capacity building and only a few address specific risks or commodities. Although meeting standards for high income consumers motivates trade facilitation, the spillovers for developing country consumers from such investments could be large.food safety, global public good, trade facilitation, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Q13, Q17, Q18, O19,

MYTH AND REALITY:ORGANIC VS NON-ORGANIC

This report examines some of the key issues around organic food and its production. It takes up the challenge of answering the critics - critics who range from companies defending agri-business, through to the heads of national food authorities and some academics. It exposes the misleading and erroneous statements made against organic food, and provides the facts that proves them wrong

Salient Trends in Organic Standards: Opportunities and Challenges for Developing Countries

This paper presents an overview of the fundamental issues in the production, trade and regulation of organic products. It notes the changing consumer and trade environments that are driving organics beyond the realm of niche products toward an increasingly relevant position among other important agricultural standards. Rather than a comprehensive analysis it outlines key elements that are most relevant to developing country producers including the likely impacts of adopting organics and the salient trends drawing from recent empirical research and the current literature on the subject. Finally, this document briefly assesses the significant constraints and opportunities facing the sector in order to draw some practical policy and investment conclusions