When is Fish Really Organic?

[Melody]

Now this is interesting - farm-raised fish is actually considered to be more 'organic' than wild fish.:Think:

But I thought ...

:idea: Hmmm....

Well you read it for yourself (http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/28/business/28fish.html?ex=1322370000&en=731b916e2f426ccb&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss) while I ponder.....lol

[CACAdmin]

No matter what the 'powers that be' say, the consumer of organic foods tends to think of them as more natural (without additives, antibiotics, etc.) In that case, wild fish would be considered organic.

However, when it comes to agriculture, many foods labeled as organic are grown on 'organic farms' whose fields sit right next to a 'non-organic farm'. When that farmer sprays pesticide on his crop, often the wind carries the pesticide onto the crops of the farm labeled 'organic'.

To me, the whole idea of trying to get something labeled as 'organic' is all about money. To have something labeled as 'organic' means it will fetch a better price and be in demand in the 'niche' market. What began as people looking for healthier food has become big business. It's the latest 'fad' so to speak. Hence, the governing bodies trying to standardize and control it. I'll have to check on this (or maybe somebody here already knows) but I'm sure there are fees to be paid to some government body to have your farm inspected and your product be approved to be labeled as 'organic'.

My idea is that if you want organic, grow it yourself (or get it from a friend/neighbor who grows it 'organically') and as for fish, if I wanted 'organic' my money would be on with wild fish. That's my two cents worth.

[Melody]

Numbers you say? Here's some attached to Salmon:

Salmon farming by the numbers

• Aquaculture’s growth ranking in the global animal food-producing sector: 1st
• Canada’s ranking in world farmed-salmon production: 4th
• Number of salmon farms in B.C.: 136
• Number operating at any one time: 85
• B.C. farmed salmon produced in 2005: 1.3 million
• Net value to B.C. producers: $318.6 million

[CACAdmin]

Now just think how much bigger those numbers would be if they could get famed fish labeled as organic. Especially how much (and how rapidly) the net $ figure to producers would rise.:wideeyed:

[CACAdmin]

I went in search of fee schedules, etc. and got lost in all the regulatory bodies and info on Organic products in Canada.

On Dec 21/06 the Canada Agricultural Products Act was annexed to include Organics Products Regulations.
See: http://canadagazette.gc.ca/partII/2006/20061221-x6/html/extra-e.html
Until that point only BC and Quebec had legislation governing organic products, in the rest of the provinces certification was voluntary and controlled by self-regulating organizations. On Jan 14/07 an amendment to the regulations was published to add our new Organic Logo: http://canadagazette.gc.ca/partI/2006/20060902/html/regle2-e.html

Now that Organic Foods are Federally regulated, it should be interesting to see if the aquaculture industry is successful in getting some of their fish certified as organic. I doubt if wild fish ever will in that only farmed crops can be labeled as such (yet I would consider wild berries, etc. organic... but they wouldn't because it's not a 'controlled environment'.)

Here's some interesting reading:
Organic Aquaculture (http://www.certifiedorganic.bc.ca/rcbtoa/services/aquaculture.html) from the Cyber-Help for Organic Farmers (http://www.certifiedorganic.bc.ca/rcbtoa/services/announcements.html#standards) site


Lots more interesting reading about the Organic Foods and Regulations/Certifications, etc. Here are some links of interest:
http://canadagazette.gc.ca/partI/2006/20060902/html/regle2-e.html
http://www.tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca/cgsb/on_the_net/organic/scopes-e.html#32_310
http://www.ioia.net/standards.html

[Melody]

Fish farms like their med's too much. They like crowding too much. You can't have one without the other so I think the label might be more difficult to obtain than they think.