Mick Dan is passionate about farming without synthetic pesticides or fertilisers, and especially proud that Australia contains 70 per cent of the world’s certified organic farmland, or about 53 million hectares.
Key points:
- Australia has 70 per cent of the world’s certified organic land
- But domestically, the government has decided not to regulate use of the word “organic”
- The organic industry has formed a discussion group to lobby for change
But the 2021 Australian Organic Limited Farmer of the Year is deeply disturbed that Australia is the only developed country not to have a standard regulation around the word “organic”.
“For me, it’s actually just a bit embarrassing,” said Mr Dan, who farms on the Sunshine Coast.
“It means that anybody out there can label themselves organic without having any of that framework or standard to uphold.”
Australian organic groups, which have long warned that a lack of domestic regulation has resulted in deceived consumers and restricted exports, have formed a united voice in the Organic Industry Discussion Group.
“Regulatory reform needs to occur,” Australian Organic Limited chief executive Niki Ford said.
“We’ve been able to work across 11 organisations and discuss the importance of how we need to change this situation so the industry can reach its full potential.”
From food to cosmetics, products labelled “certified” organic and biodynamic in Australia have to be audited by an accredited industry organisation.
The certification gives consumers confidence that those products have been made without synthetic herbicides, pesticides, fertilisers, or genetic modification, and meet high standards of animal welfare, biodiversity, water conservation and regenerative land practices.
But while the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) can police food that is labelled “certified” organic, the same does not apply to the word organic because in Australia it has no mandatory definition.
“You can simply put ‘organic’ on your packaging in Australia if you have one [organic] ingredient or you simply claim a process has been undertaken with no verification, and the ACCC aren’t able to stop this,” Ms Ford says.
“Organic products intended for the Australian market don’t need to meet a particular standard or be certified to be labelled organic. However, businesses that make an organic claim, such as through a claim of certification, must be able to prove the claim.”
“There are big companies all the way through to small companies that are misusing the term because there is no legal outcome,” Ms Ford said.
“We do know that over 3,000 operators in Australia voluntarily certify in the domestic market so there are a lot of businesses doing the right thing, but there are also businesses that are deceiving people at the point of purchase.”
Organic Industry Australia chairperson Dalene Wray says “imports of organic products are not regulated, nor is the sale of organic products domestically”.
“So when you go to your farmers’ market or your local retailer and purchase what you think is organic, it may not necessarily be organic,” she said.
Exports have a different standard
All Australian organic exports must be certified, but earlier this year the federal government decided not to implement the same standards on the domestic industry.
ABC Rural approached federal Agriculture Minister Murray Watt’s office for comment and was referred back to a March media release.
“While a mandatory domestic standard could provide a range of potential benefits for the organic sector, the costs of designing, monitoring and enforcing an economy-wide regulatory scheme of this nature would be significant,” Mr Watt said in the statement.
“These costs would likely be passed through the supply chain to consumers and would add to the cost-of-living pressures.”
The minister went on to say two reports show “the absence of a domestic organic regulatory framework does not and will not in the future, impact international trade in Australian organic products,” which are worth more than $2.3 billion annually.
The organics industry disagrees.
Ms Wray says domestic regulation would make export negotiations with the United States, South Korea, China and Europe easier, because the current lack of standard regulation results in the need for extra certification costs to supply to those countries.
“Australia produces so much wonderful, clean and safe organic food, that we need to sell it into export markets and we could sell more at a higher value if we had domestic regulation,” she said.
“Without domestic regulation in Australia, strangely enough, we don’t meet the importing country requirements for many markets that we can sell our product into.”
‘We can’t keep people honest’
Ms Wray said state and territory governments needed to be involved in the discussion.
While the federal government regulated exports, food regulation within Australia is implemented, monitored and enforced by Australian state and territory agencies and New Zealand government agencies.
Fourth-generation farmer and Organic Biodynamic Western Australia chairperson David McFall said the future of sustainable healthy food production lied with organics, and the industry deserved support.
“Australia is the only country in the world that hasn’t got a domestic regulation and that affects the equivalence arrangement, so you get a high cost imposed to get your product internationally because you haven’t got your house in order,” he said.
“We’re getting these ambient claims because without this domestic regulation, we can’t keep people honest.”
The Organic Industry Discussion Group includes ACO Certification Limited, Australian Organic Limited, Bio-Dynamic Research Institute, Certified Organic Biodynamic Western Australia, National Association for Sustainable Agriculture Australia (NASAA), NASAA Certified Organic, Organic and Regenerative Investment Co-operative, Organic Consumers Association Australia, Organic Food Chain, Organic Industries of Australia and Southern Cross Certified.
