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ShiyuandCristina SC

Canada's organic food certification system like 'an extortion racket,' report says | Ca... - 2 views

news.nationalpost.com/...n-extortion-racket-report-says

Commodities and Resources organic food

shared by ShiyuandCristina SC on 27 Nov 12 - No Cached
  • Annual organic agricultural sales in Canada exceed $2.6-billion, by recent estimates, with supermarket chains joining alternative stores in stocking an ever-widening array of organic-labelled products.
  • Canada’s legislated organic certification process is an invitation for fraud and abuse, the report argues, with consumers paying an often hefty premium for a designation that requires no proof.
  • In response to the organic industry’s growth, Canada enacted a labelling requirement: Since 2009, products making an organic claim must be certified by an agency accredited by the Canada Food Inspection Agency (CFIA).
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  • The organic certification industry’s “dirty little secret,” they write, is that “organic crops and livestock are not tested in Canada before they are certified, thus making organic certification essentially meaningless.”
  • The CFIA said organic products are subject to its regular chemical residue monitoring program, along with all other food products. The federal agency, itself, does not provide certification, but rather accredits private businesses to do it. Most are for-profit businesses.
  • “There are a large number of consumers who have misperceptions of what organic means, attaching to it things that generally aren’t true,” Mr. Campbell said in an interview.
  • The analysis did find organic food was 30% less likely to contain trace levels of pesticides, with the researchers saying it was uncommon for any food in the U.S., organic or conventional, to have unsafe levels.
  • But the Frontier Centre authors say that without proof, organic authenticity should be questioned. When large amounts of money are involved, they say, such things as honour systems and the like cannot be relied upon.
  • “The certification bodies are responsible for verifying that organic operators are producing organic products in accordance with Canada’s organic standard,” the CFIA said in a written response.
  • ShiyuandCristina SC on 28 Nov 12
     
    1. Is it fair and better for organic food "businesses" to undergo their own inspections or should the government be responsible for our food safety? 2.The market failure mentioned in this article is an informature market failure. The definition of an informature market failure is when one side of the market has more information than the other. What are some visible solutions to this market failure?
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  • Aron Joshua Tolentino on 29 Nov 12
     
    1.) It is not fair for organic food businesses to inspect their own goods. By doing that, it will create bias in the inspection results. The government specifically the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) should be regulating the quality of every type of food that can be consumed by human beings. This minimizes bias in the results. 2.) There should be an open relationship within the market the sets the equality information in the market. Technically, trade should be fair, no secrets are valid. If they do not comply with this, law suits can be filed. E.g. fraud, copy right, etc.
  • Dyena Huynh on 30 Nov 12
     
    1. No i don't think it's fair that only the businesses themselves inspect themselves because in doing so, you'd assume that your products are good and therefore put less effort in inspecting them. The government should has some responsibility in inspecting the food because they need to make sure it's safe for people to eat, if they aren't careful with the things they're letting people consume they will run into a lot of health problems. More health problems mean more money to be used. 2. A visible solution to this market failure is to share information so this way it's fair for everyone.
  • Valentina Padure on 14 Dec 12
     
    * It is not fair for organic food companies to inspect their own products since they will obviously never reveal anything bad that could potentially damage the company. It would be like a student marking his own quiz or test, they would do anything they could to benefit their mark. This is why governments should be responsible for our food safety. * A visible solution would be that companies must to share all the information they are aware of with the consumers.
  • Samson Luong on 17 Dec 12
     
    1. It would not be the best idea for businesses to inspect their own food because there is a high possible margin of bias and committing unethical acts such as labeling their foods safe when they aren't are likely to occur. The government should be responsible because they would inspect each business in the same manner without bias and utilize the same procedures, ensuring fair inspections. 2. Visible solutions to this market failure would include sharing product information and inspection information to all producers and consumers.
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