Organic News
A growing revolution
Fittingly, after a summer of incessant rain, a group of concerned growers met before the IOFGA conference in an outside courtyard on Jimmy Mulhall's farm - and it wasn't raining.
Green offices could cut energy costs
Office buildings in Ireland could save more than €2 million per year in energy costs just by going green, energy efficiency experts said at a recent conference.
Organic strawberries inhibit cancer cells
New research finds that organically grown strawberries inhibit cancer cell division more effectively than conventionally grown ones.
Soil Association launches organic apprenticeship scheme
Following a one year pilot scheme the Soil Association is formally launching its organic apprenticeship scheme run in partnership with the Organic Growers Alliance and the Organic Advisory Service.
Dangerous levels of food colourings in take away curry
If your next take away curry has a bright yellow colour you might want to think twice before you partake! A survey of 66 chicken tikka masala takeaways in West Yorkshire found that nearly all were coloured with a cocktail of tartrazine (E102), sunset yellow (E110), ponceau 4R (E124), carmoisine (E122) and allura red (E129).
Organic chicken is healthier
Italian researchers have found that organic chicken has higher levels of healthy fats than equivalent conventional birds. A team at the University of Teramo analysed twenty four birds, half conventional and half organic. They found that breasts from organic chickens contained nearly 30% more polyunsaturated fatty acids than conventional birds.
Bitter harvest
Back gardeners and allotment holders in the UK are still coming to terms with crop failures this season due to the use of brought in farmyard manure containing residue of an herbicide called aminopyralid.
Food for thought
The debate about the effect of the recession on organic sales is continuing. Prophets of doom are predicting a major down turn in sales of organic products but the experience of producers contradicts this. A straw poll among organic retailers indicated that there was a down turn in sales during the late summer but that the market has recovered since then. This could be attributed to the wretched summer and consumers going abroad for some sunshine.
Intercultural dialogue
Organic Matters was invited to take part in a study visit to the Island of Procida in Italy in early October. The purpose of the study visit was to facilitate the exchange of information and expertise between educational specialists in the area of intercultural dialogue. This was part of the 2008 European Year of Intercultural Dialogue.
How do I know it's organic?
Despite a high profile for organic produce many consumers are still confused about what 'organic' really means. All food sold as organic must comply with EU regulations and be certified as organic. In Ireland, there are a set of Irish Organic Standards governing organic production and processing. These standards are agreed between the certification bodies and the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (DAFF), which regulates the sector.
IOFGA Conference and Annual General Meeting
The 26th IOFGA AGM will be held on Sunday 21st of September during National Organic Week. This year we are taking the event out into the fields and are holding it at Coolanowle Organic Farm, Ballickmoyler which is on the Carlow/Laois border. The farm is run by Jimmy and Bernadine Mulhall and is a mixed holding with beef, lamb, pigs and some arable crops.
Feasting in Leitrim
A two-day harvest festival will take place in Drumshanbo and the Organic Centre, Rossinver, Co. Leitrim on 13th and 14th September, 2008. Celebrating the best of local food is the theme for this year's festival.
Orgapod wins Great Taste Award
Nafisa Brennan is celebrating her one star Gold Great Taste Award presented to her company, Orgapod for its organic Oriental Chai at the Great Taste Awards in London.
Kellys shine on
The list of awards piling up at Moon Shine Dairies just goes on and on. They've received a Bridgestone Guide award again this year as well as Nantwich Cheese awards and are waiting to see the colour of their medal at the British Cheese Awards.
New Breeders Website Launched
Farmers are finally beginning to catch up with the internet and, just to prove it, the latest pioneering initiative in Irish farming is bringing the nation's livestock to the internet. Two young entrepreneurs have launched organic cattle.ie, a website for advertising and sourcing organic and pedigree cattle in Ireland and the UK. Developed and produced by Dónall O'Connor and Micheal O'Donnell, organiccattle.ie is based in the Enterprise Acceleration Centre in Limerick Institute of Technology.
National Organic Conference
Bord Bia's organic conference which will be held on 4th September at the Waterford Institute of Technology will have the theme Maximising Ireland's Potential.
School garden sweeps organic first prize at agricultural show
Scoil Naomh Molaise pupils in Grange, Co. Sligo have been tending their vegetable garden in the grounds of the local parish priest's house for almost two years. This year their mid-summer harvest yielded enough produce to hand out free herbs and salad bags to visitors from their information stall at the North Sligo Agricultural Show. They were delighted to hear they won First Prize in the Tray of Organic Vegetables category, and a healthy Second Prize for their juicy legumes in the Three Pods of Peas competition.
Inagh gold
Inagh Farmhouse Cheese has added to its list of awards by winning a one star Gold Great Taste Award for its St. Tola Hard Cheese.
New organic supermarket opens
A new 'organic supermarket' has been opened on Main Street, Blackrock in south Dublin.
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