Regulation, Procedures, and Rules for Triffid

[charliep]

Way off triffid flaxseed but what would do in the case of barley.

Not competitive relative to other crops grown in western Canada such as canola on a profit per acre basis. Lack of R. and D. funding has been a major issue as well as other resources including human capital. No money in barley breeding so no private investment.

Not competitive relative to other regions of the world that grow barley. Europe and Australia have well developed and executed barley breeding programs. Both use biotechnology although Europe does not acknowledge genetic engineering.

Not competitive with other crops grown in the world such as corn. Corn has been driven by ethanol on the consumption side and biotech on the production side.

Does it matter that western Canadian barley has a declining competitiveness on a dollar/acre profit basis relative to other alternatives here at home and around the world? If it is western barley competitiveness is important, what resources around research and development need to be brought together? Based on some agreed definition of biotechnology, what approval and risk assessment processes need to be done to move barley plant breeding forward using the alternatives available? Genetic engineering may not even be in the tool box - plant breeders very difficult with barley. There are other biotech tools used by all regions including the EU.

So what is the process to create more value for barley using the tools available? How should these process be funded?

[wd9]

Its not a perfect world. What a surprise!

If a food in europe contains technically unavoidable GMO admixtures in maize raw materials up to a part of 0.9 per cent, and the food produced thereof, are not subject to a labelling requirement.

Starch based products from GMO maize need to be labelled but for example Dextrin which is seveal steps from starch are not in the ingredient list are can easily be made from much cheaper gmo maize. Amino acids are not labelled either and can be GMO.

Given that corn has a 0.9% accceptance of 'technically unavoidable gmo content" why doesn't flax for paint and linoleum have at least the same tolerance?

Its a simple rule of don't pay more then you have to.

So parsely a quick side question, how much triffid does "organic flax" contain? Has it been tested to ppm or ppb?

[wd9]

Its also interesting to note GM soy is approved in almost every country and while the EU can't grow them they import that evil stuff from Canada USA and Brazil totaling around 40 million tonnes and process that raw product into millions of others products. Labelled and not labelled GMO.

It a fixable marketing problem for flax.

[charliep]

wd9

Would highlight all genetic events have to be registered in Europe through both their technical (EFSA) and political processes even in the case of low level presense. This can happen quickly if there is political will (example the registration of corn genetic events ensure corn dust in soybeans put the importation of the latter offside).

The thing that makes Europe different is there are two of processes. A scientific approval process (likely not too different from our plant with novel trait regulation) and a political one.

[parsley]

"How should these process be funded?"

I'm quite sure private interests welcome unlimited, perpetual funding by other people's money.

But, the world is mostly gone broke, charliep. Did you just find out?

I realize that farmers are unique folks with their own wealth creation actutually tied up in their living, as a friend in jail reminded me awhile ago in a letter, but you know, a dollar here and there and everywhere, and we seem to be struggling a bit from the increasing automatic debits that plaque our bottom lines.

Maybe sainfoin, barley, alfalfa, garlic, etc, dozens of them, actually cannot afford to "move forwards" because there is not enough money. Yup.

As well, the government can only provide "private interests" with er, my and your money.

Maybe only the few commodities that ALREADY did "move forward" and are already begging for MORE additional funding are eating all the available funds. Did you ever think of that? Pars

[charliep]

Maybe those organizations have a strategic plan, an execution strategy and ways of measuring/demonstrating success. Not likely involved in navel gazing and remembering the good old days. They have worked with government as a supply chain to deal with issues like regualation, procedures and rules - the theme of this thread.

[wd9]

How much triffid is there in organic flax?

[parsley]

"Contamination worse than feared in German dioxin scandal
Post a commentBy Rory Harrington, 06-Jan-2011

Related topics: Food Alerts

German authorities have said up to 3,000 tonnes of dioxin-contaminated animal feed additive may have been sold – almost six times more than previously estimated - as more details about the crisis emerged yesterday.

Officials had earlier estimated that 527 tonnes of the additive, which is believed to have been tainted with industrial fats containing the toxic chemical, have been delivered to hen, poultry and pig farms in Germany.

A spokesperson for EU Commissioner for Health and Consumer Policy John Dalli told the BBC it was "too early" to consider a ban on exports.

Contaminated eggs

The alarm was raised last week when eggs and meat containing trace amounts of dioxin were discovered. Dioxin is a poisonous chemical, linked to the development of cancer in humans.

Some 136,000 contaminated eggs have been exported to the Netherlands that could have been used as ingredients in processed food such as mayonnaise, it was revealed yesterday. However, German agriculture ministry spokesman Holger Eichele said it was not aware of exports to any other EU nations.

The news came as police in Germany carried out searches Wednesday at Harles and Jentzsch, feed producer at the centre of incident, the farm in Schleswig-Holstein that produced the fat, and a subsidiary in Lower Saxony.

Harles and Jentzsch sold the fat to 25 German feed manufacturers although it currently appears that no feed was sold to firms abroad.

So far more than 1,100 farms in Germany have been shut as a result of the crisis, most in Lower Saxony, and some 8,000 hens culled.

The European Union has demanded an explanation for the cause of the contamination and there have been calls within Germany for stricter industry regulation and tougher penalties against offenders.

The UK Food Standards Agency said there was no evidence to suggest that potentially contaminated animal feed, or food from the animals that may have eaten the feed, had entered the UK.


Should this conduct be treated like flax was?
Infractions will happen all the time, and does, particularly as we start to buy more and more food from China!


Questions to ask yourself:

1. Should the there be repercussions?

2. Should compliance be enforced

3. Should there be penalty for non-compliance?

What is responsibility? Do we want responsibility built into the system when it comes for food. I note some want to avoid all responsibility. Pars

[parsley]

"Maybe those organizations have a strategic plan, an execution strategy and ways of measuring/demonstrating success."

charliep, I like when you have sport with me, making me repeat myself. LOL

Of course they do. It's called tax dollars from the public purse, that become available in larger amounts when "producer support" aka checkoffs, become headlines and thereby legitimize governments to dole out largesse.

"They have worked with government as a supply chain to deal with issues like regualation, procedures and rules .."

Oh let me recall this one, lol, hm, ...could this mean heavy duty lobbying? could this mean compulsory checkoffing pending, but hiding under government blankies? Could this mean providing patents with no ownwership responsibilities?

How about quiet gentlemen-agreement government regs(We'll look the other way if it goes south)?

Are barley biotech planners copying the same regs, procedures and rules for barley, that were used for flax?

Worked well for industry's Christams gift. Tom cwb handed them some profit from a bin of flax.

The CEO of the Flax Council must have licked his finger and it stuck to stuck to page Page 1 Contents of "How to Ship Flax to EU According to Regulations" because he never got to page 2.


Btw, charlie p, did you know that "demonstrating success" doens't necessarily have anything to do with developing food you'd wactually ant your family to eat?

That's somebody playing tricks on you. LOL Pars

[wd9]

How much triffid is there in a bag of store bought super special and abundantly healthier organic flax? Nobody tested?

[TOM4CWB]

WD9,

Is there a stuck program in your computer!

Is it a terroriffid macro program that has taken over your BTO?

[parsley]

No certified organic flax sales can be transacted unless the flax has been tested at a certified lab, a new regulation that was adopted by organics. If it doesn't pass for Triffid-free, or any all of the other certification requirements, it is then downgraded to soley selling at conventional grain prices.

Organics have used inspected cleaners and registered seed growers occassionally, but have become particularly cautious.

Some areas that have been deemed Triffid contaminated areas because of positive test results, are less likely to attract organics looking to get grain cleaned or organics looking to buy seed from any of the contaminated area's pedigreed seed growers.

Negative, certified tests must accompany flax export documentation.

As you well know, all trucks, yes all of them, were required to wash out their trailers before grain was loaded and the manifest signed by both trucker and producer; occassionally looked upon by commercial truckers as a bit fanatic., but always accomodated politely.

It was prudent.

Testing is done at various labs in NA, at the growers choice. Grain samples are often sent to buyers prior to a sale. International labs have worked with organic growers for years, as falling numbers had to accompany most milling wheat sales.

However, I am sure you are not interested the fine details of organic testing protocol. If you are, I suggest you google certified organic certification requirements. Parsley