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New organic magazine. I am ashamed that I didn't cop this publication sooner. I first saw and bought the third issue of the new, UK bi-monthly organiclife(sic) this morning. Obviously I won't have time now to look at it in depth but it looks streets ahead of anything we've seen before this side of the pond. Photoghraphy is stunning and there are all-prizes-no-blanks in the 82 pages of Regular and Feature articles. More later - in the meantime see: www.organiclifemag.com. Tiny whinges: text editing could be better, spell-checking needs to be more rigorous and why, like everybody else in organic publishing, do they have to be bi-monthly? Why not monthly? (1/12/'01 nothing happening when I clicked on their website - am trying to find out what's going on).

Slow, Slow, ..." The defense of the pleasure of good eating..of the pleasure of life itself...". These are just some of the noble ambitions of one of the fastest growing food movements in the world. No. Not the organic movement - although these almost poetic aims could or should be part of the organic manifesto - but the international Slow Food organisation. Seamus Sheridan, of Sheridan Cheesemongers, Dublin and Galway, introduced their work at the monthly meeting of the Cork Free Choice Consumer Group hosted at the Crawford Gallery Restaurant, last night. From its humble beginnings in Italy in 1985, Slow Food now has 65,000 members in 35 countries and its annual fairs and awards' ceremonies have become a focus of all that is excellent in small, craft, specialist food producers (120,000 attended a Cheese Fair in Bra, Italy where, amongst other fabulous products, over 1,200kgs of buffalo mozzarela were sold) I will talk more about the subject at a future date. For the moment I'll leave you with these thought-provoking excerpts from the Slow Food Award's addresses in Bologna, October 2000: The Awards are " ..a rightful homage to the hitherto anonymous defenders of variety in a world beset and endangered by standardization.These people are crazy..! (the finalists) These are men and women who have cultivated a dream with uncommon energy and dedication. This Award can be seen as the planet's way of saying thanks." www.slowfood.com

Quick, Quick,...From the sublimity of Slow Food to the atrocities of fast food in one evening is a little hard for the system to take. At the above event, apart from the glorious food and wine products on offer, the Cork Bookshop had a stand of appropriate food-related books on display, some of which I list below. And here, finally, I got hold of a copy of Fast Food Nation (see Publications page). Whilst the subtle gorgeousness of Wild Smoked Salmon ( from www.ummera.com ) and Dauphin de Rozier ( www.bubblebrothers.com ) still lingered on my palate I opened the book at random and read of the slaughterhouse practices of the vast American industries supplying burgers to McDonalds and suchlike. What a devastating contrast to the prior events of the evening! This is hell! This is a nighmare, for workers, for animals, for consumers and for the environment. And we have it here in Ireland too of course. Read!

Food tastings and displays at Slow Food talk: Gubbeen Cheese, Woodcock Smokery (Sally Barnes), Bubble Bros., Bellvelly Smokehouse, Hungry Elephant Bakery, Caherbeg Pork, Eve Chocolates and Sheridans' Cheesemongers. All these will be entered, with full details, in Products or Where to Buy..pages.

Slow. That's myself I'm afraid. I am days late with the weekly update. My target is Wednesday midday but I have drifted towards the end of the week. I aim to improve! Emails are very welcome but are taking more time to deal with. There were more than 500 in the last eight days. Traffic to the site is now over 11,000 hits per week.

Editor. I must thank everyone who wished me well during the week. I only had a bout of flu which was quickly dispatched in a matter of days by my Garlic Cure (clove of organic garlic crushed into glass of warm water, taken morning and night for about 5 days). But I welcome all emails, even the not-too-friendly ones. There was even one extreme one threatening libel recently which I will reveal more about shortly - libel laws permitting! Otherwise, the critical correspondence shows that some are confused by this website of mine. No one can claim to have complete clarity about a subject like organics which is evolving so quickly but I'll try to elucidate - very briefly (I would refer my correspondents also to the About US page for a general introduction to where I'm at in relation to organics).

I am strenuously for alternatives to industrialised agriculture and decidedly in favour of natural food production. However I do not take an automatic, pro-organic line, as some would seem to expect. Indeed I have many criticisms of the organic movement. I believe the safety and quality of our food is, of paramount importance, and should be the major issue of the age - bar none - the casuality figures alone justify that.* The accessibility of safe food, especially through prices and value i.e. available to all, is a fundamental human right. I energetically pursue the achievement of those goals.

I do not believe that the case for GM crops and food has been proven. In the light of the unprecedented irreversability of the technology the "precautionary principle" should undoubtedly apply.

Despite my criticisms of the organic industry it is, together with sustainable agriculture, beyond doubt, the movement to build on. The logo for the revamped website - soon to come - encapsulates this belief - Plan Organic for a Sustainable World.

Fundamental Flaws. In the same vein as above, Michael Lind, Observer,11th November, tried to cast ennvironmentalists in the same mould as bin Laden and his relgious fanaticism; "America's religious Right and the West's romantic Left now share a pre-modern vision similar to that of Muslim conservatives." This is b......ks, more of the same cant coming from the anti-organic, pro-GM propaganda camp. But I leave it to a first-class mind, to tackle this nonsense.

George Monbiot* replied, Letters, 18th November: "To claim, as Michael Lind does, that people who oppose genetically modified crops are anti-science is like suggesting that people who don't like carrots are anti-farmer. GM crops, like cars, computers or washing machines, are technological products of science, not science itself. There are sound reasons for opposing them, not the least of which is the inordinate control of the food chain they grant to a handful of companies, which has grave implications for food security. Mr Lind compares objections to the deployment of this technology with the 'Arcadian vision of secular fascists'. This is a cheap and intellectually lazy smear, regularly used by opponents of those seeking a rational, indeed scientific, use of finite resources .

I could just as easily argue that because fascism also harboured a techological vision of human and mechanical mastery of the natural world, Michael Lind and other anti-environmentalists are fascists. But, perhaps because I have been instructed in scientific rationalism, unlike Mr Lind I would reject sucn syllogisms as unreasonable". www.georgemonbiot.com

*George Monbiot writes for the Guardian. He is the author of; CAPTIVE STATE; CORPORATE TAKEOVER OF BRITAIN, Macmillan, 2000.

EUROPEAN FOOD LAW - 2nd edition, by Raymond O'Rourke. Published, Palladian Law Publishing*, 2001, £58.00. I will have a review of this book next week.

*Palladian Law Publishing, Beach Road, Bembridge, Isle of Wight, UK, PO 35 5NQ. Copies by post cost: UK £3.50 per book, Rest of Europe, £8.00 and anywhere else, £12.00 per book. They also offer an online update at: www.palladianlaw.com

The following books are available from any good bookshop but I saw them all, as well as Fast Food Nation, a few days ago in: Cork Bookshop, The Huguenot Quarter, Cork City. www.corkbookshop.ie

ORGANIC - A NEW WAY OF EATING by Sophie Grigson and William Black. The definitive guide to cooking, eating and above all, enjoying organic food. Stunning photos by Gergia Glynn Smith. Published, Headline 2001. Price £25.00.

ANTONIO CARLUCCIO GOES WILD. Mr Carluccio, passionate exponent of Italian food and TV presenter here presents recipes, 120 of them, for wild food from land and sea. Sadly however, he does not mention our (West Cork but surely found in Britain too) prolific and delicious sea-shore vegetable, "sea spinach" (King George's...? Anyone?) Published Headline, 2001, £25.00.

Paradise? And, nothing to do with organic, but a lot to do with environmental inspiration, a book about the Eden Project in Cornwall: EDEN by Tim Smit, Bantam Press, £25.00. Tim Smit of Lost Gardens of Heligon fame was the originator of the whole wonderfully ambitious schemeI. I will be going to see the Project soon so will describe it fully later. In the meantime have a look at their website: www.edenproject.com. "In a giant crater in Cornwall.....". The online presentation is a bit disappointing photographically but otherwise fascinating. The book has fantastic photographs.

SimplyOrganic (sic) Food Company, not to be confused with our home-grown Simply Organic, is one of the UK's largest box delivery services with over 2,000 different organic products to choose from. Based at the New Covent Garden Market they deliver all over the UK, even to the islands. www.simplyorganic.net Like all UK suppliers, however, they do not deliver to the Irish Republic. I was particularly disappointed to find that even Helen Browning's Eastbrook Farm (where I worked a few years ago) would not quote for a delivery of their meat hampers to Ireland.

Anarchic Organic. I mentioned the organic anarchist symbol a few weeks ago. Sheets of the symbol arrived by post together with a sort of manifesto. The symbol is the word "Organic" with the anarchist "A" encircled by the "O." The idea is to appeal to those who want to see cheaper organic food, who cannot or will not afford the certified organic symbol, or hate hassle like paperwork and official inspections. Users of the symbol are expected to be organic of the "highest standard" but it is all based on trust between the producers and consumers. To facilitate that trust consumers are offered the right to visit the grower/producer. Interesting!

Hi-Tech-Biotech agriculture to drive organic sector! Dr Liam Downey, director of Ireland's major public-funded, agricultural institute, Teagasc, said this week that, in the future there could be two main types of agriculture in Europe, bio-tech and organic. Elaborating on his theme he said, "As the hi-tech-bio-tech agriculture becomes more widespread, there will be consequential growth in demand for organic products". The former will, in Dr Downey's vision, provide consistent, quality raw materials to those who need affordable food products whilst the latter, " a sizeable organic-ecological agriculture", will supply " the growing number of discerning consumers more concerned with healthy eating." This follows, according to the leading agri-policy maker, because of the developing conflicts between advocates of biotechnology and consumers concerned about their food.

Describing seven dimensions to agri-food competitiveness he says that price competitiveness is becoming less important than safety and environmental considerations.

Dr Downey calls for the building of strong strategic research capabilities, costing perhaps IR£100 million with an extra IR£50 million for animal disease research. These would help in the provision of "impartial, trustworthy, credible research information and in building public confidence in biotechnology."

So there's the real rub! I was being lulled by the good Dr's quite clever analysis. But his brief is to totally support GM food! GM agriculture, going nowhere in Europe, should get an extra IR£150 million of Irish investment, he tells us, whilst organic farming, growing at the rate of 30-40% per annum, despite being starved of public investment, is to get a pittance! Is this what he means by "monitoring, evaluating, and harnessing appropriate international food developments"? Doesn't organic qualify as "appropriate"? Does not the single greatest food development in modern agricultural history i.e. organic farming, need and deserve generous support?

This is a call for massive agricultural funding to support one kind of agriculture and its products which consumers in Europe have emphatically said they don't want!

What is being described here by Dr Downey is a kind of future food fascism where the poor get their "affordable (GM) food products" and the richer "discerning consumers" get their expensive (non GM) organic ones. This is not how it should be; this is not how it will be! Because, thankfully, this is not the vision of the major agricultural policy makers in Europe like Fischler and Kuenast who in the end call the shots.

Curiously the term " GM" is not mentioned in his lecture. " Hi-tech-bio- tech" seems to be his and others' buzz-phrase of the moment. There is an implication here of course that organic is low-tech, anti-science. A close look at what the Cubans, for example, have been doing (see item below) would support the theory that organic is high tech and scientific!

The lecture, to 200 academics and leaders in agriculture and education, was in the Faculty of Agriculture, University College Dublin, 20/11/'01. It received national coverage in the media. The Trinity debate two weeks ago, with international big-hitters and with a negative outcome for GM, is left to l'il ole Planorganic to cover. But my report did reach a large international audience, as both www.ngin.org.uk and www.organicts.com gave it the full treatment. In fact the latter, Organic Trade Services, included it as its main feature - Organic Newsline, November 15th, Ireland; Food Industry No Cause For Celebration.

Monsanto Supports Organic Farming. Listen to this: "Modern agriculture has been enormously productive, but at the cost of an ever-increasing reliance on chemical pesticides. Organic farming reverses this trend........."

Bet you never thought you'd see the day! Actually you haven't quite seen it yet, either. The quotation goes on to say;"... but its lower yields mean higher costs and the need to cultivate more land. Biotechnology offers an alternative...." This softly-softly-turn-the-screw approach is published in the Biotech Advantage, Monsanto's newsletter, 21st November, www.monsanto.com . For a detailed evaluation of the claims of the ABCs(Ag Biotech Corps) see, www.ngin.org.uk , Newsletter, 22nd November, New Benbrook Paper and - www.rsc.org/is/journals/current/pest/pohome.htm

Are you happy in your nappies? It is really heartening that so much processed baby-food consumed in western Europe is now organic - over 80% at last count! It shows that there is strong awareness there at a fundamental level. We want our babies to have the safest possible start to life. When our one-and-only was in the bum-wrap phase, twenty years ago, we opted, for environmental reasons, for the cotton, cloth nappy. Knowing what I now know about the growing of cotton, if I were in the baby business today, I would certainly be looking for organic cotton nappies. Its nice to see that I wouldn't have too far to look. Páiste Sásta, literally, "Happy Children" is an Irish company selling organic nappies by mail order. They have a website, www.paistesasta.ie. You can contact them, Mike and Mary, by email: paiste@gofree.indigo.ie or by phone at: 078 51966. So now, clap your hands!

The Swiss branch of the World Wildlife Fund is promoting a "Cotton Campaign" to promote awareness of organic cotton. See www.wwf.ch

More Fowl Ups. Following on from the BBC item last week on chicken- meat scandals in the UK, I hear this week that 13% of US turkeys have salmonella. Eat a turkey sandwich out each day for a week and the odds are that you'll get salmonella! But the Thanksgiving Day bird carries more than salmonella according to the US, Food and Drugs Administration.They say that 50% of turkeys contain toxins (as do 20% of chickens). No wonder that on your average day in America, 250,000 suffer food poisoning, 1,000 are hospitalised and 25 die.

Supermarkets strangling UK organic producers through cheap imports says the Soil Association this week. www.soilassociation.org

Catholic Leaders .v. GM Farming. No, not in Ireland - that I know of anyway.* In the Philippines, Bishop Sergio Utleg of the Diocese of Ilagan and priests in 35 towns and two cities in the province renewed their campaign against Bt-corn farming and coal mining. In a pastoral letter, the bishop accused both industries of denying "the blessings of life to millions of people". he went on to say; “The church is not against development and modern technology. Rather, we want to ask our people and leaders: For whom is development? Who is to benefit from these so-called development projects and modern technology? Development must serve the needs and promote the progress of all people.”

Say Cheese! Tesco. Tesco Ireland should smile and take a bow over their organic cheese. On the hunt always for new and good value organic products I was delighted to find in Cork city that Tesco have organic cheddar that is not only good value (sadly we have come to accept that if the organic price is within about 30% of the conventional it's good value) but the cheapest cheese in the supermarket (IR£4.87 per kilo)! But whatever happened to the Irish Organic Cheddar they had up to a few months ago which was similarly priced?

Credit Unions and Ethical Investment. I'm a fan of the Credit Union movement and have a few bob invested which is going to be swelled (!) soon by share-value leftovers from Sir Tony's takeover of Eircom. As a result of my meeting with the goodfellas from Triodos Bank a few weeks ago I've begun questioning what my fin. instits. do with my colossal savings. As a first step I've just written off to the CU and to AIB. Perhaps you would do the same with your fin. instits? Then we could put our heads together and do an article perhaps. My suspicion is we might be a little shocked at what our shekels are helping to loose on the world, even in the relatively philanthropic Credit Union!

Organic Shop criticised for not being Traditional. The Old English Market in Cork city is a large Victorian steel and glass market place, characterised by open-fronted foodstalls (see Where to Buy page). The Organic Shop, which is about to expand, is a bit more enclosed and other traders are complaining that this is against the spirit and style of the place.The owner of the Organic Shop, Marc O'Mahoney, reckons it's all in the name of progress and that his "attractive and very clean" new front will enliven that part of the Market.

One in your Eye. Private-Eye may publish a letter from me next week on the subject of the energetically anti-organic Prof.Trewavas. See last week's Eye for a letter from the disputatious Fellow (of the Royal Society that is) claiming innocence of authorship of the Greepeace/Melchett libel letter. www.private-eye.co.uk

Weak Reception of L wave last weekend prevented me from hearing the BBC food programmes I told you about. Have to look up Auntie's site now to find out what went on - but sound has never worked on my laptop so, unless they have the text published online .....? Any one like to give me a synopsis? Email: info1@planorganic.com

Salmon Runs. Where have all the salmon gone? There are rumours of a big salmon farm break-out in Ireland about a week ago. Variously described as in "the west of Ireland", "Kenmare Bay" and even our own "Castletown Berehaven".* www.sunday-times.co.uk

*When it did happen here some years ago some glorious, if frenetic fishing, was enjoyed by lots of smaller inshore boats and there was a glut of "wild salmon" in the market.

Absolutely Organic owned by ex IDA man John Healey is one of the most energetic organic companies operating in the Dublin area. They have a stall in the Saturday, Cow's Lane, market and do a Dublin-wide box scheme. Tel. 01 4600467.

Hiding one's light under a bushel. Tesco Ireland seem somewhat shy about branding their bread organic. The two types they stock in their Paul Street, Cork outlet have nothing on the outside label to indicate what they are but if you look carefully you will see a small, circular Soil Association sticker on the bread itself which is obviously left on during baking. The bread both white and brown are delicious: I believe they are Cuisine de France. www.tesco.ie

Cuba Libre! Well, not exactly, but for the first time in 40 years American companies are being allowed to do business with Cuba. Four agri-businesses have signed agreements to export food worth $20 million to the island whose agricultural production has been badly hit by Hurricane Michelle. Although this looks like one-way humanitarian trade at the present, it could be the first chink in the US trade embargo against Cuba. Might we now begin to hear more about the great strides Cuban organic agriculture has made in recent years? The island's agricultural ministry has devoted more scientific resources to the development of organic agriculture than any other country in the world including the US. The sooner the results of this research are made more widely available the better.

Heather Mills and Landmines. Heather Mills has done enormously good charity work in the area of clearing minefields and supplying artificial limbs to amputees. Support her fund-raising Night of 1,000 Dinners, 30th November, 2001. The idea is to host a dinner in your own home and charge for it. For more information including recipes and video go to www.landmines.org.uk email, info@landmines.org.uk or tel. 020 7265 4945.

I eat therefore I am. Carnaun National School in Athenry, Co. Galway will next week be honoured when their European Communications Project, "I eat, therefore I am" will be one of four projects selected for the launch of Netdays Europe 2001 on the 19^th of November in Brussels. Netdays is a European Commission initiative promoting online technology in education and culture. Earlier this year Carnaun School, became the first official organic school in Ireland when it registered with IOFGA. The school is constantly scooping environmental awards and is fast becoming a model for other schools throughout Ireland.Their project can be seen at http://homepage.eircom.net/~foregan/carnaun/project.htm. Item from David Storey.

Flora Hibernica - Wild Flowers, Plants and Trees of Ireland, an attractive new book, publ. by Collins, has just arrived in the bookshops. Price: I£25.00. It should be an essential addition to any naturalist's reference library.

Chluain Chumhra is a beautiful publication designed to be an "earth educator's" handbook. Celebrating the richness of our plant life with photographs, illustrations, folk medicine and Celtic folklore the three authors from Co. Limerick reveal their literary, health and environmental ideas and concerns. Both stimulating and practical, this lovely publication (price: I£7.00) is available from Jim McNamara, An t-Ionad Glas (The Organic College), Dromcollogher, Co. Limerick, email: ionadglas.ias@eircom.net

Seeds of Change. In the Sunday Times, Style, a few weeks ago there was a full-page advertisement for Seeds of Change, 100% organic soups. They have five recipes, Minestrone, Carrot & Coriander, Three Bean, Spicy Lentil and Creamy Tomato. It's a great ad that makes you salivate for the products - I just hope they are available somewhere here in Ireland - but it's also an indicator that organic processors have arrived big-time and can afford such high-profile advertisements. www.seedsofchange.co.uk

Private Eye kindly sent me a copy of Not The Foot and Mouth Report. Review next week.

Received a copy of European Food Law from Raymond O'Rourke. Will review it shortly too.

A post graduate student in Ireland would like sources of information to help him with a comparison of the reproductive performance of organic and conventional dairy herds. info1@planorganic.com

The organic anarchist - seeds of new, cheap self-regulatory movement growing in Ireland. More on this next week.

"No reason why Ireland could not be 100% organic!" Francis Blake of the UK Soil Association commented at the recent IOFGA conference in Killarney. In an interview with David Storey for Organic Matters magazine, he also said he was impressed with the commitment of the Irish govt to the organic sector and was perplexed that the three Irish organisations were not enthusiastic about having one set of standards and one representative organic body - an objective the SA had been striving for in the UK for some time. He warned that disunity in the Irish organic movement could usher in a "commercially motivated certification body whose only aim was to make money". Some have suggested to me that that is what we largely have at the moment anyway! I find it intriguing too that, as far as I can gather (I'm open to further information on this ), nobody has ever been turfed out of the organic organisations in Ireland or the UK which would indicate either untarnished sainthood (a tad unlikely) or a desire to keep the numbers up at any price!

Fowl Deeds uncovered by 'Operation Fox'. Freak radio reception on longwave allowed me to hear a programme on BBC Radio 4 on Tuesday night last. Jenny Cuffe was reporting for File on Four on the chookie industry. Apparently there is foul play down on farm - and processing plant and butcher's shop too! Criminal racketeering was traced and confronted in Operation Fox by Rotherham Borough Council, Yorkshire, leading to convictions (up to five years in one case) and heavy fines.* The main racket operated like this; chicken carcasses with a variety of stomach-churning "blemishes" were dumped in bins from production lines for low-value pet food. It ended up however as a high-priced product - up to 30x more! - being served for human consumption in a wide variety of outlets from fast-food to old folks' homes. It is estimated that thousands of tons of chicken meat are peddled like this each year. No wonder therefore that there are over four and a half million cases of food poisoning in the UK each year resulting in 50 to 60 deaths. What a pity the skunks who perpetrate this crime are not done for murder or at least manslaughter! Contact me if you want to hear more, or trace through: www.bbc.co.uk .

Still on the subject of fowl matters, there was a story in the Irish Examiner last week, Farming, Nov 8th, by Martin Ryan, describing how "there was justifiable concern" that the Mid Western Health Board had been sourcing chicken from France "for a few thousand pounds less than Irish supplies". Nothing wrong with that you might say, and certainly no cause for concern - we are, supposedly, in an open, European market. But, you wouldn't think so by the reactions of farmers whose first line of complaint seemed to be that the Board was, horror of horrors! "purchasing its hospital food overseas". The second line of complaint was traceability - the implication was that the French chickens could have come from "a far flung farm where anything goes". My simple question is - did they? And what does the French supplier or the French Min Ag have to say about this? And is it true that Irish poultry supplies are "fully traceable" as claimed by the IFA? Can we be so cocksure that our poultry industry has no feathery skeletons in the closet like our British neighbour?

* Incidentally the Food Safety Authority came in for a lot of flack not least from Rotherham B.C. who claim that they should be recompensed the £500,000 costs of the investigation by the FSA for fighting a national battle on behalf of consumers.

Blessed Trinity. I wasn't too sure whether the Trinity debate last week*, the first in the "Food Fights" series, would have been that interesting to my readers - sorry, visitors, or is it "hits"?(Now 10,000 a week!). However I have been blessed with a lively response - including full take-up by, www.ngin.org.uk, which has spun it off in its Newsletter into the world-wide ether. So, I will take encouragement, gird my loins, put on my oxygen mask (for the Fair City, dontcha know?) and try to get to the next two. Sponsorship?

Are British and Irish Growers being left to rot? Well over 90% of non-meat organic produce for sale in the UK and Ireland is imported (including meat, the figure is about 75%). The BBC investigates and broadcasts its findings in the Food Report, Sunday,18th November, 12.30pm, Radio 4. You should be able to receive it in Ireland on LW 200 mhz. The programme will be repeated on Monday at 4.00pm. This I discovered as a bonus from listening to the Facts on Four the other night in the car.

As rare as hen's teeth. Not another cock and bull story but a description of the current state of small, organic horticultural growers in Ireland. Cait Curran lambastes the powers that be for their lack of support for the native species - Organic Matters, Sept/Oct. In response to her article, growers Kristin Laubach and Tony Miller from Cork suggest in the following issue that not only is the State causing them problems but that new standards from IOFGA about seed, manures etc are asking the impossible of the small producer. They also bring up the thorny problem of long-distance imports of organic produce. They would like to hear what others think. www.organicmattersmag.com The whole of past and current issues are not published on line but if you nag the editor he'll probably oblige by sending you an electronic copy.

Private Eye kindly sent me a copy of Not The Foot and Mouth Report. Review next week.

Received a copy of European Food Law from Raymond O'Rourke. Will review it shortly too.

A post graduate student in Ireland would like sources of information to help him with a comparison of the reproductive performance of organic and conventional dairy herds. info1@planorganic.com

The organic anarchist - seeds of new, cheap self-regulatory movement growing in Ireland. More on this next week.

"The modern food industry is a cause for celebration." This was the motion before the house at the Trinity debate last Thursday night. The title of the motion went through several modifications over the last few weeks. Firstly it was; "Is Modern Farming a Public Health Risk?" (considered too "negative" apparently - but for whom?). Then it was; "Factory Farming - Dicing with an Irishman's Comestibles?" ( too frivolous?).

Prof. Vivian Moses opened the debate for the motion. The London don reflected the undergraduateish atmosphere of the proceedings by ceremoniously donning his overcoat and scarf in complaint at the lack of heating in the cavernous lecture room. Moses, replacing the notorious anti-organic Trewavas, gave us a light romp through food safety issues, (interestingly, never mentioning organic farming) concluding, predictably enough, with an exhortation for consumers to accept that GM food was the safest around because "it was the most studied and the most restricted".

Speaking against the motion, Richard Auler, organic farmer and pioneer of the organic movement in Ireland held the audience's attention well. He described with humour and passion his conversion over 20 years ago in Germany from conventional to organic farming and had a good story about organic heritage potatoes. He also, as if to the manner born, adroitly handled the disconcerting mid-talk questions from the floor (Phil. Soc. rules).

Dr Alan Reilly, Food Safety Authority of Ireland, left us a mite confused (a FSAI habit? See last week). He told us of the dreadful health risks from conventional chickens - 60% of samples with campolybacter and 40% with salmonella! Then there is the deceit of the "Irish Chicken Kiev" - the only Irish ingredient of which is water! He warned us that "When things go wrong today, they go wrong big-time!". I thought for a minute he was talking against the motion but then he launched off into telling us that Chinese genetically modified fish and modified rice are the answers to world hunger! He later reminded those of us who didn't already know it that the FSAI are the advisory body to the govt on "novel" and GM foods.

Raymond O'Rourke, solicitor and expert on European food law *, gave us the meatiest contribution of the evening - and the best quote - "The health of a people is really the foundation upon which all their happiness and all their power as a State depends". Disraeli, 1877. He urged openness between govt and consumers on food safety issues, reminding us that one of the main conclusions of Lord Philips' BSE enquiry was to "trust consumers". Mr O'Rourke however didn't think there was much evidence of this trust emanating from govt, citing Ireland's hosting of a EU round of talks on food quality in Dublin Castle last May where attendance was by ticket only - he was refused one (R.O'R, it gets worse - I was refused one too!). He read from a recent speech by Renate Kuenast, the German Minister of Agriculture, where she outlined her vision of a reformed CAP. Whilst reminescent of De Valera's, 1940's "comely maidens dancing at the crossroads" speech, nevertheless Mr O'Rourke told us, "this was the thinking of the most powerful nation in Europe and has to be taken very seriously".

*Raymond O'Rourke has just had a book on food law published. I hope to review it shortly. He has also just been chosen to stand as a Fine Gael candidate for Wicklow in the coming election.

Those were the four main speakers. But, in another twist of the quixotic house rules, some student speakers had their five minutes of fame at the lectern too. One of these, Jeff Black, English Dept., made the interesting point that, just as the Industrial Revolution had led to cheap and shoddy goods, the industrialisation of agriculture has led to cheap and awful food. He proposed that we are all complicit in this and that we get the food industry we deserve. We might save ourselves, he continued, by becoming quality-food conscious like the Italians. He furthermore suggested that we do not need GM food -" GM food would give us the square chicken - easier to stack, I suppose." And to pluck, stuff and carve! He finished off his talk by asking us to remember, "Production must be the servant of the food industry not its master". Steve Daley, Econs. Dept. one of the organisers of the talks, based to some degree on experiences he had in India, did not think organic farming could be a solution to third world needs and was a strong advocate of GMOs. (Later I drew his and other speakers' attention to Prof. Jules Pretty's report earlier this year, Sustainable Farming Can Feed the World. www.members.tripod.com/~ngin/feedtheworld.htm). George Monbiot in The Guardian, 24th August, 2000, also has a remarkable article on the subject. On a planet wallowing in surfeit, people starve because they have neither the land on which to grow food for themselves nor the money with which to buy it. Even a Novartis director admits that GM will not feed the world, to do which, he says, takes political and financial will. www.guardianunlimited.co.uk .

The motion was then put to the attendance and by a considerable majority the nays had it and the motion was defeated.

Sponsor needed to fund my trips to Dublin for the next lectures in the series. Accomodation even? Phone: 027 70717.

Private Eye has a sock at Trewavas. Private Eye - 2 November 2001, from 'Street of Shame', p.4. The Glasgow Herald had to pay libel damages to Lord Melchett and Greenpeace over a letter making spurious allegations that the charity had deliberately spread unfounded fears about GM foods to further Lord Melchett's financial interests.The author of this letter, which also wrongly suggested that Greenpeace had inappropriate links with commercial organisations, was Professor Anthony Trewavas, pro-GM professor on plant biochemistry at Edinburgh University. Could this be the same Prof Anthony Trewavas listed as one of the Royal Society "experts" who are recommended and available to help busy science hacks get their stories right?

Libel Stuff. Am awaiting satisfactory answers to a list of questions I put to Prof Trewavas some time ago before a retraction of any kind can be considered.

The Organic College. There will be a public seminar on organic and rural needs for the future at the college in Dromcolloher, Co. Limerick on the 27th November. Contact the Director, Jim McNamara for further details. ionadglas.ias@eircom.net and www.organiccollege.com. I'll have some interesting material soon about the students from Dromcolloher who have spent the past weeks working in organic businesses in Italy.

The proof of the pudding...Whilst rushing around in Dublin trying to find the site of the Organic Market (Sat. mornings) in Cow's Lane, Temple Bar, I found The Bakery in nearby Pudding Row. This is a superb craft bakery run by Jimmy White with mouth-watering displays of fresh-on-the-premises-made breads and cakes and sandwiches. As I had a train to catch I couldn't check on whether they had any organic items but frankly, as somebody in a windy movie once said, " I couldn't give a damn!". Their almond slice is to die for! Jimmy, you don't owe me lunch! Tel: 01 6729882.

Moses to replaceTrewavas. The contentious anti-organic don, 'Tony' Trewavas, will not be on the panel of the Trinity debate next Thursday (scroll down to last week's item). Due to 'pressure of work' he cried off some time ago. The organisers failed to bring advertised information up to date (or reply to my emails) before last Thursday's update. So, sadly, we won't have the opportunity of meeting the great man in the flesh this time. However his slot is to be filled by Prof Vivian Moses who, apparently, was suggested by Trewavas. Some of Prof Moses' briefs are, Visiting Professor of Biotechnology at King's College, London and Chairman of the CropGen Panel. One of his major sensitivities is consumer reaction to biotechnology. For the gen on Moses and CropGen see, www.cropgen.org/databases/cropgen.nsf/?Open.

We now know Noreen Gibney's replacement on the debating panel. Richard Auler of Ballybrado and founder-member of IOFGA has feistily volunteered himself to carry the organic standard in Trinity. For a flavour of Richard's views see www.groups.yahoo.com/group/organicforum.

Others participating in the debate will be Raymond O'Rourke, solicitor with a speciality in European food law and Dr Alan Reilly, Food Safety Authority of Ireland. The debate will be chaired by Tony Gilland of the Institute of Ideas. www.instituteofideas.com. Venue: Lecture Theatre, Graduate Memorial Building, TCD, College Green. Date: 8th November. Time: 7.30pm.

Bits on Private Eye, SA, Fishy Tales, Purdy, Trewavas, Rabobank, organic baddies and US report on the European organic market .

Samhain or Halloween marks the turning of the year in the old Celtic Calender. The dark half of the year begins now with bonfires (bone fires) and ends with Bealtine (Baal Tine or Fires of Baal) on 1st May.

Trewavas Returns. Cèad Mìle Fàilte roimh An t-Ollamh Mòr! The disputatious Prof. of Plant Biochemistry from Edinburgh, who has set himself up as an anti-organic crusader (scroll down here through last three weeks' entries for more info), will avail himself of Go-Fly's new budget flights from Edinburgh to Dublin and enter the lists in a Trinity College debate exploring the health crises in modern farming. I have just heard that IOFGA chairperson, Noreen Gibney has taken her annual leave early and will not now be available for the debate. So who will we have to represent organic interests? Am awaiting further information - Nov 8th.

Organic food is more poisoned than conventional food. Organic yields are very much lower than conventional. Organic fields are fungus infested. Activists promote organic agriculture to line their own pockets (although he may have dropped this particular line due to recent developments!). Pesticides and other synthetic chemicals in food pose no heath problems. Organic potatoes can kill you. In fact he inferred recently on Irish radio* that all food will kill you - that there are 20,000 times more natural carcinogens in food than there are synthetic pesticides. Is this his way of saying that life is a sexually transmitted disease? * Email me for a transcript of the interview, info1@planorganic.com

There is a plethora of information available to refute Trewavas' arguments. Here are some examples. Get The Facts Straight: Organic Agriculture Yields Are Good. This paper by American professor Bill Liebhardt* gives solid, scientific, peer-reviewed answers to the question of organic yields.

A brief summary of his conclusions shows that for different crops, in different parts of the US, over 154 growing seasons, organic produce yielded 95% in comparison to conventional high-input intensive farming. Individual crops yielded as follows; Maize - 94%; Wheat - 97%; Soya - 94% and in the case of a 14 year study of Tomatoes there was no appreciable difference in yields! For the full article, and an excellent parallel one by Prof Nancy Cramer on pesticides and organics, go to, www.ofrf.org/publications/news/IB10.pdf and for a good summary, to www.ngin.org.uk, Newsletter,12th October - Avery wrong, organic yields are good.

What the figures do not reflect however are the other benefits derived by organic producers: increased profit per acre, and improved soil quality as measured by soil structure, organic matter, biological activity, water infiltration and water-holding capacity. This translates to higher yields during drought under organic systems, leading to production stability year after year. Nitrogen and other fertiliser leaching too is reduced very considerably under organic agriculture, leading to less water pollution - a major ecological and community cost issue all over the world. Health benefits to consumers, savings to health authorities, import savings etc are just some of the other advantages accruing from organic farming.

*Bill Liebhardt, a sustainable agriculture specialist at the University of California, Davis, directed the statewide UC Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program (SAREP) from its inception in 1987 until 1999. SAREP, now in its 14th year, was the first university-based sustainable agriculture research program in the U.S. Liebhardt was shocked at the anti-organic attacks of Denis Avery and his Hudson Institute in the US and especially the spurious basis for his information on low organic yields.

To deal with some of the other aspects of Trewavas' anti-organic attack, an article, Organics enter the Science Wars, ISIS News No 11/12 October 2001, by Angela Ryan, refutes competently, point by point, the arguments put forward by Trewavas particularly in his much-quoted article, Urban Myths, Nature, March 2001. www.i-sis.org/isisnews/i-sisnews11-18.shtml. Institute of Science in Society, www.i-sis.org.

Another article in Nature, on organic apples is also very interesting. Not only were yields up to conventional figures but quality and taste were superior. When the measured improvement in soil quality and the extra value of the organic produce is taken into account, is the case made or what? http://www.nature.com/nsu/010419/010419-4.html

See also the Soil Association's Briefing Sheets, Manure Management in Organic Farming, The Biodiversity Benefits of Organic Farming, and the Organic Food Quality and Human Health Report, Sept. 2001. www.soilassociation.org.uk

The chapter, If I could just finish, in John Humphrey's, The Great Food Gamble, is also a good primer for a confrontational debate or interview on organic food production.

There is of course much, much more material to support the case for organic food.

Sustainable gain. For those of you with a few pre-Euros left after being forced out of your South Sea Eircom Bubble shares, consider putting your ill-gotten losses into something ethical and rewarding! Portfolio 21 (P21), a U.S. mutual fund with a global emphasis on sustainable corporations, beat both the S&P 500 and Morgan Stanley World Equity Index for the last two years ending September 30th. P21 is also celebrating its second birthday. Email: Carsten@Portfolio21.com/ and site at: www.portfolio21.com. For Full Text Visit: http://ens.lycos.com/e-wire/Oct01/29Oct0101.html.

Farmers and other suppliers half-Nelsoned by multiples. The new UK Government Code of Practice for Supermarkets - prepared in response to a Competition Commission report last year - was published yesterday. It has been given an immediate frosty reception by Friends of the Earth who say it is "weasel-worded" and "doesn't break the supermarkets' armlock on suppliers". www.foe.co.uk/pubsinfo/infoteam/pressrel/2001/20011031173111.html

Irish Examiner newspaper is in dispute with its freelance journalists over payment for on-line publication of their articles.The articles have been pulled from the Examiner's website in the meantime. My many URL references to David Storey's material in the past months will not now connect. You can catch up with David however in another way by visiting www.organicmattersmag.com. For example, see his views of the recent IOFGA Conference - you may find them more favourable than mine! See also his Organic World page in the Sept/Oct issue, especially the items, Wild in Alaska and Organic Slug of the Month Awards (one for everybody in the organic audience!). See too if you can spot the cause of Ireland's dismal organic registration - according to DS.

Edinburgh University is the centre of 'Botched Brains' scandal. The Institute for Animal Health, based at the Univ of Edinburgh and headed by Prof Chris Bostock, is the location of the BSE research that has been so villified in the press (see last week's News&Comment ) recently. The UK Farmers Weekly covered the story particularly well - 'a blunder of barely credible proportions' it rightly thundered, blaming the fiasco for causing 'incalculable damage' to the sheep industry. www.fwi.co.uk

Irish organic production is a niche market that should accept its role as such, seems to be what Dr Patrick Wall, head of the Food Safety Authority is telling us. In his confusing talk at the IOFGA conference recently, on the one hand he said; 'There can be no compromise on food safety...' Wholesome food is fundamental to the success of our hospitality industry'. Fine! But then he admonishes us for implying that there is anything wrong with conventional food because this 'reflects badly on the entire food chain'. And here we have it! Here is the future he sees for organic farming! 'The organic sector can assist in putting Ireland up in lights as a centre for excellent food'. He then goes on to quote the example of the award-winning farm-house cheese sector lighting the way for the 'commodity cheddars' to trade on their reputation. This is how he appears to see organic food - as a cover for the big processors - a marketing tool for 'the little unspoilt green isle', The Food Isle in Europe. Meanwhile don't rock the boat - we're squeaky clean! www.fsai.ie

GM companies froth at the mouth as EU "neo-colonialism"* triumphs. The EU has given the thumbs down to GM crops this week as it refused to lift the three year ban on the testing of GM crops. EU Environment Minister, Margot Wallstrom, is a glum lass, now that her advice has been ignored. She warns that the American-led GM industry will probably now mount a legal challenge to overthrow the ruling.

*International Food Policy Research Institute, MD, Per Pinstrup-Andersen said earlier this year that "efforts by European countries to force other nations to adopt their bans on GM products were a form of neo-colonialism".

Scotland in the mire again. Prominent teacher, editor and activist Jonathan Mathews presents letter to Scottish Education Minister criticising pro-GM learning/propaganda materials in schools. www.ngin.org.uk Newsletter 1/11/2001 - Letter to the Minister.

Private Eye - Not The Foot and Mouth Report claims to be an exposè of govt cockups over the handling of the FMD outbreak. This is real Halloween stuff! It claims a) the illegal destruction of millions of healthy animals, b) lawbreaking by govt officials on an unprecedented scale, c) handing over direction of strategy to scientists without any expertise in animal diseases - and d) the massaging of official figures to support Tony Blair's election plans. On sale in the UK from now. Order direct from 0207228 6457 or visit www.private-eye.co.uk

Organic Action Plan for the UK? Only a hint so far - '...the aim of making the UK a European leader in organic farming and launching an organic action plan after the Commission on the Future of Farming and Food has reported' This gushing sentence was included in a wide-ranging speech by DEFRA Sec Mgt Beckett last week. www.number-10.gov.uk/ and www.organicts.com Organic Newsline, 1st Nov.

Organic Shoppers May Not Be Who You Think They Are is the title of a report by the American Food Marketing Institute that shows some interesting if quirky statistics on organic consumers. www.fmi.org. I have a synopsis from NGIN if FMI don't deliver.

News Flash! 1/11/2001 - 7.15pm. EU food safety czar, David Byrne, on foot of 'encouraging' BSE figures, may review ban on T-bone steaks. Who's waiting?