Hurry to add your input:Organic Salmon Farming

PETITIONING
Canadian General Standards Board(Mark Schuessler)
STARTED BY
Bronwen Barnett
Vancouver, Canada
OVERVIEW
Make sure your voice is heard on the proposed “organic” standard!

We expect the organic label to mean the food we're buying is produced in a way that is better for the environment and our health. But right now, the Canadian General Standards Board has proposed 'organic' aquaculture standards that would certify aquaculture practices that are already harming our oceans.

Draft two of the standard is now being considered for Canadian regulation and is open to a FINAL public comment period. This is your last chance to have your say count.

The proposed organic standards for farmed fish will allow the use of synthetic parasiticides, up to 100% non-organic and potentially unsustainable wild fish feed and net-cages which scientific evidence has linked to negatively harming wild salmon and marine ecosystems.

Organic aquaculture standards should adhere to the same set of principles used in standards for other organically certified food products. Unfortunately this is not the case with the proposed organic aquaculture standard.

The public comment period is open until May 31, 2011 and we are urging residents of Canada and consumers in the United States to take action and oppose the organic certification of net-cage salmon farms. The US remains the largest market for Canadian farmed salmon and until US organic aquaculture standards are passed into regulation, Canadian “organic” salmon could be sold on American shelves and menus.

Note: We will add this formal comment submission as an addendum to this petition.

Posted by the Coastal Alliance for Aquaculture Reform



Read Petition Letter
PETITION LETTER
Organic aquaculture standards need to be consistent with existing organic standards

Greetings,

Re: The proposed Canadian Organic Aquaculture Standard

Components of the proposed Canadian Organic Aquaculture Standard violate the very principles of organic production.

The standards allow for the use of parasiticides which is inconsistent with current organic standards and what consumers have come to expect when choosing organic. The standards also allow more wild fish to be used in feed than farmed fish produced, allowing a net-loss of marine protein that depletes natural systems. Organic principles within the aquaculture standard state biological productivity must be maximized.

The standards do not include strong measures to prevent well-documented impacts of net-cages on the health of wild salmon and marine ecosystems:

• Escapes of farmed fish
• Uncontrolled disposal of fish feces into the ocean
• Release of synthetic parasticides directly into the ocean
• Entanglement deaths of marine mammals, and
• The spread of disease and parasites

In the very least, a Canadian organic aquaculture standard needs to reflect practices that address the well-researched impacts of aquaculture. Such a standard would support producers that are using innovative practices to deliver truly sustainable products.

I urge the Canadian General Standards Board to ensure that the “Canadian Organic Aquaculture” standard does not accommodate either the use of non-organic, wild fish as feed or open net-cage systems. It is our hope that the organic label will continue to provide consumers with a clear and consistent understanding of how their food is produced and ensure them that their choice of an organic food product supports a safer, more humane, more sustainable environment.

Sincerely,
The Undersigned

[Your name]

Blogger: You can post your letter online and it will be added to the petition or contact Coastal Alliance for Aquaculture Reform
The info sent out above was sent out by David Suzuki and you can also go to his site. You can also go to: www.change.org