Natural farming offers less hassle to producers than organic: study

Despite a growing demand and marketplace for organic food, the unofficial report is that the producion of Canadian organic goods is diminishing due to the regulations that required mandatory inspection of products to make the claim to be organic for goods that are being shipped nationally and internationally. There is a massive market in Canada for organic foods, one that has increased by 600 million over two years, yet we import 75% of our organic foods to meet the demand that could be filled by local suppliers - that is if they had the incentive and government cooperation to rejoin or join the industry.

Regulating the organic foods industry is fine, and arguably nessecary to prevent farmers from cashing in on the "buy us we're organic" that are not at all, however when it reaches the extent that people begin to leave the industry due to inter-province and international shipping regulations, its gone too far. To make matters worse, Canada food producers are not at all evenly distributed, so preventing the export of goods from the areas of high production with shipping regulations would have detremental effects on the areas that need to import from out of province.

There is clearly significant potential for the expansion of the organic industry, such as the ""opportunity for 20,000 new acres of organic forage seed” to sell alfalfa and other organic forage seed into the United States." Judging from this, the easing of organic regulations and inspections which has been scaring farmers from the prospect could definetly boost Canadian exports and return farmers to the field of organic farming, while creating a far more sustainable an.d independant enviorment

The artical mentions the ride of natural foods, yet leaves their actual impact and even their definition completely ambiguous and open ended. However, it seems that many of the organic farmers are moving to natural farming to take advantage of the more lenient or all togeather non-existant regulation. I've never heard or seem any significant "natural foods" selection of any food store, so perhaps there will be a shift resulting in the promotion of natural foods and their take over.