ORGANIC GROUP OKS PRODUCE FLOWN IN FROM DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

A leading organic organisation in the UK recently said it would continue to certify air freighted fresh produce from developing countries, despite concerns over their "carbon footprint." The decision followed extensive stakeholder consultations, and came with strings attached - the agricultural products would also have to adhere to strict ethical standards.

While the bulk of internationally traded goods are transported by water, roads and rail, aviation also plays an important and grwoing role. According to the UK organic certifier, emissions of greenhouse gases related to air freighted goods are 177 times greater than those associated with marine transport, and the group had been considering whether to stop labelling products based on their carbon footprint (see Bridges Trade BioRes, 22 June 2007, http://www.ictsd.org/biores/07-06-22/story3.htm). However, the export of fresh organic produce provides significant development benefits and opportunities for export-led growth for some of the poorest and most vulnerable countries in the world.

In related news, preliminary results of a study on the emissions from marine transport show that greenhouse gas emissions may be as high as double previously thought.

Organic air freighted goods with strings attached

The UK-based Soil Association, a leading certifier of organic products, said on 25 October that it would apply the organic label to air freighted food from developing countries if they adhered to its Ethical Trade standard or a standard developed by the Fair Trade association.

The Soil Association had been conducting a four-month consultative process, with participants stressing the need to consider the wider emissions context, including the full supply chain for both imported and local organic products in any comparison.

The Soil Association is seeking to push exporters to seek alternatives to air freighting whenever possible, Anna Bradley, chairwoman of the Soil Association said. She noted that "It is neither sustainable nor responsible to encourage poorer farmers to be reliant on air freight, but we recognise that building alternative markets that offer the same social and economic benefits as organic exports take time."

"Our aim is to minimise airfreight by encouraging alternatives, such other forms of shipping, and creating local organic markets," she added.

The Soil Association will be working on the standards over 2008, so they can come into effect in 2009. The exporters would be obliged to comply with the additional ethical standards by 2011.

Exporters weary of additional hurdles

Reactions to the Soil Association announcement have been mixed. Development charity Oxfam welcomed the decision, noting the benefits of applying fair trade standards. Duncan Green, head of research at Oxfam, stressed that "curbing greenhouse gas emissions is an urgent and vital task, but rich countries should start by putting their own houses in order, not by effectively boycotting poor ones." He also said that any new requirements should be phased in gradually, and vulnerable producers should be provided support to comply with them.

Alexander Kasterine, an expert on trade and development International Trade Centre (ITC) said, however, that the Soil Association was missing the point. Its decision "does not address the environmental issue that was at the origin of the debate," according to Kasterine. He said "Food transport has nothing to do with working conditions of farm workers, and only a small proportion of these exporters are currently using fair trade or ethical trade standards." Meeting additional standards would imply additional costs in the future. Patricia Francis, ITC's executive director said, "Organic production in Africa has been an export success story. ITC is disappointed that the Soil Association will make it harder for African companies to enter lucrative markets. African companies and cooperatives want to trade internationally. To get value-added organic foods onto retail shelves, they have an overwhelming amount of standards to meet. Meeting these standards costs money - laboratories, audits and more. Too many standards will hurt African farmers."

The Kenya High Commission in London drew attention to the development benefits its emergent perishable goods industry provides, which supports one million Kenyans. The country has been highly critical of the food miles concept, and launched a campaign dubbed 'Grown under the Sun' to inform British consumers about the development benefits associated with sourcing fresh produce from Kenya. The Kenya High Commission called for a sense of proportion, quoting UK Trade and Development minister Gareth Thomas who said that "driving around six miles to a supermarket to buy some Kenyan green beans emits the same amount of carbon as air-freighting that pack of green beans."

Emissions from marine transport on the rise

Meanwhile, Intertanko, a global group representing tanker operators, has released informal preliminary data showing that greenhouse gas emissions from marine transport have grown rapidly, and are almost twice as high as previously thought. The rapid growth over the last six years is due both to the growing volume of trade, and increasing shipping speed that leads to more fuel being burned. Environmental groups in the US have been pushing for limits on greenhouse gas emissions from marine vessels in US territorial waters (see Bridges Trade BioRes, 5 October 2007, http://www.ictsd.org/biores/07-10-05/story2.htm).

The Intertanko report, when competed, will feed into the International Maritime Organisation, which deals, among other things, with emissions from shipping.

Additional resources

To access the documents from the Soil Association consultation on air freighted goods, visit http://www.soilassociation.org/airfreight

"Ships' CO2 'twice that of planes'," BBC ONLINE, 19 October 2007; "UK Organic Group Says Air-Freight Food OK if Aids Poor," REUTERS, 26 October 2007; "Organic not organic if it's air-freighted, says Soil Association," FOODQUALITYNEWS, 25 October 2007; "ITC and Soil Association debate merits of air freight standards," NEWCONSUMER, 1 November 2007.