An " Organic " Opportunity !

Remember the news headlines when several Australian deaths last summer were blamed on pathogens getting into the melon crop  ?  We were warned to discard any melon fruit in the fridge, bought before a given date and a lot of people suffered a milder stomach reaction before the warning alerted the nation.

There has been a reaction from the Department of Agriculture.  They are proposing that seed for Australia's brassicaceous crop - and that includes broccoli, cauliflowers, kale, rocket, cabbage, turnips, bok choy, Brussel sprouts and radishes - be subjected to compulsory fungicide treatment on entering this country.  Seeds for all these vegetables is almost entirely imported.

That has caused panic in the Australian organic industry.   The Australian Certified Organic Organization is quick to point out that fumigated seeds would prevent these vegetables being described as " organic ". Fumigating the seeds would negate the standard that the end product was free of pesticide and that was the reason that it attracted a higher price in the market.  Many shoppers were happy to pay more to gain the benefit of this safety standard.

Agriculture is surely the oldest industry known to humankind, and over the centuries there was a common  knowledge source that farmers applied to their trade.  They preserved seed from each years crop to allow replanting in the coming new season.

If pathogens can enter this country on unfumigated seed there is obviously need - and opportunity - for a local seed growing and distribution network to take care of that problem, or the organic industry needs to reapply its standards.

Most people who buy organic vegetables probably couldn't care less if the actual seed had been fumigated.   What they want is vegetables grown in soil that has not  been treated with  all sorts of artificial fertilizer and sprayed with poisons to retard weed growth.  Perhaps we need a descriptive differentiation to describe this difference.  " Totally organic " to describe that grown from unfumigated seed - and just " Organic "  for produce grown in organic conditions after germination.

Some people are very particular in their selection of organic produce, but the vast majority buy it and pay a higher price simply because they think if may he " healthier " than produce not sold under that description.  Most likely, a lot of produce claimed to be organic may not attain the standards that apply to that description, or just partially meet those standards.   Much as the description of " free range " eggs can cover a wide description of the way the hen that lays them can be housed.

Those melon poisonings delivered a warning.  Pathogens can travel on seeds and our vast agricultural industry needs to adapt to this new fumigation regime.  The obvious answer is for the creation of a seed collation and distribution network within this country to remove the need for seed to be imported - and that is an obvious opportunity for an entrepreneur.