Organics Winegrowers NZ: Talking Points on the Organic Products Bill
OANZ and our member organisations have been campaigning for organic legislation for many years. The Organic Products Bill will harmonise and enforce organic standards to increase consumer confidence in organic products, increase certainty for organic businesses, and facilitate international trade for New Zealand organic producers.
As we continue to work with the Primary Select Committee to get this Bill right for the sector, it is also important that we are all able to communicate why organics and why this Bill are essential for New Zealand.
Our member, Organics Winegrowers New Zealand wrote the following talking points as part of its lobbying and communications efforts. These can easily be adopted by anyone and are helpful when talking to the government or media.
We encourage organic stakeholders to use clear and consistent messaging to help boost our sector’s credibility. It is important that we present a unified sector to push home the relevance and political necessity of organic agriculture for the long term future of New Zealand.
Talking Points
Why Organic?
Global market growth: Organic is one of the fastest-growing sectors of the food & beverage market. The organic market is growing consistently every year. This trend is forecast to continue as consumers demand healthy safe products with high standards of traceability.
Growing production in New Zealand: Organic production is growing steadily in New Zealand to meet international demand. The 2018 OANZ market report found that the New Zealand organic sector grew 30% in three years, reaching a value of $600 million per year in 2018.
Health and ecological benefits: Organic production supports human health for both farmers and consumers. It supports a healthy environment, including rivers, soils and biodiversity. Organic agriculture also has strong potential to make farms more resilient to climate change.
A better future for NZ: As a nation, we need to focus on producing high-value, eco-friendly products in order to protect both our environment and our economy. Organic production strongly aligns with an optimal future for NZ primary production.
Why Is Organic Regulation Important?
We are falling behind our peers. New Zealand is one of the only developed countries with no regulation of our organic market. This is damaging our organic market in multiple ways.
Risks to the market and consumers in NZ. Without regulation, consumers in New Zealand have no assurance that organic-labelled products are actually organic. This undermines the integrity of organic products in the marketplace and opens the doorway for fraud and consumer confusion.
Threats to global trade. Our lack of organic regulation also puts New Zealand at a disadvantage in international trade, making it increasingly difficult for New Zealand to make organic trade agreements with other countries.
Protecting our reputation. Organic regulation will improve New Zealand's reputation as a producer of high-integrity products with strong eco-credentials. This is essential to our position in the global marketplace.
Image courtesy of Herzog Vineyards,