Critical Overview on Organic Legislation for Animal Production: Towards Conventionalization of the System?

Abstract

Adoption of organic animal production legislation, particularly at the Community level, is done with a spirit of compromise and an attempt to reach consensus. In this sense, legal tools are used to solve technical problems so that an appreciable number of derogations (exceptions) are introduced. These may allow the use of certain feed additives, tethered animals or even application of castration. However, derogations should be avoided in legislation where harmonization is pursued, since they bring about distortion in the marketing of organic products. The validity of these derogations has expiry dates. However, at least the EU was hesitant to proceed with the necessary amendments to lift these derogations so that eliminate ambiguities and block loopholes. In turn, mention is made to geographical issues raised from the exceptions question posed again with the new EU Regulations. Furthermore some thoughts are expressed concerning the relationship between setting standards and the crucial role of values in agriculture, organic in particular, social aspects and pursued policy. Finally, the essential feature of this work is that derogations in legislation inevitably lead to conventionalization of organic animal production, which necessitates the clear definition of “organic”. To substantiate this, relevant arguments are put forward

Animal Health and Productivity of Organic Greek Pig Farms: The Current Situation and Prospects for Sustainability

“…EU Council regulations (EC-1804/1999 and EC-834/2007) describe the rules for the appropriate risk assessment measures and include the concept of the production of processed feeds and criteria concerning products and substances used (e.g., non-organic feed materials and feed additives) in feed production [ 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 ]. For example, the main feed requirements for organic pigs are: Organic swine must be fed organic feed containing primarily organic grains and protein sources preferred by the unit itself or by other units or enterprises subject to the regulations [ 9 , 10 , 11 ], feeding is for quality assurance rather than production maximization and must meet the nutritional needs of the animals at various stages of development. Compulsory feeding is prohibited [ 9 , 10 , 11 ], Up to 30% of the feed formula of the rations on average may consist of in-conversion feed.…”

“…For example, the main feed requirements for organic pigs are: Organic swine must be fed organic feed containing primarily organic grains and protein sources preferred by the unit itself or by other units or enterprises subject to the regulations [ 9 , 10 , 11 ], feeding is for quality assurance rather than production maximization and must meet the nutritional needs of the animals at various stages of development. Compulsory feeding is prohibited [ 9 , 10 , 11 ], Up to 30% of the feed formula of the rations on average may consist of in-conversion feed. If the in-conversion feeds come from a unit of the farm itself, this percentage may be increased to 60% [ 9 , 10 , 11 ], GMOs and GMO products shall not be used in the production of feed in organic pig production [ 9 , 10 , 11 ] and feed containing minerals, trace elements, vitamins or provitamins shall be of natural origin.…”

Factors Limiting the Development of the Organic Food Sector—Perspective of Processors, Distributors, and Retailers

“…Policy support provided for farming focuses mainly on productivity and undervalues sustainable farming practices [75]. Such regulatory limitations hinder the conversion of conventional farms and food processing companies into organic systems [76,77].…”

Organic Livestock Farming — Challenges, Perspectives, and Strategies to Increase Its Contribution to the Agrifood System’s Sustainability — A Review

“…However, these topics are not covered by the organic regulations, and most of the organic products have been produced and marketed through the mainstream agrifood system; conventional marketing channels characterized by the concentration of production, exporting most of the production, low domestic consumption, and concentration in supply centers and large retail chains. This orientation of organic production into conventional marketing channels and production systems (monocultures and agrochemicals) has been well-documented and is known as "conventionalization" of the organic production and "input substitution" [128].…”