Taste the difference, make a difference

With awareness growing of the importance of the quality of food we eat and products we use in our homes, Australians are increasingly adopting organic practices and materials.

Next week (Monday 20 to Sunday 26 September 2021) is National Organic Week (NOW), time dedicated to increasing awareness of the benefits of organic products and farming production systems and accelerating their uptake in the wider Australian community and environment.

Costa Georgiadis, Ambassador of National Organic Week, says that as consumers, we all want food we can recognise and trust.

“Buying organic products supports food safety, health, good nutrition and the environment”, he says.

“Products that carry the logo of an accredited organic certification body are guaranteed to be genuine organic.”

It’s not just our families that benefit from organic practices, either. The role of organic practices and systems plays a pivotal role in supporting natural systems of regeneration where waste does not exist but instead revolves through the system to complete the Circular Economy cycle, in so many ways.

1. Organic & Biodynamic Farming
A certified farming system that cycles carbon and nutrients, optimises productivity and at the same time protects the environment, minimises soil degradation and erosion which will promote a sound state of health for the land by preventing the use of pesticides and chemical fertilisers.

2. Regenerative and Sustainable Farming
These systems look to find a beneficial balance between the need for food production and the preservation of the ecological systems within the environment. There is a predominant use of sustainable recycled organic inputs in production.

3. Organic carbon and fertilizers
Compost as nature’s fertilizer diverts food waste from going to landfill with its nutrients reused as fertiliser and recycled back into the circular economy, offsetting greenhouse gas emissions in the environment through carbon sequestration and amelioration.

4. Organics promote biodiversity
Organic farming systems that use compost as organic fertiliser promote soil organic matter and fertility, which in turn boost biological activity within the soil and farm land.

5. Organic Bio-filtration
In lesser-known applications, recycled organic materials are used in bio-filters to treat run-off in urban locations and at farms, removing pollutants in storm water before it travels into our waterways.

Apart from growing your own food with minimum chemicals, you can support Australia’s growing band of organic producers and manufacturers by voting for your favourites on the NOW website, organicweek.net.au.