Organic Summit

COABC’s Executive Director, Jen Gamble, was in Ottawa on Nov. 18 and 19 for the Canada Organic Trade Association’s Organic Summit. This annual two-day event offers an opportunity to learn what’s going on in Canada’s organic sector and network with industry members via presentations, roundtable discussions and workshops.

This year’s theme was “Organic is part of the Solution,” which delved into the United Nations’ sustainable development goals and the link to organic. To bring the theme to life, COTA partnered with Dutch organic specialist Eosta to dig deeper into the new report, Organic Agriculture and the Sustainable Development Goals.

Here are a few highlights from the event:

• Dag Falck, President of COTA, spoke about Organic 3.0 and the need for clarity and balance in the messaging. The organic sector is in a position to share the learnings of 30+ years experience to widen the impact of organic practices and encourage those not yet certified to adopt sustainable practices
• Andy Hammermeister from the Organic Agriculture Centre of Canada (OACC) made the connection between organic agriculture and Sustainable Development Goal 6: Water
• Stats Canada representatives presented the new data they’ve been able to collect on the organic fruit and vegetable sector and how these numbers can help the organic sector leverage government funding

One of the most memorable sessions was the discussion on how to bring Social Fairness into the Organic Standard. At the moment it is an information piece attached to the standard but the hope is that with further discussion, it will become embedded in the standard itself.

This has its roots at the COABC conference session when Raul Gatica of the Migrant Workers’ Dignity Association gave the participants insight into the plight of the migrant workers. From there, Anne Macey wrote a late submission to the standards review process, which we believe is an addendum now.  The discussion is continuing and our hope is that the organic sector will become leaders in agriculture on this issue.

Thanks to COTA for putting on such an important event. We’re already looking forward to next year!

Feature image: Tobias Blandel, Keynote Speaker