The people who are drafting a new national organic standard are concerned that one of the fundamental principles enshrined in the standard is under attack.
Canadian Organic Initiative co-ordinator Paddy Doherty said senior officials in the Canadian Food Inspection Agency have suggested the standard should require that organic poultry be kept indoors to protect the public against an outbreak of avian flu.
“If the threat from avian influenza increases, so does the challenge to the principle of outdoor access,” Doherty said.
And that, he said, would be disastrous because it is one of the fundamental guiding principles of organic animal husbandry.
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Carolyn Inch, national manager of disease control with the CFIA, said there are concerns with large outdoor flocks of poultry because they can be in contact with wild ducks, which are known carriers of avian flu.
While the agency is encouraging owners of all commercial flocks to adopt biosecurity protocols that include keeping the animals indoors, it has no way of enforcing those measures because its mandate is disease response and not disease prevention.
However, she said organic producers should understand there is a move afoot on other fronts to accomplish that goal.
“They should be aware, and I think Paddy Doherty is aware, that there are forces gathering.”
For instance, producers operating in the supply-managed sector must implement certain biosecurity measures as a condition of receiving quota.
As well, Quebec adopted legislation last November requiring that all flocks be raised indoors.
“A lot of countries in Europe have done the same,” Inch said. “That to me would be a good, clear signal that the concern has increased.”
Doherty said the organic poultry sector should prepare to defend the long-held principle of outdoor access.
“They should be getting themselves organized.”
He said Canadian producers could collaborate with those facing similar threats around the world through the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements to determine a common approach to the problem.
Doherty pointed out there is an argument to be made that crowding animals indoors creates ideal conditions for the spread of diseases while exposure to the outdoors can improve an animal’s immune system.
“There is no proof that keeping them indoors is going to help.”
However, Inch said it is a sensible measure that would minimize contact with populations of waterfowl that may be carrying strains of avian flu.
