Soil & Health Media Releases
The Soil & Health Association actively campaigns for change to create an Organic New Zealand.Link to all Soil & Health Press Releases
Contacts
The Association employs Steffan Browning as our spokesperson to represent us in the media. He can be contacted in regard to all of our media releases and campaigns.Steffan Browning
Phone: 021 725 655
Email: steffan@buyorganic.co.nz
The people listed below can also be contacted regarding GE-free, additives in food, pesticides and organics.
Dr Elvira Dommisse, Soil & Health Association Co-chair and Former Crop & Food Scientist
Phone: 03 9422 748
Email: elvira@clear.net.nz
Claire Bleakley, President GE Free NZ in food and environment
Phone: 06 308 9842, 027 348 6731
Email: p.bleakley@orcon.net.nz
www.gefree.org.nz
Alison White, Co-convenor Safe Food Campaign
Phone: 04 476 8607, 021 1699 120
alison@safefood.org.nz
www.safefood.org.nz
Dr Meriel Watts, Pesticide Action Network Aotearoa
Phone: 027 602 3194
Email: merielwatts@xtra.co.nz
www.panap.net
Organics Aotearoa New Zealand - Organic sector umbrella group
Phone: 04 890 3769
www.oanz.co.nz
Campaigns
Our spokesperson, National Council (governance body) members and other volunteers write submissions on campaign issues. Some of those are available here: Submissions & Campaign InformationMagazine articles
Some magazine articles are made available on this website. You can find them by looking through the content lists of the current and past issues. Or you can read the list of articles here: Organic NZ Magazine ArticlesPrimary Growth Partnership Funding - Great Organic Opportunity
The $321 million Primary Growth Partnership (PGP) funding announced yesterday would have significant potential for genuine sustainability and Brand New Zealand, if organic and biological farming systems were the focus of the investment, however if focus is on more synthetic intellectual property and commodity hyper-production under a guise of sustainability, an opportunity will once again have...
Added: 18 Aug 10
GE Food Ingredients Need Immediate Investigation
News today from GE Free NZ shows that a complex pesticide riddled genetically engineered (GE) corn, Smartstax, is being allowed into the New Zealand food supply without assessment by food regulators.(1)Already 64 GE food lines and more than 14 GE food processing aids have been allowed through the Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) assessment process, but none have contained anything...
Added: 16 Aug 10
New Zealand animal cloning needs to stop
New Zealand needs a ban on animal cloning, food from cloned animals and a verification process put in for imported foods to ensure compliance for New Zealand consumers, according to the Soil & Health Association of New Zealand. Soil & Health also wants the New Zealand Food Safety...
Added: 9 Aug 10
Organic Dairy Farmers Don’t Abort Calves
Unlike the 200,000 cows callously induced to bring cow herds into milking at the same time, certified organic herds are never at risk of such practices according to the Soil & Health Association of New Zealand.“Consumers of certified organic milk, cheese and yoghurt can feel confident...
Added: 2 Aug 10
Plant & Food, Lincoln University, MAF and MoRST Risk Brand New Zealand
Genetic engineering (GE) experiments by Plant & Food Research and Lincoln University need to be reconsidered following new reported failures by government agencies in managing GE risks at Plant & Food’s Lincoln facilities, according to the Soil & Health Association of New...
Added: 1 Aug 10
Pesticide Residues in Food - Worst Ever
The Food Safety Authority’s latest pesticide residue results are a nightmare: they are the worst results I have ever seen," said Dr Meriel Watts of Pesticide Action Network Aotearoa New Zealand.(1)* Pesticide residues found in 94% of targeted fruit and vege samples* Prohibited...
Added: 28 Jul 10
Something smells at Scion GE tree site
The Environmental Risk Management Authority (ERMA) has the confidence of crown forest research institute Scion to such a degree that Scion is prepared to spend many thousands of tax payers dollars building new GE field trial space even before an application for an intended 4000 genetically...
Added: 12 Jul 10
GE: don't swallow it
Kyra Xavia investigates how genetically engineered ingredients sneak
into our food unlabelled, and offers tips to avoid eating themLike
many Organic NZ readers you may be a conscious consumer who makes
informed decisions about the food you eat. Unfortunately you may also be
‘eating...
Added: 1 Jul 10
GE Plants And Animals Do Not Belong In Clean Green 100% Pure NZ.
With a continued effort towards genetically engineering New Zealand pasture plants and developing herds of genetically engineered (GE) animals, AgResearch appears to miss the meaning of clean green 100% Pure, according to the Soil & Health Association of New Zealand.
“AgResearch in...
Added: 16 Jun 10
New Zealand Exporters Cheating India
Methyl bromide fumigation of logs for India at Picton this weekend is not expected to meet phytosanitary requirements due to cold temperatures and so unnecessarily risks the health of the community and environment, according to the Soil & Health Association of NZ.
The log ship Maipo River...
Added: 10 Jun 10
Caged Poultry Farmer’s Imprisonment Justifies Animal Liberators Efforts
The New Zealand Food Safety Authority (NZFSA) is to be congratulated for successfully prosecuting a poultry farmer for animal welfare offences, but should be exposing other cruel poultry farmers,...
Added: 26 May 10
Levin Branch Newsletter April 2010
ORGANIC GROWING NEWS Newsletter 270 – April 2010 Levin Branch, NZ Soil & Health Associationwww.organicnz.org/branch/LevinPatron Fay Te Kira 364 5168Treasurer Liz Baucke...
Added: 19 May 10
USA GE trees approval will reflect negatively on NZ
The approval by the United States GE regulator for 260,000 New Zealand raised genetically engineered (GE) eucalyptus trees for 28 field trials through seven US states is not something for New...
Added: 13 May 10
Increased Science Funding, An Opportunity For Clean And Green NZ
The Budget’s new science funding increase should speed correction of key flaws in New Zealand’s Clean Green 100% Pure environmental reputation, and boost conversion to organic...
Added: 12 May 10
Soil & Health Congratulates ERMA
The recommendations by the Environmental Risk Management Authority (ERMA) staff that the Authority declines AgResearch’s four very broad applications for more genetically engineered (GE)...
Added: 3 May 10
AgResearch's Cruel Experiments Cover A Wide Range of Animals
New revelations of cruel outcomes on experimental genetically engineered (GE) calves at AgResearch’s GE facility are likely to be just the tip of the iceberg according to the Soil &...
Added: 3 May 10
Picton Methyl Bromide Gas Release Risky Again
The Picton community was tonight again at risk of methyl bromide fumigation gas exposure, as log fumigators in Shakespeare Bay released tons of the neurotoxic gas with light breeze flowing onto...
Added: 3 May 10
Safe food storage
Kyra Xavia investigates at the health risks of plastic used for food
packaging and storage, and offers suggestions for healthy alternativesPlastic
pervades every area of our life. Unfortunately...
Added: 1 May 10
The Dirty Dozen
Article from Organic NZ magazine, May/June 2010 Published by the Soil & Health Association of New Zealand
- Which foods in New Zealand have the most pesticide residues? -...
Added: 1 May 10
Muesli – not as healthy as it seems, unless it's organic
The latest results from the New Zealand Food Safety Authority’s (NZFSA) Total Diet Survey raise concerns about the number of pesticides being found in muesli.
The 4th quarter sampling...
Protest Against Methyl Bromide Gas Release - 22 Apr 10Added: 25 Apr 10
ERMA GE Decision Smells of US and Political Influence - 16 Apr 10
Levin Branch Newsletter March 2010 - 4 Apr 10
Bethells Herbicides and Taranakis 1080 A National Issue - 8 Mar 10
Conflict of Interest By GE Animals Hearing Chair - 2 Mar 10
New Pro-1080 Alliance Lacks Sustainability Vision - 11 Feb 10
Animal Cruelty Legislation Needs To Consider 1080 Effects - 2 Feb 10
Bethells Spraying Risks Environment and Community Effects - 2 Feb 10
Levin Branch Newsletter February 2010 - 1 Feb 10
NGO's call for Diet drink's aspartame to be dumped in favour of natural sweeteners - 10 Jan 10
Levin Branch Newsletter January 2010 - 1 Jan 10
What We Want For Christmas - Strawberry Growers To Go Organic - 22 Dec 09
Global Research Alliance In New Zealand At Risk Of Unsustainable Outcomes - 22 Dec 09
Organic Sector Firmly Opposed To Genetically Engineered Animals - 20 Dec 09
Celery at top of dirty dozen - 13 Dec 09
Clean Up Lincoln Countryside and Clean Out NZs GE Labs - 2 Dec 09
GE Food and Environment Regulators Need Changing - 12 Nov 09
ERMAs Chemical Cowboy Approach To Methyl Bromide Branded Reckless - 6 Nov 09
Levin Branch Newsletter November/December 2009 - 1 Nov 09
Food Safety Minister Needs To Question GE Food Safety and Labelling. - 26 Oct 09
Port Marlboroughs Independent Fumigation Monitoring A Sham - 5 Oct 09
Levin Branch Newsletter October 2009 - 1 Oct 09
Marlborough Needs To Clean Up Its Air - 17 Sep 09
Levin Branch Newsletter September 2009 - 1 Sep 09
US Commentator Calls New Zealand GE Trees Irresponsible - 24 Aug 09
Pesticide residues in food shows need for organics - 19 Aug 09
Proposed Amendment to the New Zealand Folic Acid Standard - 11 Aug 09
Federated Farmers Bees Man Ambushing Beekeepers GE Protection - 21 Jul 09
Life Sciences Confused About GE Risk - 16 Jul 09
Power-down pioneer - 1 Jul 09
Eucalypts: Sustainable timber - 1 Jul 09
MAF dodging Plant & Food's $10million GE liability - 28 Jun 09
A Quarter Million NZ Raised GE Eucalyptus Trees Intended for Planting in US - 28 Jun 09
NZ Pesticide Use / Cancer Link Shows Need For Support - 22 Jun 09
NZ Should Note Tasmanias Clean Green GE Free Approach - 22 May 09
Picton Fumigators Will Fail Safety & Indian Requirements - 21 May 09
NZ Free Range Pigs Farmers Deserve CoOL Support - 21 May 09
GE Ingredients In Inghams Chicken Feed - 17 May 09
Port Marlboroughs Monitoring of Methyl Bromide Failed - 15 May 09
Logs From Methyl Bromide Free Nelson To Be Fumigated - 11 May 09
Picton Fumigators May Fail Safety and Indian Requirements - 4 May 09
Levin Branch Newsletter May 2009 - 1 May 09
Picton getting tonnes of toxic gas again - 30 Apr 09
Levin Branch Newsletter February 2009 - 1 Apr 09
MAF-Biosecurity NZ and Plant & Food still not taking GE risk seriously - 25 Mar 09
Levin Branch Newsletter March 2009 - 1 Mar 09
News from the Frontline - 1 Mar 09
Methyl Bromide Fumigation Supported By Marlborough District Council - 12 Feb 09
Plant & Food's GE Brassica Trial Closure Celebrated - 10 Feb 09
Methyl bromide fumigant bouquet for Picton this Valentines Day - 1 Feb 09
Plant & Food Research needs to drop GE - 14 Jan 09
NGOs visit GE field trial site today - 12 Jan 09
Levin Branch Newsletter January 2009 - 1 Jan 09
NZ Bans Endosulfan - 15 Dec 08
Country of Origin Labelling fairness wanted by NZ consumers - 3 Nov 08
New editor at Organic NZ - 16 Oct 08
Kiwi poll rejects GE animals - 12 Oct 08
ERMA’s GE horse vaccine use must be determined by ERMA - 8 Oct 08
GE protest in Wellington against the end of A GE Free NZ - 7 Oct 08
Aspartame promotion again lacks independence - 24 Sep 08
Cervical Cancer and the HPV Vaccine - 1 Sep 08
Pointless field trials cost us millions - 1 Sep 08
Soap Nut Tree Sapindus mukorossi - 1 Sep 08
Pesticide residues in Australian veges show need for Country of Origin Labelling - 1 Sep 08
More endosulfan residues found in food as ERMA submission period closes - 8 Aug 08
Mapua report shows systemic problems with environmental protection - 29 Jul 08
More endosulfan in tomatoes – this time Australian ones are worse - 23 Jul 08
Ban highly persistent pesticide from our food - 10 Jul 08
Endosulfan: NZ exports at risk – is ERMA listening? - 4 Jul 08
Endosulfan: An appalling ‘proposed’ insecticide decision by ERMA - 30 Jun 08
MfE, ERMA and MED need to protect ozone layer and community health now - 26 Jun 08
Scion’s GE trees damage NZ’s reputation on Arbor Day and World Environment Day - 5 Jun 08
Highly toxic Endosulfan found in lettuce, strawberries, courgettes - 13 May 08
Scion’s GE Tree Field Trial Research Result Claims Unsubstantiated - 5 May 08
Wellington Regional Council’s independence compromised - 21 Apr 08
Review shows that NZ is not ready for GE production - time for Organics to lead the way - 16 Apr 08
Get diet drinks out of our schools! - 16 Apr 08
Euthanase GE animals, don’t create more! - 11 Apr 08
New GE onions trial a waste of resources - 11 Apr 08
Food safety review lacks true independence - 27 Mar 08
