Rural delivery: New Zealand brand the best - organic or not

By CHRISTINE McKENZIE

Organically grown. What on earth does that mean?

My Chambers dictionary says organic means: a) containing carbon; b) pertaining to an organ (in any sense); c) instrumental; d) organised; e) structural, as in the etymological structure of a word.

Its meaning nowadays conveys the vague idea of "food grown without man-made chemicals."

Scientifically speaking, organic growing, as practised under Western standards, raises many questions about land sustainability, animal welfare and food safety.

Those questions apart, "organic" as a brand name for New Zealand food exports stinks.

It's used willy-nilly by all kinds of producers in many countries.

But how much trust do consumers really have in it? And how much will they trust it in the future, as everyone gets on the bandwagon?

As a farmer, I don't have much faith in "organics" at all, particularly as a brand on our products heading overseas.

Yes, the principles of producing with hardly any artificial aids are great - that's what New Zealand has built its good name on.

The thing is, we already have an established brand and, what's more, we own it, which means no one else can degrade it.

That brand is "New Zealand Natural," or "Naturally New Zealand," or any phrase that includes New Zealand.

Let's face it, Naturally New Zealand is unequivocal: it represents all the images of New Zealand that have been built up over 120 years of exporting.

It's no accident that our meat and dairy products are the cleanest anywhere - our customers demanded it over the years. The blood, sweat and tears of complying with American and European regulations have paid off in the reputation we have built.

Further, the past five years have seen a much closer relationship between customers and individual companies, meaning their demands have been built into our systems, such as Alliance Group's farm assurance programme.

Traceability is the key.

Every movement of animals on and off the farm is recorded, while every farm is audited and expected to record every remedy used, such as worm drench.

Codes of animal welfare, fertiliser application, health and safety are widely applied.

This has been accomplished in a relatively pain-free way for farmers, but is a huge leap forward for our marketing people, who are grappling with the extraordinary global buying power of the continually merging supermarket sector.

Its demands will continue to evolve, but the price and demand exhibited for our lamb in particular, seems to indicate the sector is satisfied with the standard of food safety, animal welfare and environmental sustainability expressed in the New Zealand brand.

Those who enthusiastically embrace the concept of "organics" are motivated by the right sentiments, but haven't perhaps appreciated the strength of the reputation we have, and that the commercial reality of the alternative doesn't stack up. At least one supermarket megacorp has already announced price-levelling for all organic and non-organic produce.

Put together the commercial realities with the serious scientific questions over such practices as ploughing versus zero-tilling, and it makes more sense to continue following best practice and building our wholesome and uniquely New Zealand reputation than attempting to rebrand our products with such a fragile generic name as "organic."

* Christine McKenzie is a former director of Alliance Group and is actively involved in the Southland rural community.