 |
| Since
1997, Alaska's seafood industry, congressional delegation
and state agencies, have been working to promote the development
of certification standards for processing aquatic species
as organic foods. |
| The
growth and establishment of the international organic food
movement has developed over the last half of the 20th Century.
As experiments by food producers using synthetic chemical
fertilizers and pesticides increased, a powerful movement
has swept over Europe, North America and Asia calling for
organic food. The organic food movement has been fueled by
a dedicated group of people, the organic community, who desire
a food source free of synthetic human additives and that
has developed in an environment that supports biodiversity
and sustainability. |
| At
the urging of this organic community, the US Congress passed
the Organic
Food Production Act of 1990 (OFPA),
that established the United States Department of Agriculture
(USDA) as the primary agency responsible for establishing
certification standards for organic foods in the US. USDA
established the National
Organic Program, an agency of the Agricultural
Marketing Service that oversees the implementation of organic
certification in the United States. The Act also established
the National
Organic Standards Board (NOSB),
which serves as an advisory board to the National Organic
Program. |
| In
1995, the NOSB defined organic agriculture as: |
"an
ecological production management system that promotes
and enhances biodiversity, biological cycles and soil
biological activity. It is based on minimal use of
off-farm inputs and on management practices that restore,
maintain and enhance ecological harmony."
|
| All
along its pristine coastline, Alaska has one of the most
wholesome and natural food sources available for human consumption,
its aquatic species. These species include salmon, halibut,
herring, crab, groundfish, various shellfish, and a host
of other aquatic animals. Alaska believes these species exist
and are managed in a manner consistent with the NOSB's definition
of organic. |
| The
Organic Food Production Act allows for the certification
of fish as organic. Alaska's Constitution calls for conservation
and sustainability of its natural resources, the only state
to do this. A great deal is known about the migratory patterns
of ocean run fish caught in Alaska and the stocks are managed
sustainably. |
| |
The
following documents are in pdf format. You will Adobe Acrobat
to view them.
Click
here to download the free software. |
Agencies
and Organizations that Manage Alaska's Marine Ecosystem,
July 31, 2001.
This
is a large file, it may take some time to download. |
| State
of Alaska's Response to National Organic Standards Board's
Aquatic Animal Task Force Recommendations, July 31, 2001 |
National
Organic Standards Board's Aquatic Animal Task Force Recommendations,
May 31, 2001 |
