The Principal Aims of Organic Production and Processing

Organic Production and Processing is based on a number of principles and ideas. All are important and include:

• To work compatibly with natural cycles and living systems through the soil, plants and animals in the entire production system.
• To recognise the wider social and ecological impact of and within the organic production and processing system. 
• To maintain and increase long-term fertility and the healthy biological activity of soils using locally adapted cultural, biological and mechanical methods. 
• To maintain and encourage agricultural and natural biodiversity on the property and surrounds through the use of sustainable production systems and the protection of plant and wildlife habitats. 
• To maintain and conserve natural genetic diversity through attention to on-farm management of genetic resources. 
• To provide consumers with organic food that is free from all forms of genetic engineering and genetically modified organisms, whether by accidental contamination or not. 
• To promote the sustainable use and conservation of water and all life therein. 
• To use, as far as possible, renewable resources in production and processing systems and avoid pollution and waste. 
• To foster local and regional production and distribution. 
• To minimise the use of non-renewable fossil fuels and promote alternative renewable energy sources. 
• To create a harmonious balance between crop production and animal husbandry. 
• To provide living conditions that allow animals to express the basic aspects of their innate behaviour. 
• To utilise re-useable, biodegradable, recyclable and recycled packaging materials. 
• To provide everyone involved in organic farming and processing with a quality of life that satisfies their basic needs, within a safe, secure and healthy working environment. 
• Enhance aesthetic, ecological and conservation values related to land and water.
• Producers should aim to actively choose to support providers of environmentally friendly goods and services.
• To support the establishment of an entire production, processing and distribution chain which is both socially just and ecologically responsible.