OLLIES SANTY WISHLIST

A few days late with this one, but it landed in the Examiner first, so Santy got it in time......

Free free to search for 'santy' on the very useful searchbox over there on the right (scroll down a bit!) - you will find the last few years of wishlists I've sent him......................

Ah santy, me auld segosha - its been a while. So much has changed. Things have moved on, yet, as we hear so often, �we are where we are�.

Well, I'm not sure where that actually is Santy. I'm confused, because 'where we are' seems to be worse than where we think it is. So, really, we are not where we are at all. In fact, we are where we hope we aren't � everytime.

Anyhow, I left it till now to write this note to you because I was waiting for the budget. I was not expecting much there santy, but boy did you deliver on the 9th.

Thanks so much for not getting out the slash hook for the organic sector's budget - I was really worried there. After Trevor Sargent left, I thought it was curtains for the Organic Grant Aid and the Organic Farming Scheme's funding. But no, organic has survived again, with less cuts than a retired, armless butcher with a blunt knife. Or something.

Fair play there Santy, you're a star. You must have been under severe pressure. At least Harvest 2020 kept its commitment to growing the organic sector, which probably helped.

So, for 2011, I think I want...growth in the organic sector. I know I always ask for that one, but we need it now more than ever. Last year, a little more volume was sold, but the value went down a bit too. Can you fix it for me to have the value increase for 2011?

One way might be with the green public procurement Junior Minister Cuffe announced. That's where the state will start to feed the public sector organic food. Sounds yum, though the press release will have to be handled carefully, or else Shane Ross will probably have a canary.

Naturally, a few more organic farmers � plenty did the course this year, so if a few more of them take the plunge in 2011, and join the Organic Farming Scheme, I'd be delighted.

I'm getting very worried about climate change though Mr Claus. It seems everyone has just forgotten about it, with the recession and the cold snap. People who really should know better are joking about global warming and freezing winters, as if climate change and extreme weather aren't compatible! I'm only a nipper and I know they are!

Plus, according to the World Meteorological Association, since records began in 1850, 2010 was the third warmest year globally, the last decade the warmest ever and the parts per million of carbon in the atmosphere was the highest ever, at 386.8. Wow. And all of this is in a year of recession, when we haven't been able to do as much of the climate change causing actions we normally do.

Farming's Green House Gas (GHG) performance has been improving year on year here in Ireland, Santy, but I'm very worried about dairy once the quotas end. Milk production may increase by a full 50%, or 2.75 billion litres. This alone could increase Ireland's' emissions by a 12%. It says so in Harvest 2020.

Unfortunately the solutions are aspirational. Harvest 2020 does talk a lot about how great and grass fed we are with our livestock Santy, but we also use plenty of synthetic fertilizer and compound feeds. They use up loads of fossil fuels in their production elsewhere.

So a dairy GHG solution Santy � I know its a big one, but if anyone can, you can. That way, you could write off some of the massive amount of methane those raindeers must emit with their globe trotting on December 24/25th � phew!

(And you know I was only joking about organic venison last year santy!)

And while we're at it, let's try to get the beef livestock even more grass fed. Let's bring in even more of the kind of animals that can thrive in the outdoors for longer - Galloways, Dexter, Moiled and the like please Santy.

Do your best � you always do! Ollie

Ollie's annual christmas wish list to Santy

Dear Santy

How are you? It must be tough this year. For me, it's hard to know what to ask for. I mean, you have been very good to me in recent years, and I should by now be more self sufficient. How many more bail outs do I need?

Plus, I feel like I should just make whatever it is myself, such is the fashion for frugality these days: Grow it yourself, mend it yourself, where will it all end? Making jumpers out of old odd socks knitted together, to sell at the car boot sale?

Maybe I'm wrong to even be asking for stuff. So I'll try to be creative and modest, like dresses in the 1930s.

(image from green santa : check them out!)

First up has to be the implementation of the programme for government santy. I was very surprised to see all the organic and GM bits in there, especially with all the details about horticulture, voluntary GM free logos and the like.

So even just that, which includes a re-commitment to reaching 5% organic. That would be just dandy.

All kinds of options would open up, were we to reach 5% organic. Especially considering the fact that organic farms build soil quality, which helps prevent floods while also taking carbon from the air and putting it into the ground. That's just what we need now, so it is.

Maybe then, organic could start to take centre stage. Or, at least, not be left out in the cold completely.

Isn't it funny how the IFA complained about being left out of the big conference in Dublin David McWilliams organised? After complaining about being left out of the Irish Economic Forum, they left organic out of the conference they orgnaised.

This despite organic actually being a growth area in agri-food! You couldn't make it up Santy.

Maybe the organic guys should leave someone out of their next conference � biodynamic, or local, or the like.

I'm hoping you can also rig the vote on the new EU organic logo too. Is that too much? Otherwise, someone will probably set up a facebook campaign which will mean that the most partisan and least suitable logo will actually win.

Can you believe, Santy, its being decided by a public vote? They got students to come up with designs, and then made a shortlist available for voters. Do you remember that time the Wolfe Tones version of A Nation Once Again got voted the best song ever on a BBC pole? Either we're facing that malarkey Santy, or I'll get you to fix it for me.

I'd love to see some more organic farmers getting creative and finding creative routes to market. I know organic farmers who are selling tail and tongue to really trendy but affordable restaurants these days Santy � who'd have thought of it, eh?

I know the banks are being extra mean these days but necessity breeds ingenuity Santy, so I'm hoping more products like some of the great new ones we've seen come on board this year will emerge.

Now, that's a fair bit already, I know. Just here me out. Now that organic conversion has become available again, from 1st January, I'd like a handful of new organic farmers in each of the following areas: dairy, arable, horticulture. Just a handful now � I'm not greedy!

So in dairy, I'd like 4, in arable 5 and in horticulture about 5 big guys too. That's not too much more now is it? The conventional diary price is so poor santy, that there must be opportunities for them � especially with the new organic dairy farmer company, the Little Milk Company.

Who knows, maybe even Venison? Rudolph and the lads better watch out themselves! I'd say they are fairly organic, and would provide a mean meat for the hungry mob I have here to feed. Lean times here in Ireland, Mr Claus.

Things are tough santy, but I know you'll pull through. You always do!

All I want for christmas....

Before I start my annual christmas list to santy, if you are interested in accessing the most recent organic steering committee report, it's available here

(Pic is from young greens site of a green santy on grafton street)

for the previous wish list, click here

Now for the serious stuff:

Dear Santy
Wow. What a year eh? A real 'may you live in interesting times' of a year. I'm writing this to you from a state of mild confusion. Hopefully you'll understand what I mean, and I'll get some of these organic gifts from you.

I'm confused santy, because I thought that organic and conventional were different. Apparently you can even be sent to jail for claiming to be organic if you are not. There are people employed to go around inspecting operators to make sure they actually are organic to the letter of the law. And yet, when it came time for the Arnold Schwarzenegger-like Total Recall of pork products, they also recalled organic pork too Santy.

So this coming year, for Christmas, I'd love for differentiation between organic and conventional to actually mean something. I think the consumer has actually been more confused by organic pork's sudden disappearance, as they must surely have thought all along that that organic pigs eat different food to conventional ones. What must they think now?

Along with this Santy, I'd love some organic cosmetics. Or health and beauty products as they are usually called. For herself of course � I prefer the more rugged look myself.

Both certification bodies in Ireland now have the right to certify for organic cosmetics, making themselves and the Soil Association in the UK world leaders it seems. All the Irish ones need now are products!

I'd also love for the gift of continued organic growth of organics, if you know what I mean. So hopefully once the farmers can start converting again on New Year's Day � as one of their new year's resolutions - there will be a flood of them Santy. Queues out the door of the IOFGA and Organic Trust offices longer than the Dole queues � that's what we want.

Also, if you could give Minister Sargent the gift of a ring fence around the money he's managed to keep for organic farmers, that would be absolutely great Santy. In fact, make it an electric ring fence, and give him a few high voltage cattle prods. He's going to need them. That would cover a lot. I know I'm giving away a present there, Santy, but giving is a gift in itself.

It seems there is nothing but negative talk and thinking these days Santy. Everyone seems to think that food with ethical values will be the first thing to go. They keep saying 'in the current economic climate' or in these 'recessionary times' as if that means � �stop thinking about frilly little exotic irrelevancies like the planet � we have an economy to protect�.

But Santy, organic is the food of the future - the oil won't last forever. Even Teagasc research points out that organic makes sense for both the planet and the farmer. I know cos I was at their recent conference, and organic farmers are making just as much money as their conventional counterparts. In fact, organic cattle farmers are making up to 56% more. And most still do this while doing a better job environmentally.

I'm sure someone out there was asking for a reduction in the price of feeds, fertilizers and fuels, but there are environmental costs in all of these Santy. I'm not so sure that that's all good news. Your reindeer's don't seem to need any of these to keep themselves going � a bit like those mountain sheep and cattle. I'd love to see more of them going organic Mr Claus � they might as well be. Organic would suit both their farming restrictions and their terrain. They'd get a great mark up if they converted, so they would.

And what about that EU pesticide review? I think you can guess what I want on that one. That might even things up between conventional and organic Mr. Claus. Organic might not seem so expensive then, eh?

Overall Santy, I suppose I might as well ask for a lot, as you do seem to give me want I want when I ask. In other years, I was very suprised at how generous you were. Please keep up the good work.

Yours in expectation more than hope

Ollie

Ollie's Christmas list: santy calling....

Dear Santy, Ollie again. I know some people think I�m a bit old for all this Santy stuff, but after last year, I can say with absolute conviction that I am a believer!

I mean, I wanted an overall majority for the Greens, and a Minister for as opposed to against the Environment. Now, I didn�t get the overall majority, but I did get a Green Minister in the Department of Ag with responsibility for organic, and a Green Environment minister.

And I wanted the Minister for as opposed to against the environment to at least watch the movie An Inconvenient Truth. Our new minister for the Environment met with Al Gore a few weeks back. I also asked for a dig out for the small organic growers. Fair play Santy, you really are a miracle worker.

And, while it�s tough for conventional farmers at the moment, with rising prices for all their agri-industrial inputs � the fertilizers, feeds, pesticides, fuel and all that, it just might encourage a few of them over to organic. Organic farmers� costs are also rising, but the playing field seems to be levelling a bit.

So it is with both hope and expectation that I�m writing this note to you. I feel a bit like the boy who has a fair bit and wants a fair bit more.

Anyway, the first one is fairly straight forward: I want the bits the Greens actually got into the programme for government to happen.

Especially 5% organic farming by 2012 and more support for farmers� markets. So if you could start working on that, Santy, great. I�d say the IOFGA manifesto is probably a good place to start, if you want to increase the organic acreage. There�s plenty of good advice in there; what�s more, I think the new Minister has already been listening to them. So, like most other kids these days, for me Christmas is just one big gift giving season.

You could add to his work by establishing a new organic development agency to kick start production, magic up a �20 million annual budget for the sector, encourage public institutions to provide organic food, and help out the tillage and horticulture sectors.

Minister Sargent, Santa�s little helper, has already done a bit for horticulture and tillage, but far more needs to be done.

He�s also started on the farmers� markets, but he really needs to start cracking the whip in a way befitting of a man with a double-barrelled authoritarian name; a minister and a sergeant.

He needs to get the county managers into a room, to tell them to tell their underlings to treat farmers� markets with the respect they deserve. And he needs to follow up on this by, with other Ministers like John Gormley, who has local government under his remit, setting local authorities targets to change their behaviour and attitude. In particular, all local authorities need to allow roadside advertising of farmers� markets. That way, you Rudolf and the rest of the Reindeers might actually find your way to one on your travels.

Here�s a real tough one for you now Santy: can you try to get some of our dusty old nutritionists to finally start accepting that, sometimes, organic food actually is more nutritious? What are they afraid of? There is so much recent research, especially into fruits, vegetables and milk, to suggest that it is more nutritious, that they�ll have to change their minds soon Santy.

In fact, if you could only stop them from trumpeting that ould broken record mantra �there is no evidence to suggest that organic food is more nutritious�, that�d be a start. It just keeps on popping up everywhere, so it does Santy, no matter what evidence comes out.

I know you have some sort of connection to Coca Cola Santy, which might colour your opinion, but even Coke are adding Green tea to a new product range of theirs, Diet Coke Plus. They advertise that this increases the antioxidants in the product, but really Santy, antioxidants are what all this new research is showing at higher levels in organic food.

So I�d recommend laying off the Coke Santy, and joining the reindeers in chompin on the organic carrots I�ve left out for you.

Yours in anticipation,

Dr. Ollie Moore