News | Organic Council of Ontario

A Call for Organic Regulation in Ontario

Regulation of the term ‘organic’ is an important feature of the Canada Organic Regime. It means that the word can only be used to describe products and businesses that are certified organic. Certified organic producers...

Organic Food Fraud is on the CFIA's Radar

1 Good News for Organic Businesses and Consumers On Monday, news broke of an Ontario chicken supplier charged with fraudulently labelling chicken. Consumers and organic businesses are now more concerned than ever about ensuring...

Guelph Today: Monsanto Takeover has Implications for Guelph

This week, the news broke that pharmaceutical giant Bayer is to take over Monsanto. OCO’s President and Chair, Tom Manley, was quoted on the repercussions that this merger will have for agriculture at large. Read the whole...

Help OMAFRA Develop an Agricultural Soil Health and Conservation Strategy

As part of its mandate to preserve the productive capacity of Ontario’s agricultural land, OMAFRA is seeking input toward the development of an Agricultural Soil Health and Conservation Strategy. In order to solicit feedback, the...

A New Provincial Mandate for Agriculture: What Does it Mean for Organic?

Premier Wynne’s mandate letters to her Cabinet were released last on September 23rd, and her letter to Minister Leal put a great deal of focus on the government’s Climate Change Action Plan, as well as on “Ensuring the...

MPPs Learn about Organic Sector Priorities at OCO's MPP Engagement Day

On Sept. 21st, over 35 provincial members of Parliament joined in the Organic Council of Ontario (OCO)’s MPP Engagement Day at Queen’s Park. OCO members met with over 14 MPPs from ridings across Ontario to provide...

Exchange Magazine: Ontario Businesses ask MPPs to Adopt and Enforce Federal Organic Standards

In response to our MPP engagement day at Queen’s Park, we received this coverage from Exchange Magazine. For more information about the issues presented to MPPs at our Queen’s Park Day, along with downloadable fact sheets,...

MPP Engagement Day - September 21st

Calling all OCO members! To celebrate this year’s Organic Week, the Organic Council of Ontario will be hosting an MPP Engagement Day on September 21st at Queen’s Park. Please join us! Agenda: Meet at the Toronto...

OCO Provides Ongoing Feedback on Future Agricultural Policy Framework

In July, OCO shared member feedback and recommendations on Growing Forward 2 and future policy frameworks with Minister Leal, in advance of his meetings with the provincial and territorial Ministers of Agriculture. A summary of the ideas...

Minister Seeking Growing Forward 3 Input

Minister Leal is seeking input to bring to the Annual Conference of Federal, Provincial and Territorial Ministers of Agriculture to be held in Calgary, Alberta July 20th - 22nd. He is seeking input on how to improve Growing Forward...

Community Supported Agriculture in Canada published

Community Supported Agriculture programs, or CSAs, are known a popular marketing tool among organic growers and those wishing to capture the full retail value of their products. However, there is little Canadian research to...

Response from Minister MacAulay on GE Alfalfa

In addition to OCO’s letter to Premier Wynne and Minister Leal, OCO supported a joint letter that was sent to the Federal Minister of Agriculture on April 20th requesting restrictions to the commercialization of new GE varieties in...