| (1) |
Production methods of farm products are taken
with serious consideration when the products undergo inspection measures to determine
whether they can be designated as organic products. Except in highly special cases,
the use of chemicals and synthetic materials (chemical fertilizers, synthetic
insecticides and weeders) in feed fertilizers and agricultural medicines is strictly
forbidden. The list of useable materials is strictly regulated. |
| (2) |
Strict conditions are applied also when livestock
excrement is used as fertilizer. For example, the excrement from young livestock,
just like chemical fertilizers, is forbidden, since excess nitrate and nitrites,
which seep into the produce and underground (drinking) water and can cause cancer
of the digestive system. There is concern that the excrement from livestock bred
in large numbers under factory like conditions can cause negative effects and
contain a number of poisonous materials like antibiotics and heavy metals. |
| (3) |
Counteractive measure must be taken in areas
where the danger of pollution threatens organic farms through underground water,
since poisonous materials, heavy metals, and the like often seep into the underground
water, carrying the pollutants from suburban sprawl and major cities located near
the farms. |
| (4) |
For measure against insect blights and weeds,
only methods that do not use manmade chemicals and artificial products are allowed;
such as crop rotation, machine cultivation, and biological prevention methods. |
| (5) |
Even on farms where chemical materials have
been completely discontinued, and where extra care is taken in eliminating pollutants
from the soil, only products seeded and or transplanted for a determined period
of time - at least two years after the discontinuation of chemical materials -
may be sold as organic goods. Records and documentation must be kept, proving
farm operations have not included use of chemicals in fertilizers and agricultural
medicines. |
| (6) |
When traditional farms wish to convert to organic
farms, it is not necessary for all the land to be converted at one time, but the
section of the farm designated for organic growth must prohibit use of all chemicals
from the beginning. The actualization of a formula for a decrease in agricultural
chemicals has proven to be difficult under the current international technical
standards, and one has not thus been recognized. |
| (7) |
The "Standards for Organic Products" is usually
defined not only as regulating materials that are destructive to the health of
humans and animals, but in addition as setting the fundamental objective
of establishing
the mold for farms and agricultural production with organic production as the
main goal. |
