Promote • Educate
12 September/October 2019
2020 vision
ref lections in 2019
%\Brendan Hoare,
love the qualities of audacity and courage; they go well with
daring – the art of risking it all, believing in yourself and others
and seeking truth.
So, who would have thought that a small group of Soil & Health
councillors in 1998 would dare to suggest the whole country go
organic by 2020 – then stage a series of events and actions that
would help change the landscape of the nation?An organic eco-nation by 2020
The ‘Organic 2020’ concept we created was assisted by hundreds of
members and fellow visionaries. We sought and developed clarity
of our concept through conferences, workshops, think tanks and
direct political discourse and actions.
Our position was profoundly simple: we wanted an organic
econation by 2020, and declared that this was:- An achievable vision for a sustainable future
- A real opportunity to secure economic security in the twenty-
first century - A method by which our nation could focus on a common
purpose - A means for creating meaningful partnerships between
citizens, communities, consumers and government - Based on sound environmental land practices
- A place where we want to raise our children.
Whole-of-society involvement
We created a timeline of key actions and agreed that it required:- People and communities to participate in the ecological
redesign of their own political and social systems - Incentives from local and national government
- Continued research into appropriate technologies and
methods of action - Time for people and institutions to transition to more
appropriate principles and practices - Education at all levels to encourage people, communities,
consumers, businesses and government to adapt to appropriate
principles and practices.
Early successes
We were happy to lead. We changed the name of our magazine to
Organic NZ, because that was our new bottom line.
By the end of 2003 our collective strategy had helped galvanise
the organic community, while lobbying had obtained some serious
loot from government. This helped create the domestic certified
organic system OrganicFarmNZ, national strategy documents, andlined up foundation funding for Organics Aotearoa New Zealand
(OANZ).
Ministers of Agriculture opened our conferences and attended
our hui. We actively lobbied politicians and asked our members
to ‘vote organic’. It became a national agenda by common design.
Our collective wisdom as early as 2000 also made it clear that an
organic future required the protection of the term ‘organic’ through
regulation and a national standard.
The daring of a few unleashed the potential of thousands.
Farmers, orchardists, artists, councillors, educators, retailers, home
gardeners, consumers and others all supported and undertook their
own initiatives to express their take on the Organic 2020 vision.Where are we now in 2019?
So, as an initiator and innovator of the vision, 2019 is a great time to
reflect. In brief, some reflections include:The vision and mission holds true
The vision and mission still holds true for Aotearoa New Zealand
today. What viable alternative has been offered? We need it, the
world wants us to achieve it and – as predicted – organic has become
not only the hottest market in the world but offers real solutions to
our collective woes.
The vision has had direct and indirect impacts. It brought so
many of us together to strive for the most logical place for us to as a
nation to exist.OUR ORGANIC
Above: Brendan Hoare with copies of Soil & Health from 1999
and 2000 expressing the Organic 2020 vision. Photo: Brendan HoarePhoto: iStock/Evgenii