bfa Biological Farmers of Australia Co-operative Ltd http://www.bfa.com.au/

CCOF California Certified Organic Farmers http://www.ccof.org/

CIIM Current Issues in Intestinal Microbiology http://www.ciim.net/

COCC Canadian Organic Certification Cooperative LTD http://www.gks.com/cocc/

COEN The Canada Organic/Ecological Network http://www.gks.com/COEN/

COG Canadian Organic Growers http://www.cog.ca/

COLA Canadian Organic Livestock Association http://www.gks.com/cola/

EFAO Ecological Farmer's Association of Ontario http://www.gks.com/efao/

FAO Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations http://www.fao.org/organicag/frame9-e.htm

FOGC Florida Organic Growers & Consumer www.foginfo.org

HOFA Hawaii Organic Farmers Association http://www.hawaiiorganicfarmers.org

IFOAM INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF ORGANIC AGRICULTURE MOVEMENTS http://www.ifoam-net.org/

NAHOA Network for Animal Health and Welfare in Organic Agriculture

NOFA Northeast Organic Farming Association http://www.nofa.org

NOP The National Organic Program http://www.ams.usda.gov/nop/

NOSB National Organic Standards Board http://www.ams.usda.gov/nop/nop2000/nop2/board_members.htm

NSOGA Nova Scotia Organic Growers Association http://www.gks.com/NSOGA/

OCIA Organic Crop Improvement Association http://www.ocia.org/

OCPRO / OCPP/Pro-Cert Canada Inc.(Organic Crop Producers & Processors Inc.) http://www.ocpro-certcanada.com/

OEFFA Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association http://www.greenlink.org/oeffa

OFMA Organic Farmers Marketing Association

OFRF Organic Farming Research Foundation http://www.ofrf.org/scoar/index.html

OGMPA Ontario Goat Milk Producers' Association http://www.ontariogoatmilk.org

OOMN The Ontario Organic Marketing Network http://www.gks.com/OOMN/index.html

OTA Organic Trade Association

WWOOFCanada, WWOOF USA and Hawaii, Willing Workers On Organic Farms (WWOOF)

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antibiotics - A substance, such as penicillin or streptomycin, produced by or derived from certain fungi, bacteria, and other organisms, that can destroy or inhibit the growth of other microorganisms. Antibiotics are widely used in the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases.

An antibiotic is a substance derived from living organisms, usually BACTERIA or molds, that kills microorganisms or inhibits their growth. Some antibiotics also interfere with life processes in higher organisms, but the term usually applies only to substances that act against microorganisms. Synthetic drugs also used to treat bacterial, fungal, or other parasitic infections may be called antibiotics, but strictly speaking the term is reserved for substances derived from living agents. The more general term might be antibacterials or antimicrobials.

antioxidants - .A chemical compound or substance that inhibits oxidation. Synthetic or natural substances added to products to prevent or delay their deterioriation by action of oxygen in air. In biochemistry and medicine, antioxidants are enzymes or other organic substances, such as vitamin e or beta-carotene, that are capable of counteracting the damaging effects of oxidation in animal tissue.

bacteria - Bacteria is the common name for a vast group of one-celled microscopic organisms that encompasses the smallest, simplest, and perhaps first form of CELL life that evolved. They constitute one of two divisions in the kingdom MONERA. They are unicellular and furnish both the raw material and the chemical machinery for their own reproduction, whereas viruses, for example, do not. The oldest sign of life is a fossilized bacterial cell discovered in a rock in Africa and estimated at about 3 billion years old. The study of bacteria is called bacteriology, which belongs to the broader science of MICROBIOLOGY, or the study of all types of microorganisms, including one-celled protozoa, yeasts, and algae. Medical microbiology is concerned with the behavior and control of pathogens, which are microorganisms that cause INFECTIOUS DISEASES in humans and other animals.

Biodiversity: "At its simplest level, biodiversity is the sum total of all the plants, animals, fungi and microorganisms in the world, or in a particular area; all of their individual variation; and all the interactions between them."

Agrobiodiversity "is a fundamental feature of farming systems around the world. It encompasses many types of biological resources tied to agriculture, including:

• genetic resources - the essential living materials of plants and animals;
• edible plants and crops, including traditional varieties, cultivars, hybrids, and other genetic material developed by breeders;
• and livestock (small and large, lineal breeds or thoroughbreds) and freshwater fish;
• soil organisms vital to soil fertility, structure, quality, and soil health;
• naturally occurring insects, bacteria, and fungi that control insect pests and diseases of domesticated plants and animals;
• agroecosystem components and types (polycultural/monocultural, small/large scale, rainfed/irrigated, etc.) indispensable for nutrient cycling, stability, and productivity; and
• 'wild' resources (species and elements) of natural habitats and landscapes that can provide services (for example, pest control and ecosystem stability) to agriculture.

  "Agrobiodiversity therefore includes not only a wide variety of species, but also the many ways in which farmers can exploit biological diversity to produce and manage crops, land, water, insects, and biota." [Lorin Ann Thrupp, Linking Biodiversity and Agriculture: Challenges and Opportunities for Sustainable Food Security (Washington: World Resources Institute, 1997). NAL Call # HC57 E5W755 no.1997 March. Available at WRI Website (7/99): http://www.igc.org/wri/sustag/lba-home.html]

Biodynamic Agriculture/Biodynamic Farming: Both a concept and a practice, biodynamics "owes its origin to the spiritual insights and perceptions of Dr. Rudolf Steiner, an Austrian philosopher and scientist who lived at the turn of the century." Dr. Steiner emphasized many of the forces within living nature, identifying many of these factors and describing specific practices and preparations that enable the farmer or gardener to work in concert with these parameters. "Central to the biodynamic method... are certain herbal preparations that guide the decomposition processes in manures and compost." [1985-1986 Year End Report (Kimberton PA: Bio-Dynamic Farming and Gardening Association, Inc., 1986), p.3. AFSIC collection][See also "What is Biodynamics?" Available at Biodynamic Farming and Gardening Association On-line Website (9/99): http://www.biodynamics.com/biodynamics.html] Foods produced through biodynamic methods are certified for consumer markets by the Demeter Association.

chelated - A chemical compound in the form of a heterocyclic ring, containing a metal ion attached by coordinate bonds to at least two nonmetal ions.

coenzymes - Organic nonprotein molecules, frequently phosphorylated derivatives of water-soluble vitamins, that bind with the protein molecule (apoenzymes) to form the active enzyme (holoenzyme). They are catalysts for the activation of enzymes.

enterococci bacteria - Any of various gram-negative rod-shaped bacteria of the family Enterobacteriaceae that includes some pathogens of plants and animals, such as the colon bacillus and salmonella.

enzyme - Any of numerous proteins or conjugated proteins produced by living organisms and functioning as biochemical catalysts. An unorganized or unformed ferment, in distinction from an organized or living ferment; a soluble, or chemical, ferment. Ptyalin, pepsin, diastase, and rennet are good examples of enzymes.

GMO-Genetically Modified Organisms - Scientific alteration of the structure of genetic material in a living organism.

Kreb Cycle - [Sir Hans Krebs, Ger. biochemist, 1900-1981, who was co-winner of a Nobel prize in 1953. He lived and worked in Britain.] A complicated series of reactions in the body involving the oxidative metabolism of pryuvic acid and liberation of energy. It is the main pathway of terminal oxidation in the process of which not only carbohydrate but proteins and fats are utilized. SYN: citric acid cycle; tricarboxylic acid cycle. SEE: illus. .

immune system - The immune system forms the body's defense against a foreign substance, whether a microorganism (bacteria, fungi, viruses, protozoa, and parasites), a potentially toxic material (foreign protein, carbohydrate, or nucleic acid), or an abnormal cell (one invaded by a virus or having become malignant). It attacks the foreign substance and maintains a memory of the invader so a second exposure will provoke a greater, faster response. Immunity refers to the ability of an individual who has recovered from a disease to remain well after a second exposure to the same disease. IMMUNOLOGY is the branch of medicine concerned with the body's response to foreign substances and abnormal cells, and immunization is the ability to create a response to fight an illness without exposing the body to that illness.

Lactic Acid Lactobacilli - Lactobacillus is a genus of rod-shaped BACTERIA belonging to the family Lactobacillaceae and found in fermenting animal and plant products and in the mouth, vagina, and intestinal tract of some warm-blooded animals. Commonly called lactic acid bacteria, they produce the acid from carbohydrates. Lactobacillus is important industrially in the production of dairy products such as buttermilk.

mastitis - Inflammation of the breast or udder.

microbial fermentation - A minute life form; a microorganism,

pathogens - Disease producing organisms that can exist in many different places.

probiotics - Live microbial feed supplements which beneficially affect the host animal by improving its intestinal microbial balance. Antibiotics and other related compounds are not included in this definition. In humans, lactobacilli are commonly used as probiotics, either as single species or in mixed culture with other bacteria. Other genera that have been used are bifidobacteria and streptococci.

salmonella - Any of various rod-shaped bacteria of the genus Salmonella, many of which are pathogenic, causing food poisoning, typhoid, and paratyphoid fever in humans and other infectious diseases in domestic animals.

Somatic Cell Count - Sometimes wrongly referred to as white cell counts, this type of test includes all somatic cells, including white cells (or leucocytes) and epithelial cells. When swelling occurs, the cow's immune system reacts by sending leucocytes to destroy the foreign bodies. The somatic cell count in the milk may thus indicate if a cow is fighting infection. Cell counting came into use largely to ensure that milk from a given herd was fit for human consumption. It is also a highly useful test for mastitis detection, albeit lacking in certain respects.

spleen - An organ that produces lymphocytes, filters the blood, stores blood cells and destroys those that are aging.

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