To the critique of EU standards; You echo my resentments back at the ESBG in 2007, but I realized since then that it's necessary to reach mainstream, and that the folks working on this issue was very aware of keeping SB building open for all;
If I recall well, at that time the German approach was a possibility to have your local bales classified by sending a bale or 2 for testing, after which you'd gain the technical parameters of your local bale provider.
Later the Austrians developed a 'building bale''; fully certified and dimensioned according to building needs, not only according to available machinery.
I don't know of any case where anyone were not very sensitive to the risk of 'out-lawing' owner-builders using locally obtainable bales...
Fact is that the SB development has caused some people to initiate very professional fabrications of pre-fab SB walls (Ecococoon, Modcell, and Paille-Tech ...others?), and increasingly we see big bales being used for large public buildings. Such enterprises are very necessary for public acceptance of SB building and do require certifications.
This also answers the point about why deal with load bearing structures? Simply because it doesn' t always make sense to use the extra material required to oblige to various codes which outlaw load bearing construction, especially when using big bales for construction.
That's my 2 cents...
Max