Organic food

Having worked on a farm for seven months as a teenager, this issue is very close to my heart. I think back and remember the amount of antibiotics we had to give to a small group of new calves just to keep them alive - half died within a few weeks; the pesticides that were sprayed onto the pick your own orchard - the site manager had to wear a mask and protective clothing; the amount of lambs that got ill and had to be kept in a special enclosure; the feed that we gave to the geese just weeks before new years eve that doubled their size; the weed free arable fields that turned to dust in the summer.

But this wasn't a farm run with cruel intentions, nor was the farmer evil or disrespective of the environment. This was similar to the day-to-day goings on of any normal farm in Britain - one dominated by man-made chemicals and antibiotics.

Consider the implications of this type of system on:

• the welfare of the animals
• the welfare of the farm workers
• the state of the farm environment and its immediate surroundings
• the food that ultimately you eat

Organic farming methods try to address the above by implementing a strict set of rules to be followed in the production of food. The rules try to avoid the use of artificial pesticides, fertlisers and anti-biotics. Food may be labelled as Organic if it has met a number of government set minimum requirements. Each country in the EU has a certification body, the main one in the UK being the Soil Association:

The Soil Association organic symbol is the UK’s main certification mark, appearing on approximately 70% of organic food produced in the UK. The symbol tells you that produce has met and in some important areas exceeded minimum government requirements. Our standards are continually developed to raise the quality of organic food higher.

The Soil Association symbol looks like this:

Organic food is usually more expensive than its non-organic equivalent. This may be attributable to a number of factors including the higher cost of production or a higher percentage of mark-up by supermarkets to make more profits - although a lot of supermarkets deny this.

You don't have to switch completely to Organic food if the cost is too high for you. It is for me, but I tend to make sure that at least one Organic food product makes it into my shopping basket each week. I make sure that cupboard items such as olive oil, which I don't have to replenish weekly, are always organically produced. Also, all meat I buy is Organic.

I hope that one day, all worldwide food production will be to strict Organic standards. This is something we can achieve by voting with our feet - buying Organic food whenever possible, spreading the word and pressing for Organic food production to be made law.

caldini

Update: Use the farm, Cuc! See this great Flash animation from North America's Organic Trade Association.