The Soil Association’s Organic September is well under way. When it launched, Waitrose, a supporter of the campaign, reported its organic sales were up nearly 5% year on year. The UK organic market is currently worth £1.95bn. Waitrose, which says it was one of the first pioneers of organic, is this year backing the campaign in a big way, teaming up with celebrities including Alan Titchmarsh, to promote the growers behind organic food. Waitrose says, “With over three quarters of food sales going through large supermarket chains, we are an important channel of communication for any brand or organisation that wants to reach the nation’s food shoppers. Our support helps organisations such as the Soil Association to extend their message, whilst equipping our own food-savvy customers with the information they are seeking to make their own informed choices.”
To find out more about the campaign and the benefits of organic farming, Fairtrade spoke to Helen Browning, chief executive of the Soil Association:
What was the idea behind Organic September when it launched 10 years ago and how has the campaign evolved since then?
We started Organic September more than a decade ago. Inspired by National Organic Harvest Month in America, it originally took place over one week, the traditional time of harvest and like its American counterpart, it was set up to promote and celebrate organic produce. This was initially done through small fairs but in the past five years, the campaign has been adopted by the whole sector with measurable increases in sales and awareness of organic products during the month. More recently, social media has revolutionised the way people engage with it. Another big change has been the participation of specialist retailers like Planet Organic and Whole Foods, as well as supermarkets from Aldi to Waitrose.
Our focus is on getting as many people as possible involved and to choose organic in a way that suits their lifestyle. This could mean swapping a few items of their usual grocery shop to organic versions, or opting to try an organic moisturiser or lip balm.
Around 52% of farmers who are part of Fairtrade are also certified organic. And this number is growing. What is the biggest benefit of organic farming?
Organic refers to the way we care for our soils - building organic matter and an ultra-low chemical approach to growing our food which sustains healthy plants, healthy animals and ultimately, healthy people. It means a much more natural, low stress life for farm animals, no manufactured herbicides or artificial fertilisers, more jobs and more environmentally sensitive management of our countryside – much more wildlife is found on organic farms. Organic fruit, veg, meat and milk are also nutritionally different, showing the way we farm really does affect the quality of our food.
All organic food is fully traceable from farm to fork, so you can be sure of what you’re eating. The standards for organic food are laid down in European law so any food labelled as organic must meet a strict set of standards.
What, in a nutshell, do organic farmers do differently to those who use conventional methods? And how do they become organically certified?
Organic food is produced using a more natural but strictly controlled system of farm management. Unlike non-organic food production, which makes wide use of manufactured and mined fertilisers and chemical pesticides, organic food is produced using the most natural methods possible, like using legumes to supply the nitrogen that plants need to grow. Techniques like crop rotation, composting and companion planting are used to control pests and diseases. Organic farming uses less fossil fuel energy and respects the animals that we use for food, by weaning later and allowing a free range life, for instance.
To sell any food or drink as organic, farmers and businesses must hold a legal certificate of accreditation for that product from an organic certifier, like the Soil Association. We inspect each of our licensed farms and businesses annually to ensure compliance with organic standards and all recipes and labels are checked.
Are there any limitations of organic farming?
No, the only limitations are in our heads! Many farmers will feel nervous about moving away from the chemical sprays and fertilisers they have been taught are essential, and not using routine antibiotics. So we need to make sure that good advice is at hand, and that agricultural education gives a good grounding in organic methods which are of use to all farmers, even if they don’t go fully organic. The other challenge is that in our current economic framework, where there is no market value on biodiversity, high animal welfare, clean soils, water and air, the organic farmer has to charge a bit more for their produce. So how fast organic can expand will depend on consumers’ willingness to support it, at least until we start to value the public benefits that organic farming provides.
Why is organic more expensive than non-organic produce?
Sometimes organic costs more because of the additional care organic farmers and food producers place on our environment and animals. Staples like pulses, pasta, rice and wholegrains often only differ in price by a couple of pence, and when you can - buying more directly from farmers, through box schemes perhaps, planning meals in advance, maybe eating less meat and cooking from scratch – eating organic can be achievable for most people.
In an ideal world, organic wouldn’t need to be more expensive. A big part of the problem is that the true cost of our food isn’t reflected in the price. Food that is produced in ways that may contaminate our water, or lead to antibiotic resistance in people, may seem cheap in the store, but the real cost can be very high indeed.
We are working in schools, hospitals, workplaces and care homes and more and more of these places are now including organic on their menus and keeping within their catering budgets so we know it can be done at scale too.
What role do certifications such as the Soil Association or Fairtrade play in building a new consciousness?
Fairtrade and the Soil Association have an important role, to keep communicating the importance of good food and a fair price for the people producing it. Fairtrade is a fantastic example of a focused message being really well communicated. We know from research that more and more people care about where their food comes from – and the organic market is in strong growth.
European governments have played a very important role in recognising the importance of supporting the organic approach and its key role towards improving the environment and producing healthy food. The UK lags behind every leading European country in organic market size compared to population. The UK needs leadership at government level to build a meaningful organic agenda into new food and farming strategies.
The biggest worry for farmers around the world is climate change. How does organic farming help?
Agriculture is responsible for 14% of greenhouse gases worldwide. Organic farming has many of the answers that can help with challenges such as climate change and the crisis now facing our soils. Organic farming protects the soils – and healthy soils are not only resilient to floods and drought, but are a vital source of carbon storage. They hold three times as much carbon than the atmosphere and five times more than forests. If the UK was to adopt organic farming across the board we could offset current agricultural greenhouse gas emissions by 23%, saving 64m tonnes of carbon over 20 years – that’s the equivalent of taking nearly 1m family cars off the road!
But to see real change, we need support from governments worldwide, to help develop an economic system and bring in trade rules that puts the right incentives and penalties in place.
Until then, businesses and consumers can get involved in Organic September. For more info, inspiring tips and recipes, click here.
Content on this page is paid for and provided by Fairtrade Foundation, sponsor of the spotlight on commodities series
