What is Organic Food?

Organic farmers aim to produce good food from a balanced living soil. This is achieved by crop and livestock rotation to maintain and improve the health and fertility of the soil.

• Organic foods are grown with the minimum use of artificial fertilisers, pesticides, herbicides and fungicides.
• Only as a last resort can Organic farmers use 7 of the hundreds of available pesticides.
• No GM crops may be grown or products containing GM material may be used in Organic farming.
• Animals reared Organically enjoy a high standard of care and welfare during their lives.
• Processed Organic foods contain fewer artificial additives, flavourings and preservatives.

How do you know foods are Organic?

All producers and processors of Organic food must have regular inspections and are issued with certificates. The inspections cover all aspects of growing and processing and so a strict audit trail can be made for any product from sowing the seed to the food served onto your table.

The Certifying Bodies are?

You may come across Scottish Organic Producers Association, Soil Association, Demeter and Organic Farmers and Growers in the United Kingdom.

What are the benefits of eating Organic Food?

Organic farms are run with consideration for the land and environment. They support a more diverse and larger population of wildlife of all kinds. They maintain and improve the 'living earth' for the future. When you eat organic food you can be sure there will be minimal residues of potentially dangerous chemicals. Organic varieties are selected for their taste and pest and disease resistance. Because of regional differences this leads to a greater number of varieties used and less reliance on a few profitable types.

Why is Organic food more expensive?

A more appropriate question might be why is non organic food so cheap? Non organic food prices are not a true indication of the cost of their production; we have all heard the statistics for farm incomes in the UK. The cost of environmental pollution from artificial fertilisers for example are also not taken into account. The organic farmer does not rely on chemicals to do most of the work. Instead they must rely on the most expensive commodity, hand labour. An organic farm of any size, large or small, will have a proportionately larger need for hand labour than its equivalent in the non organic sector. The Organic farmer takes a great deal of care using different methods to protect the crops from pests and diseases and these also have an impact on costs. In the UK most Organic farms are still relatively small scale family businesses and this also leads to higher costs.