Organic Catering Standards: Half-Baked or Well Done?

Simon Wright
The Organic Consultancy

The dramatic increase in retail sales of organic food and drink has prompted the catering industry to start going organic. But what reassurance do diners have that food served in pubs, bars, cafes and restaurants is really organic? Simon Wright of The Organic Consultancy finds out how organic eateries are currently certified, and hears from the famous restauranteurs who want a very different approach. This article originally appeared in organiclife magazine for September / October 2002

Recent media coverage has speculated that there may be problems with UK organic catering outlets which claim to be organic but are not. It has attracted the interest of the Local Authority Co-ordinators of Regulatory Services (LACOTS), who speak for the country’s trading standards officers and who are concerned that some catering outlets serving organic food are not registered and inspected by organic certifying bodies such as the Soil Association. But do all restaurants have to be certified in this way – even those serving only one or two organic items? The answer is yes, according to Francis Blake, Standards Director of The Soil Association. “Strictly speaking under EU organic regulation 2092/91 the legal requirements for running an organic catering company or restaurant are exactly the same as if you are running an organic food processing factory, as there is preparation of food out of sight of the customer. If that operation is claiming organic status for the food they must be registered and inspected. So strictly speaking restauranteurs who mention that they have organic items on their menus but who are not registered and annually inspected by one of the eleven UK organic certifying bodies are breaking the law.”

Applying the EU regulation to restaurants has proved very difficult, owing to fast ingredient turnover and daily changing menus. Accordingly the Soil Association launched their own organic catering standards in April 2002. The plan is to see how workable the regulations are throughout 2002, then launch them to the catering trade at the end of this year, and to consumers in 2003. The Soil Association organic catering regulations define three possible levels of certification, based on what is claimed on the menu:

1. Everything on the menu is organic, as in a fully organic restaurant
2. Individual dishes are described as organic, for example organic steak, organic peas and organic potatoes
3. One menu item is labelled as organic, for example organic salmon

The Soil Association’s approach has been criticised by two of Britain’s leading chefs. Antonio Carluccio, who owns a chain of nine Italian restaurants in London, said he would rather remove organic food from his menu than pay for a licence. He told the Observer “I find the idea completely appalling. Part of the problem is we don’t have the amount of food that would be required for proper organic status. I sell organic produce when I find the right stuff, but then I cannot continue because I don’t have enough of it. I wouldn’t want a licence. I don’t believe in it.” Anthony Worrall Thomson is an even sterner critic. He used to run his own organic restaurant, but closed it after claiming that he couldn’t source enough high-quality British organic ingredients. Nowadays he serves organic ingredients in his restaurants but refuses to be inspected and certified. “I don’t think I’m breaking the law because I say I have organic farmed salmon, or next week that I’ve got organic strawberries. I am buying organic produce therefore I tell the customer that they are organic. And at the end of the day can you really be hailed as a criminal for telling the truth? I very much doubt it. I would love to be certified organic but I can’t be 100% because some organic produce is just not up to scratch, and I would be compromising my cooking abilities by just buying some of these products. So what I’d like to see is some association, hopefully the Soil Association, to come in and audit my books once a year and then give me a percentage rating, say something like… I might be a 55% organic restaurant – at least the public that way would know you were making the effort.”

“If other people want to claim they’re organic without proving it the bottom is going to fall out of the market” responds Geetie Singh. Together with her partner Esther Boulton, Geetie runs three fully organic London pubs – The Duke of Cambridge in Islington, The Crown in Hackney and The Pelican in Notting Hill Gate. As one of the organic catering pioneers Geetie has no time for those who wish to be unregulated. “The whole point of organic is that it is fully traceable. We chose to be certified by the Soil Association as we feel they’re the only ones truly fighting for the organic movement. We are proud to have the Soil Association symbol outside our pubs.”

Esther and Geetie’s pubs now serve 4000 customers every week. They have been pleasantly surprised by their success. “We expected that people wouldn’t be particularly interested in the fact that we’re organic so we didn’t put organic anywhere in the pub to begin with. Then people couldn’t find us so we had to put the word organic up on the sign outside but that’s all we’ve done. But people are very interested in the fact that we’re organic. People come here because its really good food and the fact that it is organic is a plus. Our customers say ‘I started eating organic here and now I buy it in shops’ so it is definitely part of our aim to convert people to organics.”

Initially there were problems with recruiting chefs. “But now we have a good reputation in London people want to come and work for us. Our chefs had such difficulties working with organics – when the supply goes wrong they can’t just go somewhere else, they can only use these few Soil Association approved suppliers. But chefs have become more educated about organics since we opened. Now we’re 100% organic other than fish and game, plus salt and baking powder.” Even here Esther and Geetie have written their own sourcing policy on sustainable fish. They are pleased with how the Soil Association catering standards have turned out, having worked on the group that put the regulations together. “They still need simplifying. We are licensed to use a list of organic ingredients, rather than having individual recipes approved. Start-up is difficult and each time a new organic product comes on the market we have to apply to have it added to our license. Dishes change mid-service if some ingredient runs out so it is very difficult to keep precise records. We think the most important standards issue is unannounced spot checks.”

“Our expectations have been more than fulfilled – all three of our pubs are successful, with different characters, reflecting local areas. We work to industry standard margins and we’re no more expensive than any other good quality restaurant. We have a twice daily change of menu partly because of the organic supply situation – also it gets local people to come here more often, we have a few who come here twice a day, five days a week !”

At the other end of the scale to Esther and Geetie are Sodhexo, the worlds largest catering group. Sodhexo have now set up Organica, a specialist organic catering division. Chairman Stephen McManus explains that Organica was set up in response to growing public demand and in response to a general move towards higher quality standards within the catering industry. “Many of our clients are interested in healthy eating, animal welfare, the environment and what they actually put in their bodies. We wanted to be the first hospitality company in the UK to achieve organic certification, which we achieved in January 2002.” Today Organica offers upmarket organic catering at venues including Lords Cricket Ground, Ascot and the Natural History Musuem. In its first year Organica aims to cater for around twenty-five events. Menus are supervised (and sometimes cooked) by well-known chef Steven Saunders

“We got off to a slow start” admits Stephen, caused in part by a lack of knowledge about organic food from both suppliers and clients. Other difficulties have included acquiring sufficient quantities of organic produce to the correct standards plus a smaller market place for the sector as a whole post-September 11th. Because Sodhexo are constantly working in different venues they face a much higher degree of inspection than a restaurant or pub. Currently every new venue has to be inspected by the Soil Association before Sodhexo can serve any organic food, a considerable burden in terms of time and cost. Despite this Stephen is firmly behind the need for strong organic regulation and regards it as an asset – “it equates to a guarantee of quality for our clients and the public at large”.

There are “tremendous learnings” for the rest of the Sodhexo group. “It has created huge interest and much greater awareness of the issues ‘from farm to fork’. The chefs from Organica have made farm site visits so as to get to know their suppliers and experience organic farming at first hand, a first in our industry.” Future plans include building Organica to the point where there can be an organic offer across the thousands of Sodhexo outlets throughout the UK, including catering in the high-street, in canteens, at railway stations and at airports. Sodhexo also cater for schools and hospitals, and Stephen would very much like to be able offer an Organic Lunch Box scheme to all schools throughout the UK.

Other countries are keeping a keen eye on the success of organic restaurants in the UK. Australian Larry Mitchell recently visited London, researching the market ahead of the launch of his Melbourne organic caf Invita in October. ” We have excellent local produce that in season is comparatively cheap compared to London prices. Organic produce does command a premium here as in the UK, but there are times when it is as cheap as conventional produce. We do not have the import opportunities as the UK does for things in short supply or out of season, and having a low exchange rate versus the pound, US dollar or Euro we are forced to go local. London has the bonus of being a very large city and you have a culture of valuing organics and GM free food more than we do in Australia. Our organics retail is still less than 1% of total food sales. We have a lot of work to do to establish our market.” Although in Australia certification of organic cafes is optional, Larry is convinced that the way forward for organic catering is via strong, well-regulated organic standards. Larry has chosen to be certified by Biological Farmers of Australia (BFA). “They have been very proactive over the past year and I believe that our involvement with them will good for the industry as well as Invita in setting standards that are practical, achievable and do credit to the industry. Initially I believe that organic certification will make life more difficult, however, I believe that the promotion that we get will give us an extra lift that will after six months make the journey worth while.”

With the amount of food consumed outside the home continuing to rise, the catering industry is going to become increasingly important to the organic sector. Those caterers and restauranteurs who have entered the market with 100% organic menus are convinced that the Soil Association are right to insist on regular inspection and licensing of any establishment that serves any organic food. The new challenge is to devise a system which works for the pub or caf who would like to offer a single ‘Organic Dish Of The Day’ but who cannot handle the cost and complexity of full organic certification. Everyone would benefit from a regulatory system which allowed the UK’s pubs, cafes, restaurants and canteens to offer at least some organic food and drink through a system rigorous enough to deter fraud but flexible enough to meet the needs of the growing organic catering community.

For more information

Organic pubs
www.singhboulton.co.uk

Organica organic catering
www.organica-online.co.uk

Organic catering standards
www.soilassociation.org

Invita organic caf
www.invita.com.au

The People In Your Pantry

Simon Wright
The Organic Consultancy

Behind the wide variety of organic food and drink now on sale lies an equally varied selection of entrepreneurs and organic pioneers. Simon Wright of The Organic Consultancy has interviewed ten of the men and women who produce our organic food to discover their hopes, fears, motivation and achievements (and the first record they ever bought). This article originally appeared in organiclife magazine for March / April 2002

Craig Sams

Chairman, The Soil Association

At 57 (”and proud of it”) Craig is one of the senior figures in the UK organic world. Born in the USA he has lived in the Portobello Road area of London for many years and is the creator of the Whole Earth organic grocery brand, and more recently of the Green & Black’s brand of organic chocolate. Craig became involved with organic food in India in 1965 after being cured of hepatitis through adopting an organic and macrobiotic diet. Setting up an organic cocoa project in Belize in 1994 is Craig’s proudest achievement – “it has had a transformative effect on the economy on the Southern part of the country”. Recently elected as Chairman of the Soil Association Craig’s ambition for 2002 is to get the Soil Association onto a sound financial footing. His fear for organics is that “there is the ever present danger that organics will become marginalised through its own exclusivity. If standards move too far away from what consumers care about and what can actually be achieved then there is the danger that organics will become just one of many food quality standards rather than the universal criterion for excellence”. First record bought? “I Put A Spell On You by Screaming Jay Hawkins in 1956.”

Chantelle Ludski

Chief Operating Officer, Fresh! Organics

A more recent entrant to organics, Chantelle was born in South Africa and got interested in organics around 1995. Since then she has moved to Chiswick and set up the Fresh! Range of organic takeways in London. Her favourite organic product is the Fresh! Organic Cajun Chicken Sandwich – “I love spicy food and this is the best!”. Her view is that “organic food is here to stay – if it is marketed correctly and everyone involved stays true to the princples of organics it should be a significant chunk of the retail market for many years to come”. However she is concerned about quality “I think that some people forget that food always needs to taste great – that’s what makes consumers buy it and come back again”. Chantelle would like to see increased government support for organics and for research into the nutritional and health benefits of organics. First record bought? Abba 1978 (”I can’t remember which one, but I can picture the cover!”).

Andrew Whitley

Founder and Managing Director, The Village Bakery

Whilst working for the BBC in 1972 Andrew Whitley heard EF Schumaker speak about how Small is Beautiful. Andrew’s early experiments in growing wheat in an allotment in Stoke Newington eventually lead to him setting up the award-winning Village Bakery in Melmerby, Cumbria where he lives and bakes today. From the Village Bakery range his favourite product is the Borodinsky organic rye bread “because it is delicious and because the story of its origin – bread-fortified Russions kick foie-gras-savouring Napoleon out of Russia in 1812 – testifies to a respect for bread and its place in food culture that I find moving.” Andrew hopes that “organic food will become everyone’s birthright and that the chemical years will come to be seen as a historical abberation, the misbegotten offspring of an unholy coupling of reductionist science and human greed. Organic food can and must become the norm.” Andrew’s ambition for 2002 is to open an Organic Education Area at the Village Bakery “dedicated to the notion that armed with a humble loaf of bread you can embark on a voyage of discovery that encompasses much of what’s important to people and their long-suffering planet”. First record bought? Dedicated To the One I Love by The Mamas And The Papas.

Lorraine Brehme

Company Director, Clipper

After a colourful and varied career Lorraine joined her husband Mike in setting up Clipper as an organic tea importer. Lorraine lives in a “wonderfully isolated spot in the heart of Dorset – we can see the sea from the bottom of the garden, helps me to keep things in perspective”. Lorraine’s parents gew most of their food without fertilisers or pesticides so that when she left home “I couldn’t understand why the vegetables in the shops didn’t taste as good as they did at home!”. A vegetarian since the age of 19 pretty much everything Lorraine eats is organic. “The problem with being in the food industry is that I know how food is produced, which makes it almost impossible for me to eat anything except organic food.” From the Clipper range Lorraine usually drinks Green tea “although at the moment my favourite is Indian Chai, drunk sweet and milky”. She is optimistic about the prospects for organic food. “As long as organic is seen as high quality and farmers are paid more than the cost of production then I think we could have 50% of all food sold being organic by 2022.” However she is worried that as larger manufacturers enter the organic sector there will be pressure to lower organic standards. Lorraine’s plans for 2002 are to spend more time with her family (”whilst the children still want to be with us!”) and to generate much wider understanding as to what the terms ‘organic’ and ‘fair trade’ mean and how they can work together. First record bought? Monster by Jimmy Smith.

Rupert Maitland-Titterton

General Manager, Heinz Organic Foods

Heinz certainly fits the bill as far as a large manufacturer of organic foods following the launch of organic spaghetti, beans , ketchup and now soups. An organic consumer himself (”fresh fruit, vegetables, dairy and of course baked beans!”) Rupert is most proud of getting Heinz into organic food production, where sales are now 20 million per year. Like many people Rupert admits that he got interested in organics when his first child moved onto solid food. That was in 1998. Today his favourite Heinz organic product is the tomato ketchup. Rupert’s hopes for organic food are that it will “get people talking about food, food, food” : his fears are that “the beneficial claims for organic food cannot be substantiated and that consumers will not understand what organic food is all about because they will be hearing many different organic explanations”. Having run the London marathon and cycled from Athens to London Rupert’s ambition for 2002 is to unicycle along the tow path from the source to the mouth of the Thames! First record bought? Discovery by ELO.

Charlotte Mitchell

Managing Director, Go Organic

Charlotte’s passion for organic food started in 1976 in Edinburgh, where she still lives. “I started work for a natural food store in Edinburgh called Real Foods – I was even giving talks to Women’s Institutes about why you should eat brown bread and rice and the importance of a healthy diet. I knew then that I had MS and so was hugely motivated to learn more about how a good diet is related to good health. Once you develop a passion for nutrition then organic food is a natural step.” Having been chair of the Soil Association Charlotte Charlotte is most proud of starting up a new company Go Organic (”in my mid forties!”). “I wanted to produce delicious and nutritious organic food, which is hassle-free for people who (like me) don’t have the time or energy to cook. However, what really gives me a glow is seeing my two children grow up healthy and strong on a good nutritious, organic diet.” Charlotte’s favourite Go Organic product is Scotch Broth. “It has lots of vegetables and grains, bags of taste – really warms you up on a chilly winter’s day”. She would like to see children being taught in school about food production and the importance of organic agriculture “so they may make an informed choice about their lives when they grow up. Children are our future, they understand that we cannot continue to pollute our world in the way that we have been doing without paying a terrible price, including their health.” Like Lorraine, Charlotte is concerned that there will be a watering down of organic standards. “It seems that many consumers do not understand that organic means a system of agriculture and not just no chemicals”. First record bought? Please, Please Me by the Beatles (”My passion for music equals my passion for food.”)

Chris Parker

Managing Director, The Organic Spirits Company

A veteran of the sprits world Chris entered organics in 1996 and now produces organic gin, vodka and rum. He admits to being 60 (”to my surprise”) and is most proud of his Juniper Green Organic Gin being voted best gin at the International Wine and Spirit Competition in a blind tasting. Chris feels that “organics should have unlimited potential” but echoes fears about product quality. ” We have seen our competitors produce organic spirits using modern factory methods thereby ripping the heart out of the quality – consumers react by finding organic no better than traditional and never buy again. That is the biggest danger to our sector and many others.” First record bought? Donald’s Where’s Your Trousers? by Andy Stewart.

Hugh Mowat

Technologist for Organic Fruit, Salads and Vegetables, Marks & Spencer

Hugh first got involved with organics 10 years ago. “I was working on a non-organic farm and I started getting interested in why we did the things we did. I was like a six year old who doesn’t stop asking ‘why’. Some of the farming practices, from my point of view, did not make sense. Talking to organic farmers did not provide all the answers but did suggest quite a few.” Although he works in central London Hugh has to commute “I had to move out of London, because my window box was just not big enough! I wanted to have a garden – so I am now living in a village near Reading.” Hugh hopes that “more people start taking an interest in what organic production systems are trying to achieve. I also hope the interest increases in other areas of organic production such as organic clothing as well as related issues of environmental sustainability such as packaging and renewable energy. ” Hugh worries that the increasing competition amongst organic organisations in different countries for ever higher standards is leading to a confusing situation for customers rather than than the good intended. “Customers want to be able to rely on organic authenticity, and this would be made much easier by all organic organisations working together with a single organic food production standard. “. He is optimistic about the future – “there is an increasing demand by customers to know where their food is coming from and why. The more people learn, the more they are able to ask important and probing questions. Organic principles are already seeping into some parts of conventional food production practices.” First record bought? Spirit in the Sky by Dr and the Medics.

Lizzie Vann

Managing Director, Organix Brands

Another resident of Dorset, the head of Organix baby food first became involved with organics at an early age.” I ate organics at the age of 16, got involved with a shop selling it at 17 and worked with the Northern Wholefoods Co-Op at 18.” Organix was set up in 1992 and Lizzie is most proud of the fact that she has helped to increase organic baby food sales from zero to over 40% of the market today. Her favorite produce from the Organix range is the Organic Apple & Raspberry Fruit and Cereal bar – “they have a really strong fruity taste and are moist and soft – irresistible when you’re working late!”. Known for her strong views, Lizzie is another who fears for the dilution of organic standards “Let’s not forget that the profit motive that has destroyed the quality of many conventional foods is also at work in the organic food industry and needs to be constantly tempered with a set of real principles and real thought about the responsibility the industry has for its own future.” Her hopes for the future are equally forthright. “I would like to see the organic standards gradually embrace fair trade principles both for producers in the developing world and for producers in the UK, a clearer set of regulations about nutritional standards and more informative labelling. ” First record bought? ” Be serious! I’m not going to embarrass myself THAT much!”

William Kendall

Chief Executive, Whole Earth Foods

As a farmer William first became interested in organics “when I realised that it might provide a solution to some of the destruction of the English countryside that I was being forced to participate in as a farmer dependent on CAP subsidies. I first detected serious interest in organic food amongst consumers during my time as Managing Director of the New Covent Garden Soup Company”. Despite the commercial success of the Whole Earth organic grocery brand and more recently the Green & Black’s range of organic chocolate William is “most proud of the decision to start converting our Suffolk farm to organic. There are very few organic farmers in our part of the world and most of my neighbours think the decision was mad and dangerous but, whatever the commercial consequences, the environmental benefits even in the early years have justified the decision.” William practises what he preaches “I can’t start the day without Whole Earth Organic Muesli”. Like Lizzie, William worries that the organic label will be hijacked by “bandwagon jumpers who fail to understand that most consumers are trying to buy something fundamentally different. Such organisations will ultimately fail but there is a danger that the future will bring down the whole market. I believe that having an organic status will eventually become a platform for all mainstream quality food. In the future many other quality selling points will have to be developed in order to differentiate particular organic lines. I also believe that it could provide a future for much of Britain’s farming land.” First record bought? Dark Side of the Moon by the Pink Floyd. “I became a punk rocker soon after, buying The Clash and The Damned. It sounds quite sad now.”

Changing The World…One Stem At A Time!

Simon Wright
The Organic Consultancy

Simon Wright of The Organic Consultancy looks at organic cut flowers, the latest addition to the organic lifestyle. This article originally appeared in organiclife magazine for July/August 2002

June 2002 sees a new range of organically-grown flowers going on sale in Waitrose. This has come about through the vision of the Dutch company Eosta who saw a gap in the market. Founded by the visionary Vokert Engelsmann in 1990, today Eosta are major players throughout Europe and supply most UK supermarkets with fresh organic fruit and vegetables via their sister company Organic Farm Foods.

But why move into organic flowers ? Azra Secerbegovic of Eosta explains the benefits.” First and foremost, many cut flowers have been sprayed with toxic chemicals to keep them cosmetically perfect and those chemical residues are still on the flowers when they reach shops. Agricultural chemicals not only endanger the people who buy products sprayed with them, but can directly harm the workers who handle them. Some florists develop dermatitis on their hands and worry about what other effects their exposure to chemicals is having on their health. But there are other good reasons to grow flowers organically. When you put flowers in your home, it is the place where your children play, where you entertain friends, where you yourself come for solace and respite. Flowers should be there to nourish your soul, not something you have to feel cautious and tense about. With organic flowers, you will be free to enjoy with all your senses, and to experience the true joy that comes from working as a partner with nature.”

Azra is convinced that organic flowers last longer. “Organic practices focus on building soil fertility and growing healthy crops that are better able to withstand pests. Flowers are grown to follow the rhythm of the seasons and as the result they are strong, hardy and their vase life is longer.” Having combined an early training at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew with a Masters in Horticulture and Business Azra clearly feels that organic products must pay their way “I have a personal interest in organics, I believe that economy and ecology are inextricably connected. I think that sustainable agriculture needs a sustainable business approach to ensure ecological and social wealth for future generations.”

Eosta have their organic flowers inspected and certified by Skal, the leading Dutch independent organic certification body, in exactly the same way that organic food is certified. Every bunch or pot carries the certification mark (EKO) so customers can be reassured that the flowers are genuine products of organic agriculture. Azra explains that whilst all the flowers she sells are already certified” we are working with new growers to extend the range of flowers and the growing season. At the moment our demand is higher than our supply, a dangerous situation to be in. So we are looking for new growers all the time. Sales are very good in Germany, especially in health food shops. And we have strong sales in Holland, Belgium and France.”

Why are organic flowers significantly more expensive than non-organic ? Azra lists five main reasons.”Firstly the organic flowers take longer to grow, typically 2-3 weeks. Secondly the yield is lower, with less stems per square foot. Thirdly the flowers grow taller without chemical treatment so when we cut them to saleable height we lose more weight. Fourthly organic methods are more labour-intensive and therefore more costly. And finally we have to spend more on controlling pests using methods other then artificial pesticides.”

On the positive side Eosta claim that organic flowers have a stronger smell, are safer to touch and lead to a healthier environment. Are any of these features relevant to today’s consumers ? Asking consumers why they buy organic food and drink consistently come up with the same answers: the two most important factors given are better taste and better for you. So people buy organic food and drink for essentially selfish reasons – will consumers pay extra for organic flowers which cannot deliver these factors ? Sue Steptoe, Horticulture Buyer at Waitrose thinks that they will. Waitrose is selling the Eosta organic sunflower bouquet in all 136 branches at a price of 6.95 per bouquet. She may also be stocking a second bouquet in 85 branches of Waitrose, depending on what else is available this season.”We began selling organic flowers as far back as 1998″ said Sue. She sees the main point of difference as the environmental benefits offered by organic horticulture.”This will appeal to some of our customers. Generally customers buy these bouquets if they look like offering value for money and because they like the mix of the flowers.” Would Waitrose extend the current range ?”Probably not unless there was much better availability of a large range all year round. Prices would need to be reasonably close to those of non-organic flowers.” For Eosta cut flowers are only part of their range as waiting in the wings they have organic Daffodil and Muscari bulbs, plus bunches of Tulips. They also produce a full range of twenty-two different fresh organic herbs growing in pots, including coriander, oregano, rosemary, parsley and mint.

My Eosta organic mixed yellow bouquet was still looking good over two weeks after I got it home. The flowers smelt strongly and looked great. So I’m a convert. I like knowing that no horticultural workers suffered pesticide-related illnesses as a result of my liking for flowers around the house, in the same way that I am glad that my organic chocolate habit does not exploit cocoa producers. In Germany and Scandinavia there is a rapidly growing market for organic gardens, paint, cosmetics, furniture, leather, shoes and clothes. It is possible to see the development of organic flowers as part of a move to a totally sustainable lifestyle. However historically German and Scandinavian consumers have shown more enthusiasm for the environmental benefits delivered by organic production, whereas in the UK we have mostly responded to food scares and potential threats to individual health. If organic flowers take off in the UK then it will be good indicator that we see the organic market from a wider perspective than before.

For more information on Eosta organic flowers please visit www.eosta.com.

Setting The Standard

by Simon Wright

Simon Wright of The Organic Consultancy leads you through the maze of organic standards and explains why it all looks so complicated. This article originally appeared in organiclife magazine for October/November 2001.

How We Got Here

In the August/September edition of organiclife we looked at organic labelling and the bewildering profusion of organic symbols that appear on organic food and drink sold in the UK. Behind every organic symbol there is a set of organic standards and they are all different. Trying to understand the differences between the different organic standards is proving very difficult for the organic sector and nigh on impossible for organic consumers. How has such a complicated situation come about?

Organic legislation started in Europe in 1991 with EU Regulation 2092/91, which we translated into national legislation as the UK Organic Products Regulation the following year. This legislation specified how organic food was to be produced, processed and packaged to qualify for the description ‘organic’. Organic farming was defined as a way of growing crops that avoids the routine use of artificial pesticides or fertilisers: instead organic farmers grow their crops naturally, using crop rotation and other traditional techniques to keep the goodness in the soil. Unfortunately this legislation only covered crop products (fruit, vegetables, cereals) and it wasn’t until August 1999 that the initial EU organic regulations were extended to cover livestock production (meat, eggs, poultry and dairy products).

Between the years 1992 and 1999 the various European governments took widely differing approaches to how organic livestock production should be regulated and this difference persists today. In addition within each European country the different certifying bodies also adopted different positions. The end result was the wide variety of standards on organic livestock across Europe that we have today. Whilst this is undoubtedly confusing for all concerned it is worth emphasising that every certifying body in Europe must work to standards that at minimum meet the EU organic legislation. So you can be reassured that all organic products offer significant advantages over their non-organic versions. More difficult is understanding whether some organic standards are “better” than others. Let’s start in the UK.

The UK Big Three

The three biggest certifying bodies in the UK are The Soil Association, Organic Farmers and Growers (OF&G) and The Organic Food Federation (OFF). The Soil Association is the biggest, certifying over 4000 farmers and processing companies. Organic Farmers & Growers certify around 1500 enterprises, Organic Food Federation around 400. Philosophically the Soil Association is also different to the other two. Standards Director Francis Blake is clear that the Soil Association’s standards are in a state of continual upward development in order to “recommend best practice rather than just meet the minimum legal requirements”. Examples of where Soil Association standards exceed the legal minimum include more comprehensive standards on conservation, stronger measures to prevent contamination of organics by GM, more rigorous standards for organic pig production, smaller flocks for organic chickens and clearer labelling. Julian Wade at OFF refers to this as “gold plating” and feels that UK certifiers should only operate to the lower EU standards. Tim Green at OF&G also claims gold-plating but at a national level, with the problem being the UK governments relatively strict interpretation of EU organic legislation via UKROFS (the United Kingdom Register of Organic Food Standards) .

Mainland Europe

Problems have resulted from certifiers outside the UK operating what many would see as overly-relaxed interpretations of the EU legislation. An example here is the conversion period. Before a farmer can start producing organically the land must undergo a monitored conversion period during which time no artificial pesticides or fertilisers are applied. In the UK this period is two years. Julian Wade tells of “organic” wheat from the Ukraine where the conversion period was much less than this because the wheat was being grown on “virgin land”. The Dutch certifying agency SKAL involved regarded this as acceptable, but it is unlikely that any UK certifier would have. Another contentious areas is that in the UK all organic animals must be born on the farm, whilst elsewhere animals can be from conventional origin and merely spend the final part of their lives on an organic farm. In the UK free range the requirements on free range poultry are interpreted more strictly than in most other EU countries.

Organic Fraud?

The rapid growth of the organic sector in the last few years has also brought the potential for large amounts of money to be made by unscrupulous producers and traders selling non-organic products as organic. The recent edition of “The Money Programme’ focussed on frauds involving organic grain that wasn’t. Currently traders who buy and sell organic products do not have to be registered with an organic certifying body. The Soil Association are campaigning to have everyone along the organic supply chain certified, including agents, wholesalers and distributors. Modern scanning and laserprinting technology has made the forging of organic certificates possible and many certifiers would like to see all certificates to be security waterprinted to combat this.

The Role Of IFOAM

Francis Blake suggests that another way of reducing fraud would be for certifiers and governments to work more closely with IFOAM, the International Federation of Organic Agricultural Movements. IFOAM works closely with certifying bodies around the world to ensure they operate to the same standards. The Soil Association have devoted much time and effort to having their standards approved by IFOAM and they are currently the only UK certifier to have achieved this, although OF&G are in the process of having their standards approved by IFOAM. If every certifier raised their standards so as to become approved by IFOAM we would then have basis for a truly international standard for organic production. So IFOAM must be a good thing? Not necessarily says Julian Wade “We don’t need another hoop to jump through. IFOAM may have an application in certain parts of the world but not here in Europe”.

Enter The Supermarkets

In the UK supermarkets have enormous power to determine how the organic sector develops and what standards are adopted. So far they have been broadly supportive of maintaining existing organic standards but they have not sought to engage with the standards-setting process. This is beginning to change as the more thoughtful supermarkets begin to understand the organic market better. Consumer research confirms that the organic sector is integrity driven – consumers must be able to trust that products they buy as organic will reach the standards they expect. Sainsbury’s have decided that organic standards is too important an issue to leave to EU legislation, governments or even to certification bodies. For example organic egg producers who wish to supply Sainsbury’s must agree to comply with an eight point plan which ensures that the chickens involved will be reared with a strict commitment to good welfare practices. Robert Duxbury, Sainsbury’s Technical Manager for Organic Foods, envisages taking an even more active role in setting organic standards in the future. “In the same way that we seek to sell only the best quality organic food we are now aiming to achieve highest integrity in organic certification”. Robert is also responsible for committing Sainsbury’s to only work with IFOAM-approved certifiers for its own label organic products from January 1st 2003 – an ambitious programme aimed at delivering high levels of organic standards across the entire Sainsburys’s organic range. Where Sainsbury’s lead will other supermarkets follow?

Filling In The Gaps

Despite the plethora of regulation and legislation there are still some gaps. There is currently no European or UK legislation that covers the production of organic fish, so individual certifying bodies such as the Soil Association in the UK and Naturland in Germany are developing their own. However without a basic EU standard to work from the standards developed by these certifying bodies can result in many differences. We are also beginning to see the development of organic clothing, organic beauty products and organic restaurants. None of these are covered by the EU or UK national legislation and so in each case the Soil Association is developing its own standards.

Where Next?

Francis Blake feels that “organic standards need to evolve in order to get closer to true organic princples – we are still some way off”. He would like to see organic standards putting more emphasis on food quality and providing more information to consumers – for example the country of origin of all significant ingredients in a product. Francis also sees wider issues such as fairtrade, Food Miles and energy use becoming enshrined in the Soil Association’s standards. Tim Green at OF&G disagrees. “Standards will evolve over time but in the global market in which we operate it is difficult to see the advantage of rushing ahead with standards development if it puts UK producers at a disadvantage against foreign producers”. But do consumers expect organic standards to continue to evolve? No-one knows as the research has not yet been done. However as conventional agriculture clears up its act organic standards may have to become more stringent in order to keep “clear blue water” between organic and non-organic.

In America after years of disagreement and intense lobbying the US Government finally published its own National Organic Programme (NOP) legislation last December. On the whole the NOP appears to have been well-received by organic consumers and certifiers throughout the USA. However the legislation prevents certifiers from telling consumers via product labelling that they have set their own standards at a “higher” level than those set by the NOP. This was done because the US Department of Agriculture were worried that a plethora of different organic certification standards would confuse the consumer. In the UK Patrick Holden the Director of the Soil Association is lobbying to reduce the number of certifying bodies to prevent “dilution of standards and confusion to the consumer”. Renate Kunast, Germany’s radical Minister of Consumer Protection, Food and Agriculture is planning to introduce a single eco label which is applied to all German organic products that meet EU organic standards.

What all three of these initiatives have in common is they assume that the organic consumer is confused by the multiplicity of organic standards that currently exist and that this confusion will only be reduced by bringing the various organic standards together. The challenge for the organic sector is to manage this “convergence”, that is to bring all the different organic standards together without dumbing down to the point where consumer confidence in organics is lost. The threat to organic certifying bodies is that if they cannot voluntarily agree a common organic standard then governments are likely to step in and do it for them.

For Further Information

If you want to become better informed about organic standards you can contact the certifying bodies mentioned in this article. Tell them organiclife sent you!

• The Soil Association (tel 0117 9290661)
• Organic Farmers and Growers (tel 01743 462762)
• Organic Food Federation (tel 01760 720444)
• UKROFS (tel 020 7328 6000)

Labelling Matters

by Simon Wright

Simon Wright of The Organic Consultancy helps you make sense of organic labels and explains what you can and can’t say about organic food. This article originally appeared in the August/September 2001 edition of organiclife.

Understanding Organic Labels

Walk around any supermarket or organic food shop and you will be amazed by the diversity of organic labelling on display. With imports of organic food into the UK running at 75% there are many different countries supplying our shops with organic food. How can you tell whether those apples from Argentina are really organic? Organic food doesn’t always taste different to non-organic and appearance is no guide to organic quality. The answer is to Look At The Label – the information is all there if only you can decipher it!

A Legal Matter

Exactly how organic food is labelled is closely controlled by law. Consumers can buy organic food safe in the knowledge that product labelling is checked before the food goes on sale. Checking is the job of the organic certification body, an organisation that exists to ensure that organic farmers and producers follow the rules in producing their organic products. In turn the certifying bodies are controlled by the government to ensure they do their job effectively. We currently have nine different certification bodies in the UK, and each has a different symbol. The symbols of the most common certifying bodies are shown below. The symbols you will see most frequently on UK-produced organic food are those of The Soil Association, Organic Farmers & Growers and the Organic Food Federation.

By law every product must carry a description that the product is organic as part of its title. Bearing in mind that the word organic describes a method of production we should really say “Potatoes that have been organically grown” or “Potatoes Produced under Organic Standards”. Most producers use the simpler “Organic Potatoes” as the product name, but somewhere in the small-print you should find one of these more precise descriptions.

What, No Symbol?

Many shoppers look for the symbol of a certifying body such as the Soil Association on a product label as an essential reassurance that a given food is really organic. However the use of such symbols is entirely optional and a product can still be organic even though if it doesn’t carry the symbol of a certifying body. What must be present in law are the words “Organic Certification” followed by a code. For UK certifying bodies the code will be prefixed by “UK’. If you see “Organic Certification UK5″ on a product label it means that this product has been checked and certified by the Soil Association as being organic, and this holds even if no Soil Association symbol is shown. UK2 refers to Organic Farmers & Growers, UK4 is the Organic Food Federation and so on. In law organic products must always carry a certification code – ultimately this code is your only guarantee that a food or drink is truly organic. You should be suspicious of any product that purports to be organic but carries no organic certification code. Finally I have been asked whether organic food that carries the code UK5 is five tines more organic than food carrying the code UK1: this is emphatically not the case!

So Why Isn’t My Ketchup 100% Organic?

When the market for organic food consisted of organic fruit and vegetables understanding whether an apple was organic was very simple: if it had been grown according to the organic regulations then the apple was organic, end of story. The situation has been made more complicated by the recent development of organic processed foods, most of which contain a number of different ingredients. Consumers are often surprised to find non-organic ingredients listed on the label of an organic food.

Here is typical list of ingredients taken from the label of a bottle of organic Tomato Ketchup:

“Ingredients: Organic Tomatoes, Water, Organic Sugar, Organic Vinegar, Organic Spices, Seasalt, Gelling Agent: Pectin”

Out of the seven ingredients listed four are organic and three are not. Yet the product can still be legally sold as Organic Tomato Ketchup. The reasons for this apparent anomaly are hidden in the small print of the EC organic regulation 2092/91. This says that water and salt do not need to be organic. Once water and salt have been taken out of the recipe at least 95% of what remains must be organic, with no more than 5% of non-organic ingredients. However manufacturers are only allowed to use non-organic ingredients if the organic version does not exist. So in our Organic Tomato Ketchup non-organic pectin is permitted because no organic pectin yet exists. Once an organic ingredient exists manufacturers are required to start using it. Some supermarkets are encouraging their suppliers to aim higher than 95% organic and deliver 100% organic products wherever possible.

Different producers use a variety of ways to distinguish between organic and non-organic ingredients on their labels. Here are two further, equally legal versions of our Organic Tomato Ketchup ingredients list:

“Ingredients: Tomatoes *, Water, Sugar *, Vinegar *, Spices *, Seasalt, Gelling Agent: Pectin * = organically grown and processed”

“Organic Ingredients: Tomatoes, Water +, Sugar +, Vinegar +, Spices +, Seasalt, Gelling Agent: Pectin + = permitted non-organic ingredient”

The second version is used to emphasise that there may be non-organic ingredients in an organic product but these are still carefully controlled in law – for example the non-organic ingredients in an otherwise organic product must be all natural, cannot be genetically modified and so on.

What about imported products?

Organic food produced elsewhere in the EU is covered by the same organic regulations that control organic food labelling in the UK. However this legislation allows for organic food to be referred to as “ecologico”, “okologisk”, “biologique”, “biologico”, “biologisch” or “ekologisk” and you will often see one of these tems used on the labels of organic food produced outside the UK . Further confusion arises when “biologique” is shortened on a label to “bio”, a term we in the UK more usually associate with live yoghurt or washing powder!

At the last count there were around 130 different certifying bodies throughout Europe, although more are starting up all the time. Each certifying body works to at least the EU organic legislation but every organisation has its own symbol, which results in great consumer confusion. Some of the better known European certifiers are Skal (Holland), Ecocert (France) and BCS (Germany). Every certifying body has a certification code which reflects its country of origin . So for example Skal is NL01, Ecocert is FRAB01 and BCS is DE001. It is perfectly legal for organic products to be sold in the UK under foreign certification but any product from within the EU must carry a certification code and this is your reassurance that such products are truly organic. The rules are slightly different for organic products from non-EU countries such as the USA but even these are subject to checks when they arrive to ensure all organic products are produced to broadly the same organic standards as within the EU.

Can it get any more confusing? Just watch! The French and German governments now both have their own organic symbols and there is even an EU organic symbol. Finally the international organisation IFOAM (the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements) has launched its own seal to provide a truly global standard of organic certification. With such an extraordinary diversity of organic certifying bodies and symbols it is not surprising that organic shoppers get so confused. A single symbol that meant organic in every country in the world would undoubtedly be massively popular with consumers. However given that most certifying bodies have slightly different standards and approaches it is difficult to see how all the different organisations could be brought together ito a single universal standard. Supermarkets such as Sainsbury’s and Waitrose are beginning to favour specific certifying bodies, particularly those accredited to IFOAM. Such initiatives are probably our best chance of clarifying the current confusion.

And just when you thought you understood organic…

Here are some other terms you may see on product labels. Biodynamic farming is an extension of organic farming that adds an extra spiritual element. All biodynamic food is organic, but not all organic food is biodynamic. The certifying body that certifies to biodynamic standards is called Demeter (UK6). Biodynamic agriculture lends itself especially well to wine production and the finest organic champagne is biodynamic. If biodynamic is “more than organic” then ICM (Integrated Crop Management) and Conservation Grade are “less than organic”. Both these schemes seek to minimise but not eliminate the use of pesticides and both are voluntary schemes not governed by legislation. In-conversion products are those on their way to becoming fully organic. When a conventional farmer decides to switch to organic methods there is under UK law a period of at least two years when the land undergoes a transition from conventional to organic production. These two years are termed the conversion period so crops grown during this time are referred to as in-conversion. Through buying in-conversion products you can help farmers go fully organic.

What you can and can’t say about organics

Organic food companies are very limited in law as to the claims they can make on their labels. The EU organic legislation states that “no claim may be made on the label that suggests to the purchaser that the (indication that the product is organic) constitutes a guarantee of superior organoleptic, nutritional or salubrious quality”. In other words claims that organic food are tastier, better for you or superior in quality are not permitted. Terms such as “GM-free” and “Pesticide-free’ are also discouraged – whilst organic food undoubtedly offers consumers their very best chance of avoiding GM or pesticides in these days of genetic pollution it is a very brave organic producer who makes such unequivocal claims. Preferred are statements such as “organic standards prohibit GM techniques and reliance on the routine use of artificial pesticides and fertilisers”. Over the last year the Advertising Standards Authority has taken a keen interest in the claims being made for organic food and has now published some guidelines as to what is acceptable at www.cap.org.uk.

And if you’re not happy with a label…

If you feel that the label of an organic product is unsatisfactory in any way then exercise your rights as an active consumer and take it further. You can write to the producer of the food, whose address by law must be printed on the product label. If you get no satisfaction there you can contact a certification body such as the Soil Association (www.soilassociation.org) who may be able to help. In the UK organic legislation is ultimately enforced by local authority Trading Standards Officers, whose telephone number is be listed in the your phone book. The overwhelming majority of organic products sold in the UK comply with the law, irrespective of which country they come from. Frequently organic labels give you much more information than they the minimum required by law. Often you will find information on where a product comes from, who has produced it and what makes it special – all part of the increased openness and respect for the consumer that distinguishes organic food and drink.

Organic Britain

by Simon Wright

Just how organic is Britain? Who is buying organic food – and why? Simon Wright, founder of The Organic Consultancy, reviews the latest research on the state of our Organic Nation and suggests where we might be going. This article originally appeared in organiclife magazine for June/July 2001

Introduction

The recent sad scenes in Britain’s countryside have generated considerable debate about the future of UK agriculture. In the past the organic sector has only been able to contribute from the margins but this time The Soil Association, the largest organic certifying body in the UK, has played a major role in deciding what should happen to UK farming. The director of the Soil Association Patrick Holden was an early high-profile supporter of a vaccination programme, and Soil Associaton Chair and organic livestock farmer Helen Browning has been a regular contributor to BBC’s Newsnight. So now is a good time to investigate the contents of the new Soil Association Food and Farming Report, launched amidst much publicity at the London International Food Exhibition in March.

What we buy and where we buy it

605 million of organic food and drink was sold during the year 1999-2000. This compares to 390 million for 1998-99, a growth rate of 55%. To put this into context, most mature sections of the food and drink industry are delighted if they can increase their sales by 2 or 3% in a year! Increasingly we bought our organic food and drink from the major supermarkets, whose market share rose to 74% of total organic food sales. Major supermarkets such as Sainsbury’s (currently Organic Supermarket Of The Year) now sell well over 1000 organic lines in their larger stores, and their determination to sell a wider range of organic products at ever more competitive prices has undoubtedly driven the market. Health food shops lost market share, dropping from 16% to 13%.. However there are alternatives, and the last year has seen the growth of many new channels such as Direct Sales, Farmers Markets, Box Schemes and Farm Shops. What these schemes have in common is a more direct link between consumers and producers, resulting in more local distribution (less Food Miles) and more mud on the potatoes.

There are some big changes in the type of organic food and drink that we’re buying. Whilst organic fresh fruit and vegetables are still the biggest category (230m sales per year) their market share is actually down 7% on last year. That’s because we are buying more organic dairy products (106million), Groceries (97 million), Cereals, bread and biscuits (67million), eggs (31million), drinks (24million) and babyfood (24million). Overall the move is way from simple food like organic vegetables and into more highly processed foods like chilled or frozen organic ready meals. Whilst the organic purist might argue that organic food should never be processed, the public continue to vote with their feet. For example, organic baby food continues to be a major growth area. Lizzie Vann OBE is the charismatic founder of the Baby Organix babyfood company and the sponsor of the Food and Farming report. Lizzie likes to explain the growth in organic food sales by saying that three years ago one baby in five ate organic food, last year it was one baby in three, now it is one baby in two.

Enter the Big Boys

Growth rates like 55% were always going to be attractive to the multinational food companies, and the last 12 months has seen major manufacturers like Mars (Seeds of Change), Rank Hovis McDougall (Enjoy Organic), Nestle and Heinz all enter the UK organic food market. We have also seen supermarkets begin to market best-selling lines such as organic flour, sugar and milk under their own label. The Soil Association is concerned that these developments may undermine the organic market. The entry of large manufacturers selling organic lines like instant organic coffee (Nestle) or ready-made pasta sauce (Seeds of Change) could lead to “a loss of distinctiveness or integrity” in the market. The Soil Association argues that the relative anonymity of supermarket own-label products do not adequately inform consumers about who has produced the food and where it comes from. Sensitive to such criticism forward-looking retailers like Waitrose are beginning to tell their customers more about their own-label organic food and drink.

At the launch of the Food and Farming Report Lizzie Vann was hostile to what she sees as large companies muscling in on the organic market. She fears that they will try and lower organic standards and generally “dumb down” the organic market. Charlotte Mitchell, Managing Director of Go Organic, has a different perspective. “If large companies come into the organic world in partnership with pioneers of the organic movement they will be able to help develop the market with knowledge of the best organic standards. One route to positive change is from within. Go Organic has become involved with Unilever Bestfoods precisely because they wanted to enter the market with a genuine understanding of its principles. ”

Who buys organic food?

The Market Research firm Taylor Nelson/Sofres (TNS) researched 15,000 UK households to generate the data contained in the Food and Farming report, which gives a fascinating insight into why UK consumers are getting so interested in organic food and drink. In summary more households are buying organic food more frequently and spending more each time they do so. Two-thirds of UK households bought something organic in the last year. Currently the average spend on organic food is low at 2.71 per trip. The profile of the typical organic consumer is older, upmarket with a considerable bias towards London and the south of England. 7% of organic buyers account for a startling 57% of all the money spent on organics in a year. Such loyalty means these deeply committed organic buyers are spending nearly 200 per year on organic food (the average household spend is 22 per year).At the other end of the spectrum almost 30% of organic buyers only bought one organic food item in the last 12 months – probably by mistake!

…and Why?

TNS asked 6,500 organic shoppers why they bought organic food. The key reasons given were concerns over food safety, personal health, environmental concern and a desire for convenience. The picture of the organic buyer that emerges is of a someone concerned about food safety (either their own or that of their family), aware about health and fitness (they exercise, look out for healthy foods), concerned about the environment (they recycle, worry about animal welfare) but they are ready to pay more for convenience (internet shopping, home delivery). Interestingly organic buyers tend to watch BBC2 or Channel 4 and they prefer broadsheet newspapers such as the Financial Times and the Telegraph. The relationship between being a dedicated organic consumer and listening to The Archers was not investigated, but a correlation seems very likely!

The Price Premium: Is Organic really so expensive?

When Which? conducted a poll amongst UK consumers in October 1999 nearly half of those interviewed (45%) said that they chose not to eat organic food because it cost too much compared to non-organic foods, and similar attitudes were found in the TNS survey. But does the widely-held view that organic food is a lot more expensive hold water? Not entirely, says the Food & Farming Report. It is important to compare like with like. One example used is fruit juice (see Table 1)

Table 1: The cost of organic and non-organic fruit juice ( per litre pack) over a 12 month period to December 10 2000

	Sainsbury's Taste The Difference	2.40

	Tropicana				1.94

	Chilled Organic fruit juice 	1.68

	Ambient Organic fruit juice		1.54

	Chilled fruit juice		1.36

	Ambient fruit juice		0.52

Source: TNS (2001)

Some non-organic juices – Taste The Difference and Tropicana – were more expensive than the organic juices. When comparing the average price of organic chilled fruit juice to non-organic fruit juice we see a relatively modest premium – here 32p per litre, or 23%. Most research indicates that consumers who are interested in buying organic food are prepared to pay a modest premium – say an additional 15-20%. Much work is currently going on behind the scenes to achieve this sort of reduced price premium without reducing the amount of money paid to organic farmers for their precious crops. In some areas this has already paid off – a large pot of Yeo Valley Organic yoghurt can sell in Sainsbury’s at exactly the same price as 500g of Sainsbury’s natural (but non-organic) Bio yoghurt. But organic products can be too cheap – focus groups have reported that if organic food sells for the same price as non-organic, how can they be sure it is really organic? Certainly the unsuccessful attempt made by Iceland last year to sell organic food at the same price as non-organic shows how difficult it is to get the question of an organic premium right. To high and consumers can’t afford to pay – too low and producers can’t afford to grow the crops.

The Organic Future

Currently the future for organic food in the UK looks bright, although it is difficult to forsee how the aftermath of Foot and Mouth will affect organic farmers. However it is a sobering thought that only 2.3% of agricultural land in the UK is being managed organically, and there are no Government targets to increase this miserly amount. As a comparison the German government has set their farmers the target of reaching 20% of all land to be farmed organically by 2010. The result of this imbalance – a strong UK market for organic food but relatively few UK organic farmers – is that we are importing the vast majority of organic food we eat, possibly as much as 70%. We are a long way from fulfilling the organic slogan of “Think Global, Eat Local” and the Food miles are mounting up.

Of course if the government really wanted to address the problems of ‘industrial’ farming whilst ensuring effective stewardship of the countryside there is really only one sustainable course of action… Prince Charles for Minister of Organic Agriculture!