Organic food

What is organic food?

Most farming relies heavily on artificial chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Around 350 pesticides are permitted, and it's estimated that 4.5billion litres of them are used annually. While there are Government rules about accepted levels of pesticide residues in our food, there can be concerns about their long-term effect. Agrochemicals and artificial fertilizers can harm the environment too.

Organic agriculture is carried out to a set of legally defined standards. Producers then pay to have their produce monitored and certified by one of several organic organisations, of which the Bristol-based Soil Association is by far the largest in the UK.

Organic farming strictly limits the use of artificial chemical fertilizers or pesticides. Antibiotics for animals are kept to an absolute minimum. Instead it emphasises farming methods such as crop rotation to keep the soil healthy and natural pest-control systems. Genetically modified crops are forbidden. Organic bodies also demand more space for animals and higher welfare standards.

Organic standards

All UK organic food is certified to the baseline standards set by the European Union Organic Regulations 2004. In addition to these, the various organic control bodies in the UK set their own requirements. There are a number of organic control bodies in the UK. Some aim to set standards higher than the basic requirements, while others require only the basic EU standards for certification.

The Soil Association is the largest and best-known organic control body in the UK. It campaigns on behalf of the organic movement, tends to emphasise integrated farming, crop rotation and biodiversity more than some others and aims to set standards for animal welfare and environment that go beyond the basic organic standards. It has particularly rigorous requirements for poultry. Soil Association-certified laying hens have lower stocking densities; they and meat chickens are kept in smaller flocks and have more space indoors and out than others. The standards of all organic control bodies in the UK are available on the Defra website.

Organically produced meat may come from animals given some non-organic feed, however, and antibiotics are not altogether banned from organic farms. But buying food that is certified as organic or biodynamically produced, whatever the logo, can give consumers the reassurance that higher welfare and environmental standards are at least being pursued. If you really want to know how food was produced, though, there’s no substitute for buying your produce direct from the farm.

Is organic food 'better'?

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has been unwilling to endorse the nutritional or health benefits of organic food in the absence of strong scientific proof. It advocates consumer choice rather than an aggressively pro or anti-organic stance. Government ministers have followed suit by describing buying organic food as a 'lifestyle' choice. Given that most people don't eat enough fruit and vegetables, the logic goes, it's important they are not put off eating more by believing conventional produce isn't healthy.

The FSA continually reviews the latest research to make sure its advice is based on the most up-to-date science. In July 2009, the results of an FSA-commissioned report into the nutritional benefits of organic food were released. The study, led by researchers from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, aimed to test whether organic food is more nutritious than conventionally produced food, and to what degree. The team carried out a systematic review of the 162 peer-reviewed research papers published since 1958 on the health benefits and nutritional content of organic food.

The researchers found that levels of nutrients such as Vitamin C, calcium, potassium and iron remained equal in organic and conventionally produced foods; there were also few differences in the nutritional content of meat, dairy and eggs. Substantially higher levels of phosphorous and small increases in magnesium and zinc were detected in some organic foods, while some conventionally produced foods had a significantly higher nitrogen content. Although the findings showed that about a third of the organic foods studied do offer marginally improved nutritional benefits compared to their conventional counterparts, the report concluded that these variations were too slight to have a real impact on public health. However, the report recognised that the findings were based only on the evidence available at that time.

The FSA praised the study, saying that although consumers have different motivations for buying organic food, the findings would help people to make 'informed choices'. However, the Soil Association criticised the report's methodology, claiming that the study was not conducted on a large enough scale.

Organic produce - ups and downs

Sales of organic food in the UK had been performing remarkably well until the recession. The Soil Association’s Organic Market Report 2009 showed that sales of organic food grew by only 1.7 per cent in 2008, following more than a decade of sustained growth in this area. This modest level of growth is in sharp contrast to the 22 per cent increase in sales reported in the Soil Association's previous report, in 2007. In 2008, British consumers spent more than £2.1 billion on organic food, compared with just under £2 billion in 2006.

The 2007 report showed that more people were bypassing the shops and getting their organic fruit and vegetables from box schemes, mail-order or straight from the farm. These direct sales went up by 53 per cent from £95 million in 2005 to £146 million in 2006. After sales rose to £560 million in 2007, they all but levelled off in 2008, rising only 1.4 per cent to £568 million. This plateau was explained by the economic upheaval the country suffered at the end of 2008. However, the 2009 report suggests that instead of breaking their commitment to organic food, shoppers were switching to the organic produce sold in supermarkets in order to reduce costs. Sales of produce from farmers' markets proved the exception to the rule, increasing by 18.6 per cent in 2008 to £23.7 million.

The slump

In general, since the financial shocks of late 2008 and the subsequent recessionary belt-tightening, sales of organic food have slumped. According to research by IGD, an independent organisation representing grocery distributors, the proportion of UK shoppers who say they buy organic food in 2009 has dropped to 19 per cent from 24 per cent in 2008. Joanne Denney-Finch, IGD’s chief executive says, “We believe this [drop] is partly due to a swing towards other ethical options, and it is mainly among more casual organic shoppers. A strong core of dedicated organic shoppers remains.” In the same report, shoppers said they remain committed to buying Fairtrade produce.

Organic farming in the UK

More farmers have been converting to organic, a process that can take three years. In January 2007, there were 4,639 organic producers in the UK, representing an annual increase of seven per cent. Organic holdings represented approximately 3.9 per cent of all farms in the UK. However, since the recession, many farmers are finding organic farming to be increasingly difficult in the face of increased costs. In 2008, the total number of organic farms had risen to 4,955, a slightly lower rate of increase compared to the previous year.

The environmental argument

Organic farming is less harmful to the environment, because balance and biodiversity are encouraged. Without herbicides and pesticides wildlife can flourish, and there are no potentially polluting chemicals. Because it does not rely on agrochemicals and artificial fertilizers, which use fossil fuel in their production, organic farming has a lower carbon footprint than conventional agriculture, typically using 27 per cent less energy, according to Government findings.

However, consumers of organic produce surveyed in the Soil Association’s Organic Market Report 2009 rated the lower environmental impact of organic food as the least compelling reason to buy it. They valued factors such as quality and taste and high animal welfare standards more highly than the benefit of organic food to the environment.

Local versus imported

Only five years ago 70 per cent of the organic food bought in the UK was imported. Now imports account for only 30 per cent of the organic market and much of that is exotic produce such as chocolate, bananas, tea and coffee, which can't be grown in the UK. Organic vegetable box schemes have been an important driver of organic food's success in the UK.

Because of concerns about how food production and transport contribute to global warning, air-freighting has been under scrutiny. The Soil Association calculates that although less than one per cent of all imported organic food is air-freighted the climate change impact caused by organic food should be minimised. Without banning air-freighting, its 2008 consultation paper stated that only air-freighted organic food that meets the Soil Association's own Ethical Trade or the Fairtrade Foundation's standards would earn its approval in future.

What's the cost?

Crops grown organically are more vulnerable to pests and disease. It is also more labour intensive and farmers pay more for organic animal feed. Because organic food costs more to produce, it's more expensive for consumers to buy. But Government subsidies have focused on mainstream farming, keeping the price of conventional foods low in comparison.

With pressure on our food supplies coming from the demand for bio-fuels, worldwide there is a shortage of cereal. The UK has to import more than 50 per cent of organic livestock feed, and feed prices have been going up. That in turn affects the price farmers have to charge for meat, milk, eggs and bread, whether organic or not.

Buying locally produced organic food direct via a box scheme or farmers' market is a 'greener' way to shop and is better value. It can be argued that there are hidden costs in conventional, chemical-dependent farming. We pay to tackle the pollution of our water supplies, caused by artificial fertilizers, at a cost of about £120m a year, through our taxes and higher water bills rather than at the checkout.

A matter of taste?

The jury is out on whether organic food tastes better. Organic chickens live longer than battery chickens and the taste is incomparable. Organic chickens also live longer than most free-range birds although there is arguably little or no difference in flavour and quality.

But food that isn't certified as organic can also be produced to equally high standards with taste as a priority. For example, top quality grass-fed and free-range beef might not be certified as organic because of the expense and inconvenience involved in ensuring that all the pasture on which the herd grazes has received organic certification. When it comes to taste and quality, organic food isn't necessarily the be all and end all.

Organic certification does give a guarantee that food has been responsibly produced with consideration for the environment, the highest animal welfare standards and careful crop management. Buying locally produced food with a minimum of packaging, through a box scheme or farmers' market should give you the reassurance that you are supporting more-sustainable agriculture.

Updated July 2009