A BEGINNERS GUIDE TO ORGANIC
What exactly is 'organic'?
We're all pretty used now to seeing the label on some of the foods on our supermarket shelves, and maybe even on our beauty products or even some of our clothes. But what does it really mean?
If pushed, I'm guessing most of us would say "something to with pesticides" perhaps, and if asked why we choose organic (if we do) we might say that we think it's better for us. But is this true?
To celebrate and promote #OrganicSeptember I've teamed up with Organic UK* to create a mini-series of podcast episodes and blog posts delving a bit deeper into all things organic. In this post, I'm going to try to answer some of the most commonly asked questions, and create a kind of 'beginners guide' to organic.
This is a bit of an epic post. But it's a bit of an epic topic. I hope it's helpful!
* This is a paid promotion with Organic UK
1. What is organic?
Collins Dictionary
Cambridge Dictionary
Merriam-Webster (Have to be honest, not a clue what this really says...)
The Soil Association is a charity that campaigns for good food for all, produced with care for the natural world, it also has standards for organic food and drink that the majority of food / drink sold in the UK are certified to, and on their "What is organic?" page, this is what they say:
"Organic is a system of farming and food production that aims to produce sufficient quantities of high-quality food. This is done using methods that deliver a breadth of benefits across our whole food system, from people to planet, plant health to animal welfare."
In the Organic 101 podcast episode Lee Holdstock, Trade Development Manager at Soil Association Certification came up with this:
"Organic is a method of agriculture, a way of farming. Working with nature. It's stewardship. Handing over the land to our children and grandchildren in a fit state. It's about taking responsibility."
Now I feel like we're getting somewhere! It sounds a bit like what many of us are trying to in our own lives.
Going back to The Soil Association website, they list a number of principles:
2. Is organic a legal definition?
Yes! The good news is it's EU law (since 1991) that for a product to be labelled 'organic' it must be certified and meet a minimum set of standards. If you're a super keen-bean you can check out what those EU standards are here.
3. What logos and badges should we be looking out for?
Food labelling can be confusing, and there are a plethora of different badges and logos around. If you're knee deep in the supermarket shop with a screaming toddler in the trolley, the good news is that there are a couple of key logos to keep your eye for:
The EU organic logo - all organic food sold in the UK must meet the EU regulations in order to display this badge. Don't even ask about Brexit.
EU organic logo
The Biodynamic Association are another organisation supporting producers, and providing organic certification, which you can read more about here.
The Biodynamic Association Certification
The Soil Association is the UK's largest and oldest certification body and licenses over 70% of the organic produce for sale here in the UK. And they have higher (read stricter) standards over and above the EU ones, which you can check out here. You will undoubtedly have seen their logo around, but maybe not realised exactly what it means.
Soil Association logo
Organic Farmers and Growers (OF&G) certify over 30% of the UK organic sector, so is another logo to keep your eyes out for.
Organic Farmers and Growers logo
4. What are the benefits of organic?
Perhaps unsurprisingly, I'm going to say 'lots!', and I'll briefly outline them below. But one thing I really want to highlight that I don't think I had quite grasped before, is the huge benefit that organic has when it comes to the climate crisis. Soil stores carbon within it, and healthy soil is able to lock more carbon away. The vast majority of artificial fertilisers are fossil fuel based potentially giving our food a hefty carbon footprint before it's even left the farm to make it's way to the supermarket shelves. Routine use of pesticides kills off not only the 'pests' but also the beneficial insects as well, and as we heard in Episode 72 of the Sustainable(ish) podcast with Buckley's Bees, insect populations are crashing, having knock on effects on the ecosystems they inhabit, as well as a potentially catastrophic impact on how we farm.
One of the things I bang on about a lot, is the power of the choices that we make. When we're choosing organic, I think it's fair to say we're making a choice for the planet. For the health of our soils, our wildlife and nature, and for future generations.
Here's that list of benefits I promised:
- Better for the planet
According to the website Farm Carbon Toolkit, agriculture is responsible for 9% of all Greenhouse Gas emissions in the UK. Together with related emissions from changing land use and cutting down forests, it accounts for around 30% of GHG emissions globally. The Soil Association's research shows that if Europe’s farmland all followed organic principles, agricultural emissions could drop by 40-50% by 2050. That's a massive chunk of carbon saved right there. - Higher welfare for livestock
The Soil Association's standards for animal welfare are the highest of any certification in the UK - you can take a look at them here. - Better for nature and wildlife
Organic farming uses far fewer pesticides meaning that there is around 50% more plants and insects on organic farms, and 75% more wild bees. - Better for our own health
The routine use of pesticides and antibiotics in many conventional farming systems can mean that residues can be present in the food that we eat. Choosing organic hugely limits (eliminates?) the amount of chemicals that we are unwittingly ingesting.
There's lots more info on the benefits of organic on The Soil Association website here.
5. Can organic feed the world?
There is an argument that to feed a growing global population that we need to keep pushing for higher and higher yields, and that farming organically would mean that we wouldn't have enough food (yields can sometimes be lower).
Conventional farming has weakened the soil - when I interviewed Anna at The Urban Worm she blew me away when she told me that here in the UK we only have around 30-40 years of healthy soil left. And the poorer the soil becomes, the lower the yields will be, and the more artificial fertilisers we need - it's a vicious cycle from which it will be very difficult to recover.
30% of all food produced is wasted. And 30% of the global population is clinically obese. So really, what we're looking at as the population grows, isn't a problem of volume of food - it's more about the quality of the food, and distributing it effectively.
If we're able to shift farming practices to ones that preserve soil health, produce better quality food, and reduce food waste, we'd go a long way to being able to feed the world without wrecking it.
6. Why is organic often more expensive?
There may well be people reading this, thinking "that all sounds great, and I would love to choose more organic, but I'm on a budget and organic is often more expensive".
This is such a complex area, and we touched on this a bit in the Organic 101 podcast, talking about the fact that in the same way that the price for 'fast fashion' comes is the cost to the people working in the industry and the planet, the price for highly intensive, processed food is to the planet, and that we aren't seeing the 'true cost' of food production reflected in the prices we pay.
There's so more info here from Clare McDermott at Soil Association Certification:
- Smaller volumes / diseconomies of scale
The organic market is (still) only 1.6% of total food and drink – that’s quite small despite it growing rapidly. And that means it doesn’t reach the large economies of scale that you can achieve with non-organic. That might be at growing level (where actually yields and return are higher often for organic) through having smaller manufacturing runs in factories to having to keep production lines separate. The cost comes down when you get bigger volumes and dairy, for example, which has a higher penetration and market share (more people buy organic dairy) is nearer in price to non-organic. - Higher labour costs
Economies of scale come into this again - it's harder to pick a small field of carrots than a large one. There are some areas where its more labour intensive and less mechanised and there is also more hands on management. - Pricing decisions by retailers
This one is key as non-organic food will often be on promotion. These promotions don't reflect the true cost of production and makes the organic differential look really large. Organic food will also be on promotion, but less so as it is seen as a value add line for them. This is especially true of products like milk, which many supermarkets us a loss leader to get people through the doors.
Ultimately we need to decide on how we feel about a cheap food culture which is coming to the forefront of the debate currently, alongside do we want to pay more for food that has a benefit to the environment.
7. Why is organic fruit and veg in the supermarket usually packaged in single use plastic?
It's SO frustrating isn't it? We're trying so hard to do the right thing - we're looking for organic produce, and we're looking for loose fruit and veg because we're trying to reduce our plastic footprint, and it feels like we have to make a choice. We can have one or the other, but not both. Why?!!
I asked this question in the Organic 101 podcast, and Guy Singh-Watson from Riverford explained that it's often for the convenience of the retailers. When you have conventional apples next to organic ones, and the organic ones cost more (see points above for why!) there needs to be some way of distinguishing between them. The packaging also provides a way for the retailer to give you the information you need about the organic product, eg certification etc. Do have a closer look at the packaging though, as many retailers are making changes to introduce things like home compostable and recyclable versions.
Yes, it's hugely frustrating. One option to think about is to look into local veg box delivery schemes. These will often be organic and come with substantially less packaging - I really notice the difference in our bin if I forget to order our fruit and veg box!
8. How can we as consumers help to push for more organic products and practices?
AKA How can I be organic(ish)...?
- Buy organic if and where you can!
Organic UK are running a 'Power of One' campaign, encouraging consumers (us) to swap out regular item for an organic one in their weekly shop. Remember, that as with all things Sustainable(ish) it's not all-or-nothing. Can you get a veg box once a month? Or every other week? Can you go 50:50 on your milk? Shop with the seasons - when it's in season, fresh, local organic produce will often be cheaper/comparable to conventional. - Share the choices that you're making
If you join in with the Power of One campaign, there's some lovely graphics you can share on social media. If you make a swap, share it! If you've found out some stuff from this (mammoth) post or the podcast series, share your favourite stats and the changes that they've inspired - start a conversation! - Lobby your supermarkets
If you want organic produce and their range is really poor, ask them why they don't have more. The more of us that do this, the more they will realise there is a demand.
- Write to your MP
Ask them to support progressive policies that actually support organic farming and practices. - Grow Your Own!
Even if it's just a few herbs on a windowsill - this will give you a huge appreciation for famers and food producers, it helps us all to slow down and to appreciate the processes involved in growing good food and the miracles of nature
