Some of my best friends are organic farmers. I enjoy their company and relish our debates on their lifestyle choices but I don't agree with them.
Nevertheless I have always respected their right to farm the way they do and have often sampled their wares without fear of damage to my health. I have always believed they were sincere in their concerns for what minimal pesticide residues might do to consumers but have never been able to find convincing scientific evidence to support organic food as compared with that responsibly produced on conventional or integrated farms.
I have, however, been consistently sceptical of the claims made by the organic movement and extremely so about the genuineness of some imported so-called organic produce.
But now some organic farmers who have been in receipt of government grants to convert to organic production, faced with high costs and declining demand, have asked to be allowed to use non organic feedstuffs for their animals without permanently losing their organic status.
I am not, of course, saying such feed will harm either animals or consumers. But if it goes ahead, and I understand it has the backing of some of the most powerful organic institutions, it will completely undermine the entire ethos of organic food and destroy the credibility of its advocates arguments.
I sympathise with organic farmers as I do with any farmer who loses money. But if deserting high, if questionable, principles is the only way for them to survive I suggest they give up their organic illusions and re-join the real world. Its hard enough to make a living as an integrated (LEAF) farmer but at least we don't have the burden of supporting unsubstantiated claims about what we produce.
Comments (1)
Dear David,
I share your scepticism of imported organic products. I have worked internationally for about 15 years and I have lived in countries where anyone can buy a quality - or any other - certificate for very little money. The problem is that under equivalence rules, those certificates are accepted here as being valid. Recently, I heard a UK producer of organic chicken saying on the BBC that he is buying his feed grains from Kazakhstan because he couldn't persuade UK grain farmers to supply him with organic certified feed. Lets think - Kazakhstan - home to both the Russian nuclear and biological weapons test sites and Bykonur space centre that sprays large quantities of toxic waste fuel over the countryside. I've seen their efforts at locust control with a sprayer that looked like an airport crash tender. Organic, I don't think so!!
I have inspected Ukrainian farms that supply organic grains to UK breakfast food producers - I found 16,000 tons (yes that is 16,000 tons) of outdated and banned pesticides being used - on certified organic production.
Right up to date, there is a current EU and FSA ban on imports of "organic" Chinese soyabean meal for use in poultry feeds because it has been enhanced with melamine.
Sorry, I trust UK farmers to be somewhat honest and truthful, but I don't trust anyone east of Yarmouth to be the same.
Posted by David Williams | December 29, 2008 5:26 PM
Posted on December 29, 2008 17:26