Supermarket switches to organic food
14 June 2000
Supermarket switches to organic food
by FWi staff
ALMOST 40% of the worlds organic crops have been bought up by the Iceland supermarket chain to meet the boom in demand.
Iceland said it would sell complete ranges of organic food products at the same average price as the supermarkets own-label products.
The chain says there will be no extra charge to consumers under the new scheme but has warned shareholders that profits will suffer.
The announcement is likely to increase pressure on the government to increase funding for organic conversion.
Iceland, which has 760 UK stores, said research suggested that three in four consumers would prefer organic goods if they were cheaper.
Iceland chairman Malcolm Walker told the BBC he hoped the supermarkets investment in the sector would help boost organic production.
“At the moment, Britain has minimal organic production due to lack of Government investment in the organic industry in its formative years,”
Less than 3% of cultivated land in the UK is organic, with supermarkets relying heavily of imports. About 70% of organic food sold here is imported.
Earlier this week, organic farmers criticised ministers for claiming a big expansion in organic aid. There is no money left for conversion until next year.
Iceland has also announced that it will invest 1m to support the National Trusts “whole farming planning” programme.
The charity, Britains biggest landowner, works with tenant farmers to develop environmentally responsible farming practices and organic conversion.
For every pound Iceland donates to the National Trusts programme, a further 5 to 7 could be leveraged from European, government or Lottery grants.
Two years ago Iceland became the first UK supermarket chain to guarantee that all its own-label foods were free from genetically modified (GM) ingredients.