"Jim Webster" wrote in message
...

"Oz" wrote in message
...

Absolutely true, but it's possible to have poor quality
mass-produced
organic produce (which is increasingly happening) and high quality
non-
organic produce. This is particularly true of small producers who
cannot
bear the regulatory costs of organic production and are doing it as
much
for love as money.

While politicians may be raving about the increase in organic, I have
talked
to a couple of organic dairy farmers who would go back to conventional
but
cannot afford to because this would mean paying back the conversion
grant.
The economics of organic production are getting rough, the
supermarkets have
started winding down the price of organic milk and other organic
produce
will follow.


As anyone who has eaten stubbsy's (non-organic but utterly superb)
smoked salmon can attest.


It's not whether it has an organic label stuck on it or not, it's
more
how it was produced in the first place.

When I did the first ring round to get people on Farmdirect that was
an
interesting experience. I came across a lot of people who were
passionate
about the value of organic production, but their passion was only
matched
for their contempt for the soil association.
If someone is willing to set to and produce decent food to the best of
their
ability, and do this to a set of standards they believe in, then I
have
nothing but respect for them. But I am afraid that if something has to
be
flown into the country, it isn't organic any more, no matter what some
certifying authority says. The idea that food miles are more virtuous
than
roundup is one for the logic choppers and 'how many angels dance on
the head
of a pin' brigade

Jim Webster

I would agree wholeheartedly with this. For a small scale producer, it
is very time consuming keeping upto date with all the regulations, and
filling in all the paperwork, and ticking all the boxes.

However, the "organic" branding serves as a guide for those consumers
who want to control their intake of chemicals, for whatever reason. The
fact that organic does allow some chemicals passes the by. The fact
that imported organic may not actually be so they conveniently forget
(some I think believe that only UK farmers cheat - which in organic I
do not think any do, processors, on the other hand .... )

When I was looking at certification bodies, I found the SA position to
be far too rigid. For instance, goats do not like getting wet (well,
mine do not). But the SA said that the goats had to be shut OUT all
throughout the grazing season, I also objected to the percentage levy
on
sales (as a farm based processor), and their policy on vaccination. I in
the end registered with the Organic Food Federation.

On food miles, the shorter the time between production and consumption,
the better the quality of food.
--
George Dawson
Goat farmer