Organic fortnight: a post for the Prime Minister
It's organic food fortnight, and the Soil Association is running a campaign to highlight the fact that organic food is planet-friendly because it uses a lot less energy to produce. I'm sorry that's a little vague, although I don't think that "30% less" is any more precise ...
Here in the UK, our government is pretty bossy when it comes to telling us to turn out lights, install insulation, drive slowly &c - but it doesn't breathe a word about the benefits to the planet of choosing organic food. Indeed, it's actively hostile to the idea that organic food has benefits (you may think this article is a little out of date, but it was all I could find on the government website). Here, in the interests of balance, are a couple of links to websites that see value in organic foods - Sheepdrove, the farm set up by Peter Kindersley after selling his hugely successful publishing business, and a question and answer session from The Observer.
The Soil Association has a very funny little game (10 seconds max) you can play ... feed Gordon an organic breakfast. They're going to use the final tally of breakfasts fed to Gordon in their campaigning ... so what are you waiting for?
PS thanks Melanie
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7 comments:
Thanks for the link back. You spread the word. when Gordon gets serious about organic farming I'll know he's serious about the environment.
I'm in agreement with Melanie! (I still can't get used to hearing 'The Prime Minister, Gordon Brown'..I still expect it to be Blair.)
Well, Melanie, best not hold your breath (sadly).
And Toffeeapple, I know just what you mean
I absolutely loved this post. I'm not a Brit but couldn't agree more!
I was really into organic food but then there were all these high-profile exposes of organic eggs and chicken being no better for you than cheaper varieties. What's one to do!!!
Brilliant post - off to feed the PM
Mallika, I've been thinking for a while how to answer your query. This is the best I can do: you have to think more widely than just about the effect on an individual of eating organic. In the case of eggs, there's also the question of how the chickens are kept (and battery farming is 100% horrible); in the case of vegetables, there's the environmental impact (I love to see wildflowers, birds, butterflies, none of them compatible with non-organic farming). And there's another thing ... the food industry is an enormously rich and powerful lobby. I don't trust them to make decisions which are good for me - and nor do I trust their information. So I'd look very carefully at where the information came from for the high-profile exposes you write about.
I hope that this doesn't sound too bossy, and that it gives you something to think through and reach your own conclusions.
Joanna
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