UK Government Biased Against Organic Food

UK Government Biased Against Organic Food

The UK Government have been accused of being lazy when it comes to promoting the benefits of organic food, but further digging reveals they may actually be on the payroll of big food interests.

In a report entitled The Lazy Man of Europe by The Soil Association, it has been revealed that organic food sales in the UK fell by 13.6% in 2009, while other European countries continue to buy more and more natural produce.

“A range of factors may explain the recent decline of the UK organic market compared to our European neighbours, but the passive role of successive UK governments in supporting organic food and farming is one of the reasons commonly given.”

We have found that most European countries have acted confidently to normalise and champion organic food and farming as a pioneering, sustainable and environmentally friendly way to produce food.

In contrast, UK governments have been diffident, if not lazy on the subject. When it comes to thinking in a truly sustainable way about the future of food and farming, successive UK governments have preferred to sit back and snooze.

Despite a wealth of information that reveals how organic farming is not only healthier but better for the environment, the mainstream stance is that there is no health benefit to organic food. One has to wonder why this is claimed.

Full Article: http://wideshut.co.uk/uk-government-biased-against-organic-food/

Anumakonda Jagadeesh comments:

It is a paradox that UK Government is not encouraging organic farming while most of the European countries are involved in a big way in organic farming.

Here is an exciting report on the subject in Spain:

Spain: Domestic Market for Organic Food

According to a recent government study the organic market in Spain is growing. Export plays a major role.
(09/12/2010) (Organic-world.net Global organic farming statistics and news

“In 2009, 3,038 organic companies were registered with an annual turnover of 685 million Euros, employing 18,000 people.

Seventy-five percent of the organic produce is plant products and 25 percent is animal products. Roughly 5.3 percent of the Spain’s agricultural area is organic and 2.4 percent of the farms are organic. The main organic products are vegetables, olive oil, wine, animal products, bakery products, and canned vegetables. These account for 74.5 percent of the total domestic turnover of organic food.

The turnover of organic foods and beverages in Spain is approximately 905 million Euros. This constitutes about 1 percent of the domestic market; the average per-capita consumption in 2009 was 19.5 Euros”.