As GM proponents on both sides of the Atlantic continue their slander of organic agriculture [see: http://members.tripod.com/~ngin/organic.htm ], the UK's organic sector goes on growing and growing.
Thus, UK supermarkets have been busy issuing statements and announcing initiatives following Sir John Krebs organic food onslaught last week.
*ASDA has refuted that the growth in buying organic being just some elitist fad of the monied in the south of England by releasing news of their growing organic sales in the north [Organic sales increase in the north of England, the north-south divide is closed - 5 Sep 2000]
*Sainsbury's (below) respond to Krebs' claim that foreign imports couldn't be trusted with news of their link up with the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements' accreditation programme to ensure equivalency of certification programmes world-wide.
*TESCO's (below) are announcing "a huge expansion of its organic food range and the creation of Britain's first professor of organic farming."
*Meanwhile, Iceland's chairman, Malcolm Walker, who has led the way in the supermarket sector on excluding GMOs and promoting organic, says, "Ethically and morally we are happy to be fighting for better food. Commercially it makes sense as well."
See url at end for news of a new study saying pesticides 'can cause brain damage' affecting speech and thinking.
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justfood.com
UK: World's first supermarket to specify higher organic standards
8 Sep 2000
Author: Company Press Release
In a world first, on 6 September, Sainsbury's announces an initiative to safeguard the continued integrity of its organic products. The company has committed to have all own label organic products certified by IFOAM (International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements) accredited bodies by 2003. The IFOAM accreditation programme ensures equivalency of certification programmes world-wide.
Linda Bullard, the President of IFOAM says "We are delighted that our long-time supporters Sainsbury's have become the first supermarket in the world to recognise the benefit to their customers of having their organic food and drink verified through the IFOAM Accreditation Programme. The programme is truly international, completely independent, and assures consumers that no matter where in the world the product comes from, it was produced and certified to a uniform standard of organic quality."
Sainsbury's Technical Product Manager for Organic Foods, Robert Duxbury says, "As the market grows it is essential that integrity of organics is maintained. This move will ensure all Sainsbury's organic foods, wherever they are from, reach IFOAM's strict international criteria of certification. It is the most effective answer to the "But how do I know that imported organic food really is organic?", a question frequently asked by Sainsbury's customers.
"IFOAM standards are the most stringent organic standards to be found anywhere in the world. By doing this we will require our suppliers to exceed the requirements of national organic legislation in order to deliver to our consumers organic products of the highest standard."
Currently the majority of organic products sold under the Sainsbury's own label brand are certified by the Soil Association, the UK's leading organic certification body. Patrick Holden, Director of the Soil Association said "Maintaining consumer trust in internationally traded organic products will be a critical factor in the development of the organic market. As one of the first organic certifiers to join the IFOAM accreditation programme the Soil Association is thrilled that Sainsbury's is making this groundbreaking commitment."
In addition Sainsbury's will encourage all their suppliers to become members of IFOAM. Currently Sainsbury's is the only supermarket member of IFOAM in the UK.
70% of organic food sold in the UK is imported. Sainsbury's is committed to reducing the amount of imported organic food and is concentrating on developing partnerships with UK farmers and suppliers as well as research and development organisations in order to boost the amount of organic food produced in the UK.
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Once derided as a fad, now flavour of the month
SUNDAY TELEGRAPH(LONDON)
September 10, 2000
by ADAM LUSHER
WHEN the Prince of Wales started converting the Highgrove estate to an organic farming system in 1986, he faced widespread derision. It was, the critics decided, just another example of the Prince's eccentricity. Organic food, they said, was only for lentil-eaters. This year, the Prince's Duchy Originals organic food range is expecting sales of more than pounds 8 million, and hundreds of conventional farmers will visit Highgrove to explore how to go organic. According to a Tesco spokesman: "The year 2000 will be remembered as the year organic became mainstream."
An estimated one in four people now regularly eats organic food. Sales in Britain have grown by 40 per cent a year since 1995, helped by a succession of food scares. They are expected to reach pounds 546 million this year, and more than pounds 1 billion by 2002. Some surveys suggest that customers pay an average of 70 per cent more for organic produce than for non- organic. Sir John Krebs, the chairman of the Food Standards Agency, said this month: "They're not getting value for money if they think they're buying food with extra nutritional quality or extra safety."
But despite his comments, many people are convinced that organic farming, by eschewing artificial pesticides and fertilisers, produces safer, more environmentally friendly and nutritious food. The main supermarkets now face a demand for organic produce that far outstrips domestic supply - part of the reason why Tesco is to give Newcastle University about pounds 500,000 to research organic techniques. The rival chain Iceland is to switch its entire own-brand frozen vegetable range to organic. The company claims to have bought up nearly 40 per cent of the world's organic vegetable supplies to cope with the growing demand. The chain has also invested pounds 1 million in the National Trust to enable tenant farmers to use more environmentally friendly farming methods. Malcolm Walker, the chairman, said: "Ethically and morally we are happy to be fighting for better food." He added: "Commercially it makes sense as well."
Sainsbury's is believed to sell the most organic produce, with sales of pounds 3.2 million a week. It stocks 650 organic lines, and is working with farmers in Grenada and St Lucia to develop a market for organic exotic fruits.
Tesco adheres to the maxim that the customer is always right. "Customers want organic, they want lots of it and it's our job to make sure they get it," the spokesman said yesterday. [PS]News: [ES] LANGUAGE: ENGLISH LOAD-DATE: September 10, 2000 [Entered September 10, 2000]
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Prince Charles helps Tesco in organic food venture
SUNDAY TELEGRAPH(LONDON) September 10, 2000
by PETER BIRKETT and ADAM LUSHER
KEY advisers to the Prince of Wales are helping Tesco, Britain's biggest supermarket chain, which will this week announce a huge expansion of its organic food range and the creation of Britain's first professor of organic farming. The collaboration, to be formally announced at The Savoy hotel on Tuesday, was agreed after senior Tesco staff visited the prince's organic farm at Highgrove. It represents a triumph for the prince, who, for years, has used Highgrove to try to prove the commercial viability of organic farming. "He is delighted," a spokesman for Duchy Originals, his organic food range, said yesterday. "When he started, organic was seen as quite off-the-wall, just for people who wore open-toed sandals and ate beans. "The prince was visionary in what he wanted to do. More and more people are now beginning to understand what he was saying back then.
People want to know more about food, where it comes from and how it is made."
Senior Tesco staff visited Highgrove in February and June. They were shown around by David Wilson, the prince's farm manager, and Patrick Holden, the director of the Soil Association, of which the prince is patron. A Tesco spokesman said: "Everyone was extremely impressed and went away with pages and pages of notes. We learnt a huge amount. We will be able to plan properly how to meet demand, do our own codes of practice and brief suppliers."
Tesco now hopes to become the biggest seller of organic produce in Britain, with at least 100 organic products in every one of its 680 stores. It will increase its organic range from 550 lines to 750, offering everything from gin made with organic fruit to organic baby food and curry. The chain will use distinctive blue-and-green packaging to make it easier for shoppers to spot organic food. The produce of Duchy Originals will feature among the new lines and will also be served at The Savoy when Tim Mason, the marketing director of Tesco, announces the new commitment to organic food. Tesco, which currently stocks Duchy Originals lemon refresher drink, will now start stocking its organic bread, biscuits, lemon curd and marmalade. The deal is estimated to be worth nearly pounds 100,000 a year to the Prince of Wales Charitable Foundation, which takes all the profits from Duchy Originals. The charity is now almost certain to receive far more than the pounds 400,000 made by Duchy Originals last year. Tesco also plans to donate pounds 450,000 over five years to Newcastle University to fund research into organic farming. The university will use the money to create a research base, likely to be called the Tesco Centre for Organic Agriculture. It will also install Dr Carlo Leifert as its first professor of ecological agriculture in what is believed to be the first post of its kind created at a British university. Dr Leifert, who is currently based at Aberdeen University, said: "I am very keen on the momentum that supermarkets have developed towards underpinning UK production. They can control whether or not a food production industry takes off."
Tesco now hopes to add an instant pounds 50 million to its organic sales, boosting them to pounds 250 million by the end of the financial year. This would nearly double Tesco's takings for organic produce, which stood at pounds 140 million last year. Projected organic food sales for this year are pounds 546 million. They are expected to reach more than pounds 1 billion by 2002, despite the comments of Sir John Krebs, the chairman of the Food Standards Agency.
He said this month that there was no evidence that organic food was safer or more nutritious than conventionally grown produce. The role of Highgrove in persuading Tesco to commit itself so heavily to organic produce will give the prince particular satisfaction. Mr Holden said: "Nobody will be more delighted if the organic practices at Highgrove influence commercial practice throughout the country. That is what he wanted to do when he set up the farm."
[PS]News: [ES] LANGUAGE: ENGLISH LOAD-DATE: September 10, 2000 [Entered September 10, 2000]
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*Pesticides 'can cause brain damage'
[full report at http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/health/newsid_914000/914556.stm ]
Pesticides can cause problems with speech and thinking Gardeners and farmers who use pesticides are at risk of developing brain damage, according to a study.