Among the many and various consequences of the current economic difficulties (don’t you just hate the term ‘credit crunch’?) is the impact on sales of organic food. Various indicators are now showing that in these straightened times consumers are choosing to save money by moving away from organics and back towards traditional, chemical produced, food products.

It’s seems to me that this is a bit like the reaction of many organisations when they need to rein in their budgets. The ‘soft targets’ are hit first. Usually this is the training and development area. There appear to be no real consequences in the short term but a few months or years down the line the failure to invest to meet the needs of the future become evident.

There are many reasons to choose organic and prime among these is the need to support an aspect of agriculture that doesn’t directly damage the environment. And whatever the research says I cannot believe that ingesting all the pesticide residues on mass produced foodstuffs is good for one’s general health! The Ecologist magazine recently carried a very comprehensive article looking at the whole issue.

In reacting to the downturn of sales, Monty Don (now President of the Soil Association) is suggesting that a change in terminology from ‘organic’ to ‘sustainable’ might be a positive step. He feels ‘organic’ has a lot of baggage that puts people off and that ‘sustainable’ would be more easily understood. I’m not sure myself. Sustainable is in overworked term that is rapidly becoming meaningless and would allow all sorts of products to creep in under a covering of greenwash. Whereas the organic standard set by the Soil Association is clear and demanding.

The case for buying organic food needs to be made stronger top persuade consumers of its value not just to them but to the environment. It’s Organic Fortnight 6-21 September 2008 – why not use this opportunity to strengthen your own resolve to continue to buy organic food? And what do you think of Monty’s suggestion – I’d like to hear from you.