However the organic sector need to be careful about how we fulfill this new demand for high quality food as it is built on a very different basis from when we last saw growth in the market. Back in 2004/5 the growth was lifestyle-fuelled with celebrity chefs and pop stars leading the way and boosting sales as the masses followed fashion. It was great while it lasted and some of those customers realised the values that sit behind organic produce and continued to buy. However the fashion changed when the "credit crunch" hit and many of the dedicated followers of fashion followed the fashion that said in "austerity Britain" organic was no longer cool. That it was now cool to buy cheap.
What we have now feels different. Consumer are looking at food not as a fashion item but instead are making their decisions based on values of high quality food, short supply chains and most importantly trust in the supply chain.
The ideal is to live next to a butcher who buys his beef and lamb from the farmer on the edge of the town where you walk your dog at the weekend. Or to you live in Harpenden, walk through the wheat fields at Hammonds End Farm to Redbournbury Mill to buy your bread.
However life is more complicated that that for most and we need more complex supply chains to get our food from field to fork. That does not mean we have to accept poor quality, low animal welfare or cost cutting poor practice. The other way is to look for a marque that provides the values we want and a marque we can trust.
Organic is that marque. It is the only legally defined term within the food sector meaning anyone defrauding the standards can be prosecuted for so doing. No other terms such as "high welfare", "environmentally friendly" have this legitimacy. Organic Certification requires an rigorous annual inspection of farms, food processors and those like Organic Arable who act as intermediaries. We are all inspected, our systems checked and verified. And the inspectors are also certified and regulated by Defra. No other scheme has, such as "Conservation Grade" of "Freedom Food" have such a rigorous regime in place.
Most importantly the organic "brand" encompasses many of these positive benefits that the consumer values and is willing to pay a premium to buy within a single word.
Organic Food:
- reduces your exposure to pesticides
- bans the use of GM products and other dietary nasties such as hydrogenated fats and aspartame
- provides higher animal welfare standards
- improves wildlife on farms
- reduces the energy consumes in producing food.
In most EU states the term organic is seen as a shortcut to the many values consumers are looking for and rather than understand each one they buy organic because it ticks all the boxes not just some. We, the organic sector, need to do better at making this apparent to our shoppers in the UK who are looking for better. And the great thing is this can still be achieved conveniently through a supermarket or a national delivery service if access, or opportunity, to buy from the local farm shop or butcher is limited as it is for so many.
Organic should become the shortcut for the values the customers are seeking delivered in the way the modern shopper requires.
However we in the organic sector should not be complacent. Yes, we produce high quality food with many of the values that consumers want but we have significant challenges ahead of us if we are to fulfill the potential demands of neo-organic buyer. They are coming to us with high expectations and it is imperative that we maintain our standards, continue to deliver all the values outlined above and the integrity of organic food so the trust the organic shopper puts in us is not broken.
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