Countryfile presented a fair reflection on the organic market on Sunday evening but unfortunately missed an opportunity to explore some of the fundamental benefits that the organic sector can provide.
The programme seemed to highlight that single issue branding was gaining popularity at the expense of the multi-faceted appeal and benefits that organic food can provide. This is nothing new and has been reported widely within the organic sector. Indeed much thought has been given to how these multiple benefits can be promoted to consumers in a simple message that can be understood and appreciated. This is the main thrust of the Why I love Organic campaign.
There was a very interesting comment made as part of the piece by the dairy farmer, Richard Park. He indicated he "has taken a lot of what I've learned into how I farm now".
20 years ago (when Countryfile first featured organic systems on the programme) to find a conventional farmer who admitted using organic techniques on national TV would have been newsworthy and here is an acknowledgement that organic farming systems work and indeed can improve conventional farming. For Mr Park it is the organic market that has not performed not the method of production.
So the opportunity missed by Countryfile was to look at how organic farming has influenced the conventional sector. To explore how some organic farming techniques can be used to improve soil health, reduce use of scarce resources and focus on holistic, systems based approaches rather than reductive interventions.
Although it is very important that both conventional and organic learn from each other, the Countryfile piece still highlighted the fact that we are still unable to communicate our message. Interestingly the Why I Love Organic campaign was not even mentioned. Those who have a public platform in the organic "movement" should pool resources and let the public know just what they are getting when they buy organic.
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