Promoting organic food

The UK Soil Association provides these ten reasons to eat organic food: (1) It's healthy – organic food tends to contain higher levels of vitamin C, cancer-fighting antioxidants, and essential minerals such as calcium, magnesium, iron and chromium; (2) No nasty additives – organic food doesn't contain food additives that can cause health problems such as heart disease, osteoporosis, migraines and hyperactivity; (3) Avoids pesticides – more than 400 chemical pesticides are routinely used in conventional farming and residues are often present in non-organic food; (4) No genetic modification – under organic standards, genetically modified (GM) crops and ingredients are not allowed; (5) No reliance on drugs – organic farming standards prohibit the routine use of antibiotics and growth hormones in farm animals; (6) No hidden costs – as taxpayers, we pay for chemicals to be removed from our drinking water – including the pesticide runoff from conventional farms; (7) High standards – organic food comes from trusted sources that are inspected to ensure compliance to organic standards; (8) Organic methods provide for animals – animal welfare is taken very seriously under organic standards; (9) It's good for wildlife and the environment – the UK government has said that organic farming is better for wildlife, causes lower pollution from sprays, produces less carbon dioxide – the main global warming gas – and less dangerous wastes; (10) It's flavorful – many people prefer organic food because they say it tastes better.

The demand for organic produce in Europe has lead to a market driven expansion in organic farming. Austria, which had 200 organic farms in 1980 now has over 20,000. In 1998 it grew 24% of its food organically; 50% of its food exports were organic. In France the organic market in 1997 was worth US $700 million and is growing at 20 percent annually. Demand far outstrips supply. According to the French Ministry of Agriculture, Europe's organic market could be worth $25 billion by 2000.

In 1999 supermarkets in the United Kingdom reported organic foodstuffs fast entering the mainstream in customers' buying habits, causing a sudden demand for supermarkets to improve home-grown supplies of organic foodstuffs, which currently provide less than 30% of food on the market. Sales may reach 500m pounds a year by 2000 and supermarkets and organics campaigners hope that will double by 2002, taking 7%-8% of the total market. They have set a 10% target for 2005.