British chains pushed to buy local organic food
The Soil Association, Great Britain’s leading organic and sustainable produce watchdog, reports that British supermarkets are stocking more locally-grown organic produce as a result of consumer pressure. According to the association’s annual Supermarket Survey, which analyzes the presence of eight organic foods in major British supermarket chains, availability of organic food staples grown in the UK has increased by 10%.
In its April 20th press release, the Soil Association points out that transporting a kilogram of organic apples from New Zealand to a British supermarket causes twenty times more pollution than sourcing the apples locally. Increasing numbers of informed consumers tell supermarket managers that they want information about the origin of their food. Peter Melchett, Soil Association Policy Director said, “Our survey shows that positive consumer pressure pays off.”
For more details of the survey and access to the complete PDF document, click here.
