Growers and Grocers

Lawrence Woodward, the former head of the organic watchdog group The Soil Association, has alerted one of Britain’s major newspapers that “supermarkets are putting pressure on organic food watchdogs to lower standards so they can fully exploit a billion-pound industry which is growing by 30% a year.”

Sandra Laville and John Vidal discuss the accusations in an article entitled “Supermarkets accused over organic foods” published in Thursday’s issue of The Guardian. LaVille and Vidal report that the issue of lowering organic standards has led to a schism in the powerful Soil Association. Peter Kindersley, a former Association trustee, resigned over the issue of labelling farm salmon as organic. Woodward also rejects the decision to certify farm salmon, calling it a “’monumental symbol’ of the way the principles of organic production were being dumbed down.”

Unsurprisingly, representatives from two of Britain’s major supermarket chains, Tesco and Sainsbury’s, deny they are pressing for lower standards. And Patrick Holden, the current director of the Soil Association, claims his organization is becoming even more rigorous. One thing is certain: it will take time before Britain’s devoted organic eaters see eye-to-eye with the principles of mass distribution