West Country Urged To Support Organic Food Campaign

People living in the south west are being urged to support a campaign calling for a massive increase in organic farming in the UK.

People in the region are the most enthusiastic organic consumers in the country, according to a poll conducted last year, when 52 per cent of people in the region had bought organic food in the previous three months. 1

On Wednesday 23 January the Organic Targets Campaign is holding a rally and Parliamentary lobby in Westminster aimed at persuading the Government to ensure that 30 per cent of UK agricultural land is organic by 2010. Over a third (35%) of the South West's 51 MPs 2 have already given their backing to the campaign. Despite the massive boom in sales of organic food, around 70 per cent is imported from abroad. Roughly 3 per cent of UK agricultural land is currently under organic production.

People can support the Organic Targets Campaign by:

  • attending the Organic Targets Campaign rally and lobby on Wednesday (2pm at Westminster Central Hall);
  • asking their MP to urge the Government to support the aims of the campaign.

Catherine Fookes, coordinator of the Organic Targets Campaign said: "People living in the south west are the biggest supporters of organic food. Unfortunately most of the organic produce bought in the UK comes from abroad. By supporting the Organic Targets Campaign they can help ensure that British farmers benefit from the boom in organic food and reduce the levels of pesticides sprayed on our countryside."

More information on the Organic Targets Campaign can be found at www.sustainweb.org. An ISDN line is available for radio interviews.

 

Technical details

  1. A MORI poll published in February last year revealed that 52% of people living in the south west had personally bought organic food in the previous 3 months. MORI interviewed a nationally representative quota sample of 1,973 adults aged 15+ from 189 sampling points across Great Britain.
  2. A list of south West MPs supporting the Organic Targets Campaign is available on request.
  3. People attending the rally from the SW are available for comment. Contact Catherine Fookes at Sustain on 020-7837 1228 for details.
  4. Members of the Organic Targets Campaign include: Elm Farm Research Centre, Friends of the Earth, Henry Doubleday Research Association, Pesticides Action Network-UK, Soil Association, Transport & General Workers Union, UNISON, WWF-UK, Secretariat: Sustain

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