Energy & Climate
Soil, trees and water
Mark Machin, business development manager at Soil Association Certification, explores the connection between organic farming and World Environment Day 2024.
5 June 2024
This article first appeared in our Organic September 2024 issue of My Green Pod Magazine. Click here to subscribe to our digital edition and get each issue delivered straight to your inbox
September means back to school for families, with expectations and hopes running high. For those working in the organic sector, September evokes a similar energy.
Organic September is a focal point in the organic calendar – a time to make a particular effort to celebrate the farmers, hauliers, food makers, abattoirs, marketers and retailers that bring organic clothes, cosmetics and food to our homes.
But this market has another key component that we should celebrate this September: you.
For over 50 years we have had a recognisable organic market, yet one of the key pillars for success that has eluded us is structured support from the state.
As we look into a new political era, the hopes and expectations for that to change are naturally running high.
Up until now, growth for organic in the UK has relied on investment from organic brands and a core base of eco-minded consumers, always looking to seek out products made differently.
Organic is firstly a grass roots-based movement. As a campaign, we have an ask of you: this September, we ask you to recognise the important part you play in your organic community.
Organic is a movement for positive change, driven by a shared desire to live in a healthy world and a recognition of the power of nature.
Building the organic movement from the ground up makes us more resilient, but it also serves to bring us together and celebrate what we have in common.
For my own part, this Organic September I will be seeking out one of our organic pubs for a celebration lunch with my family. To come around the table and celebrate food made good.
It’s not always easy to find a pub or restaurant serving organic food, though some of the casual dining chains are making this more accessible.
As a family that places a high value on eating organic at home, it’s even more challenging to find an establishment where I know the whole meal is organic. For help with this, you can browse the organic cafés and restaurants carrying the Soil Association’s ‘Organic Served Here’ Award (see below).
This September sees a renewed commitment from the hospitality sector to support organic farming.
Both the Fullers pub group and Nicholsons are joining forces with the organic brewing sector for an Organic Tap Takeover and will be hosting organic ale on the bar throughout the Organic September campaign. I can’t think of a better example of community for organic than a meeting with friends at the pub this September, with an organic pint in hand.
If pubs aren’t your thing, there are lots of ways you can celebrate organic this September. Perhaps you are green-fingered and have a glut of organic goodies you are able to share with friends and family.
If you’re like me, you may have nothing but slugs to share at this stage in the year; I’ll be thanking my veg box delivery driver for the part they play in restoring nature – and making sure we have food on the table!
If you are a social media user, share an organic product you love on your social channel and tell us why you love it. Maybe it’s a favourite brand, a home-baked loaf made with organic flour or a favourite T-shirt made with organic cotton.
Help grow the organic community by tagging a friend in your post and asking them to share their favourite organic product. Use #LoveOrganic and #OrganicSeptember to join the online community.
Whatever you are doing this September, thank you for your continued commitment to organic. Organic isn’t always the most expensive option, but the combination of ‘cheaper’ food, aggressive pricing strategies and the higher costs of production needed to produce organically does make choosing organic more difficult for all of us.
Our organic farmers need our support now more than ever; to enthuse them to farm, to reassure them of the demand for what they produce and to celebrate the sense of community where organic really starts. Organic – it’s in your nature!
ORGANIC SERVED HERE
The community of Organic Served Here Award holders includes pubs, restaurants and cafés committed to sourcing quality, sustainable, organic ingredients for their menus. The rating of 1-5* – as verified by experts at Soil Association Certification – denotes the percentage of organic food and drink on the menu.
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