| Archive for Downsizer For an ethical approach to consumption |
| Rob R |
Where's the Beef? - a Soil Association reportWhere's the Beef?How supermarket pricing is holding back UK organic meat production
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| AnneandMike |
Ultimately, the rise in fuel costs has got to make local production more competitive. | ||||
| gil |
But in the meantime, it makes local food production (especially smaller-scale) less competitive, because the rise in fuel prices we small producers face is greater (as a proportion of our total production costs when allocated per unit produced) than for larger overseas producers [probably also with lower labour costs] whose foods are freighted in bulk.
As for the UK Organic Standards vs those in the rest of the world, let's not even go there. |
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| orangepippin |
I only read the exec summary. It would be interesting to see a comparison of non-organic UK-produced meat as well, rather than just comparing UK organic with Argentinian organic. Is production of UK-sourced "organic" meat falling because UK consumers (and UK suppliers) are switching to other high-welfare schemes? We don't buy much supermarket meat anyway, we tend to use local butchers who source from farms in places we have heard of nearby. In other words we don't particularly check for "organic" but we do check for "local". | ||||
| Rob R |
No, you appear to be comparing demand with supply, the report only deals with supply, although it does comment on how this is, in some cases, counter to the demand correlation. Organic is therefore still getting sold, just that a greater proportion of it is coming from abroad (since 2005, 2002-2005 the trend is for an increase in UK supply v imported supply). |
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| TAVASCAROW |
If the government are so keen to encourage UK organics they should subsidise the high registration costs to join schemes like the soil association.
Good to see you can now raise beef from outside the holding as organic, always thought that was a stupid rule. 
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| Brownbear |
First I've heard of it, if they are. Policy seems to be to bankrupt all the small producers and have farming run by a consortium of pension fund managers and property developers. |
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| orangepippin |
OK, it was very interesting, but I clearly did not understand it. I do wonder about the agenda of the SA but maybe it is nothing. |
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| Brownbear |
Here it is: http://www.soilassociation.org/web/sa/saweb.nsf/Aboutus/WhatWeDo.html |
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| gil |
Don't go confusing organic with small-scale farming / food production. Yes there are govt policies to increase the amount of UK organic produce to meet market demand. But there is no incompatibility between that and you statement about fund managers and property / land developers |