We are eating a record amount of locally produced, organic food in the UK according to the Soil Association’s Organic Food and Farming Report. Farmers’ markets, box schemes and farm shops have mushroomed throughout the country in recent years and many more people are choosing local, organic food. The report found that over £90 million was spent on buying from local, organic producers and suppliers last year.
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Photo © Soil Association

Co-author of the report, Robert Haward, says that this rise reflects the enthusiasm of organic consumers for UK produced local food. “We found that 60 per cent were more likely to buy a product if it was from the UK and one in three would pay more for local products.“
The report, now in its sixth year, is the most comprehensive survey of the UK organic sector, relied on by producers, policy makers and retailers to track and predict growth. The UK organic market is the third biggest in the world, behind the USA and Germany. It also has the world’s fifth largest organic land area with four per cent of farmland currently under organic management on 4,000 farms.

The report found that new shoppers start with organic fruit and vegetables because they are concerned about taste and health. People also buy local for freshness and quality, because they are concerned about animal welfare, environmental benefits and want to avoid GM foods.

Michaela Strachan, presenter of the BBC’s Really Wild Show and Countryfile. She became a vegetarian 10 years ago and eats organic as much as she can. “Going organic is good for the environment, good for wildlife and good for you ñ and it tastes yummy too,” said Michaela in an interview for the Soil Association’s magazine, Living Earth.
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