Organic system can off-set 'food crunch'
The Soil Association is calling for an "organic revolution" in agriculture
Transforming Britain's farming industry into a sustainable organic system is the only way to avoid a "food crunch" in years to come, the Soil Association has warned.
Patrick Holden, director of the association, said the UK is in danger of running out of food due to the increasing world population, climate change and rising fuel prices.
He explained that families must be prepared to spend more money on food instead of holidays or entertainment and change their diets to include less meat and exotic produce.
Mr Holden said Britain needs to return to a "national attitude" and likened the change in land use and eating habits to being on the scale of a "war effort".
Experts have suggested that a wartime diet - typified by reduced consumption of meat, fats and sugar and the inclusion of more vegetables - was actually much healthier than today's eating habits, which tend to be far higher in calories.
Mr Holden said Britain needs to move back in that direction.
Hilary Benn, the environment secretary, has also acknowledged that farming needs to take more account of the environment, and will be speaking at the Soil Association annual conference in Birmingham this week.
Take action
- Use the Soil Association's "Find organic" advice
- Grow your own veg
The conference will call for an "organic revolution" in agriculture by converting huge fields of one crop back to a more traditional system of farming.
However, the National Farmers Union claims the organic system would be unable to feed nine billion people by 2050 and insists the only way feed the world is to consider all modern techniques, including genetic modification (GM).
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