THE SOIL ASSOCIATION'S 67TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE GOES EASY ON THE ORGANIC With organic sales climbing back as recession eases, and a number of food scares mean that people are searching out more apparently reliable food production methods, now more than ever you'd think that the Soil Association would be pushing organic. But with chief executive Helen Browning at the helm, the approach is slightly different... ...As I found out attending the first day and AGM at the organisation's annual conference last month. Held bang in the heart of Westminster, at the impressive Central Hall, opposite the Cathedral, it was with a sense of curious anticipation that I entered the main auditorium. This was heightened by the enormous pipe organ behind the stage โย this was a Methodist place of worship after all. You can see the instrument in all it's glory in the picture above! Also the fact that we were seated at tables for the talks, rather like an award ceremony. But also, thirdly, there was the approach. It was very much, 'organic where possible'. I wonder what Soil Association founder Lady Eve Balfour would have made of this. Celebrated TV and former Observer newspaper columnist Monty Don kicked off the day, as Soil Association president. He gave a great call to arms: "It's all about how we care for our lovely, sweet earth. Everything beings there," he insisted. However, Monty was on message too: "It's easy to hit out against overproduction of food or GM. But we want to be known what we're for, not just what we're against," he added. As another speaker that followed, Tom Andrews, of Sustainable Food Cities said: "Organic is the hardest sell. It runs fresh, then local, then seasonal, and finally organic." One delegate, a local authority key worker, agreed. According to her, the whole thing was "very middle class". But this was illuminating โ there were many local authorities members in attendance. So to be 'as good as possible' rather than '100% organic' makes sense. Helen Browning wanted to promote the Soil Association in the best light. However, a few speeches came across as a pure exercise in PR, rather than genuine engagement with the issues. Professor Kevin Fenton, the national director for Public Health England was a good example of this, reading as if from a script that had been delivered to public bodies many times. Where former Independent on Sunday editor, now Chair of the London Food Board, Rosie Boycott did actually test the audience for their views โ each table discussed for 20 minutes, after she had called for solutions to food poverty, none of this was reported back to the stage. But there were some great messages too. Food 4 Life is doing amazingly well, with 750,000 meals served every day around the UK. There are great stories, such as Jim Kitchen's work as chair of the Belfast Food Network. And as Monty Don said at the AGM in late afternoon: "It's not about lowering the bar. Having a schools with 40% of its food as organic is an incredible situation, and if the country could do that as a whole it would be a triumph beyond our wildest dreams". So I'll keep my membership, and I love this organisation, but more questioning around the place of organics in the Soil Association's work is required.
