Organic farming
The general principles of Organic Farming are:
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animal welfare - care is taken to ensure that livestock can freely express natural behaviours, have sufficient space and freedom to roam
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environment - conservation and the impact of farming upon the local environment are key concerns; organic farms seek to preserve and encourage local insect and animal wildlife, and therefore care for local habitats surrounding farmlands
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health - “we are what we eat” is a well known phrase; the food scares of recent years have reinforced this, and have contributed to the increase in demand for organic produce; organic standards seek to prevent the incidence of artifical chemicals and other toxins from the food we eat
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conservation and resources - organic farming practices avoid the use of artificial chemicals, keeping pollution to a minimum, and caring for surrounding lands
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GM Free - the use of genetic modification is banned in organic production; this is a serious concern,
since GM trials conducted too close to organic lands could compromise the standards achieved by organic companies -
processing and distribution - methods used seek to keep pollution and the use of raw materials to a minimum; packaging should be recyclable and the transport of produce from “farm to fork” should not be via Timbuctoo
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irradiation-free - organic food is not bombarded with radiation to prolong shelf-life.
Organic farming standards are very detailed and vary considerably from one end product to the next. For example, the rules covering beef production are different from the rules covering pork production, and from the rules governing crop production.
