We are urgently developing research requirements with other European laboratories to make sure we understand and the disease (Schmallenberg) better.£1 billion expansion plan for organics
THE UK’s organic market can grow by £1 billion over the next five years in spite of the economic downturn, according to industry experts.
The Organic Trade Board, the body used to develop, promote and support organic produce in the UK, said it had been building a business plan to grow organic sales ever since the market took a dive a year ago.
The OTB said the market could grow by 50 per cent over the next five years if the supply chain worked together.
At a strategy meeting this week the OTB bought together key industry stakeholders, including representatives from supermarket giants Tesco, chocolate maker Green & Black’s and organic certifiers the Soil Association, to discuss the plan.
A national consumer campaign will form a key part to explain the principles of organic food including sustainability and pesticide-free production.
Huw Bowles, OTB chairman, said: “The need to get the organic message across to consumers is always quoted as the biggest barrier to sales growth and with this initiative, we have the opportunity to speak with one voice and engage in a plan designed to grow the market and spread the positive benefits of organic produce.”
Sales of organic produce almost ground to a halt in 2008 as consumers sought cheaper alternatives. After a decade of year-on-year growth of over 20 per cent, shoppers increased organic sales by a modest 1.7 per cent last year.
The market is currently worth £2.1 billion.
Readers' comments (1)
Stephen Tvedten | 23 September 2009 8:19 pm
How to kill pests without killing yourself or the earth......
Americans rank their fear of pest infestations third - only after their fear of fire and natural disaster - on the list of threats to their homes that they worry about most. This is why the buSINess of pest control is so lucrative and effects so many of us.
There are about 50 to 60 million insect species on earth - we have named only about 1 million and there are only about 1 thousand pest species - already over 50% of these thousand pests are already resistant to our volatile, dangerous, synthetic pesticide POISONS. We accidentally lose about 25,000 to 100,000 species of insects, plants and animals every year due to "man's footprint". But, after poisoning the entire world and contaminating every living thing for over 60 years with these dangerous and ineffective pesticide POISONS we have not even controlled much less eliminated even one pest species and every year we use/misuse more and more pesticide POISONS to try to "keep up"! Even with all of this expensive and unnecessary pollution - we lose more and more crops and lives to these thousand pests every year.
We are losing the war against these thousand pests mainly because we insist on using only synthetic pesticide POISONS and fertilizers There has been a severe "knowledge drought" - a worldwide decline in agricultural R&D, especially in production research and safe, more effective pest control since the advent of synthetic pesticide POISONS and fertilizers. Today we are like lemmings running to the sea insisting that is the "right way". The greatest challenge facing humanity this century is the necessity for us to double our global food production with less land, less water, less nutrients, less science, frequent droughts, more and more contamination and ever-increasing pest damage.
National Poison Prevention Week, March 18-24,2007 was created to highlight the dangers of poisoning and how to prevent it. One study shows that about 70,000 children in the USA were involved in common household pesticide-related (acute) poisonings or exposures in 2004. At least two peer-reviewed studies have described associations between autism rates and pesticides (D'Amelio et al 2005; Roberts EM et al 2007 in EHP). It is estimated that 300,000 farm workers suffer acute pesticide poisoning each year just in the United States - No one is checking chronic contamination.
In order to try to help "stem the tide", I have just finished re-writing my IPM encyclopedia entitled: THE BEST CONTROL II, that contains over 2,800 safe and far more effective alternatives to pesticide POISONS. This latest copyrighted work is about 1,900 pages in length and is now being updated at my new website at http://www.thebestcontrol2.com .
This new website at http://www.thebestcontrol2.com has been basically updated; all we have left to update is Chapter 39 and to renumber the pages. All of these copyrighted items are free for you to read and/or download. There is simply no need to POISON yourself or your family or to have any pest problems.
Stephen L. Tvedten
2530 Hayes Street
Marne, Michigan 49435
1-616-677-1261
http://www.theidealpesticide.com
When a man who is honestly mistaken hears the truth, he will either quit being mistaken or cease to be honest.
Unsuitable or offensive? Report this comment