Organic September is here!

The month-long campaign, by the charity The Soil Association, aims to raise awareness of the benefits of organic and ‘celebrate those incredible businesses, brands, farms and retailers who work with nature, for the benefit of people, wildlife and the planet’.

This year’s campaign: Organic is climate action

The Soil Association says that this year’s Organic September campaign focuses on the ‘detrimental impact of fossil fuel-based nitrogen fertiliser used in intensive farming on the air, water, land and the warming climate’.

As part of the campaign, the charity has launched a petition, 'No Net Zero Without Fixing Fertilisers', which calls on the UK government to:

• Set a target for reducing fossil fuel-based fertiliser use in UK farming
• Support farmers to transition away from these expensive, artificial fertilisers
• Support nature-friendly farming approaches, like organic, that don’t rely on artificial fertilisers.

Why organic?

The Soil Association lists four main benefits of choosing organic products.

1. Organic is better for the planet

Organic farming is designed to ‘respect nature and enhance the health of soils, water and air’.

This includes using no artificial fertilisers, with organic farmers instead building soils naturally through the use of compost and manure (which is often readily available from local herds!).

2. Higher welfare for farm animals

The Soil Association says that organic farming has the ‘highest animal welfare standards of any international farming system’, with truly freer animals encouraged to forage, graze and roam with ‘plenty of space, fresh air, and conditions that allow them to express their natural behaviours’.

3. Is better for nature and wildlife

Intensive farming methods have been identified as the main driver in a decline of 41% of Britain’s wildlife species since 1970 – with one in 10 currently facing extinction.

Organic farms help to create ‘wildlife havens’ for bees, birds, butterflies and other species, which in turn creates a healthy ecosystem where pests are kept under control naturally.

4. Organic is better for people

By creating healthier, more sustainable farming methods farmers are also producing better quality products.

A paper published in 2014 in the British Journal of Nutrition showed that ‘organically produced crops were found with up to 68% more antioxidants than non-organic, whilst organic fruit and veg contained lower concentrations of pesticides and the toxic heavy metal cadmium’.

Organic September: Organic Beauty & Wellbeing Week

As part of the Organic September campaign, Organic Beauty & Wellbeing Week also takes place in September.

The campaign, from 11-17 September, encourages people to choose beauty and wellbeing that supports the planet!

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