I saw this article in the Times (I know, too much writing, not enough pretty pictures) a few days ago and it wound me up a little bit.

If you're not going to read this little article, I'll give you a quick summary - the soil association, the self appointed guardians of green, have proposed new guidelines for them to certify food as organic.  The new guidelines would not recognize food as organic if it is air freighted to its destination.

The farmers who make their living by farming organically could lose their certification due to their main customers' method of delivery.  What incentive is there for a farmer to continue to use organic methods if they are not going to receive the credit and the premium rate for their efforts?

The really silly bit is that this food is occupying cargo space in passenger aircraft that would otherwise remain empty or carry other cargo.  The carbon footprint for a low density cargo such as food on an airplane that would be flying anyway is a very small step up from negligible.

Obviously all of us here at Little Green Rock applaud every effort to make an environmental change for the better but I think the soil association is doing more harm than good with this move.

We would love to hear your views on this.

B