Soil Association agrees no change on organic animal feed standards

Following a thorough and wide-ranging consultation, which looked at whether any changes are justified to organic animal feed standards in the current recession, the Soil Association’s independent standards board has decided against making any changes. All food certified by the Soil Association and sold as organic will continue to be produced under full organic standards.

180 responses were received in response to the recent consultation; the majority, were from Soil Association farmers and growers. Three quarters of the respondents were opposed to allowing any changes to the standards covering animal feed.

Respondents noted the importance of retaining the integrity of Soil Association standards and expressed concern about the potential for damaging consumer confidence. They also pointed out that what might help livestock farmers could do damage to the organic feed market and the arable farmers who supply it.

Anna Bradley, chair of the Soil Association Standards Board said;

‘The Board agreed that making ad hoc changes of this sort would damage the integrity of the standards and could rock consumer confidence. Consumers expect ‘Soil Association Organic’ to stand for the highest quality in organic food and that is a reputation the Standards Board wants to retain.’

The Soil Association believes it is vital that organic standards are kept high and enforced effectively and aims to ensure that Soil Association standards meet consumer expectations, reflect the best sustainable practice and become a benchmark for organic production globally. Soil Association standards deliver the highest standards of animal welfare, were the first to ban the use of GM, and the first standards anywhere in the world to ban the use of nanotechnology in food. The Soil Association led the way in developing standards to conserve water and encourage environmentally sustainable packaging, and to cover organic textiles, food served in restaurants and health and beauty products.