Soil Association Standards Board decides no change on organic animal feed

Following a thorough and wide-ranging consultation [1], which looked at whether any changes are justified to organic animal feed standards in the current recession, the Soil Association's independent Standards Board [2] 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. [3]

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." [4]

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 [5], 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.


Notes:

[1] The Soil Association ran a public consultation on organic animal feed standards from 5 Feb to 28 Feb: http://www.soilassociation.org/consultation

[2] The standards board consists of 10 members: an independent chair, three lay members, three stakeholder representatives (farmer, grower, processor), and three chairs of standards committees. It is responsible to the Soil Association's elected council.

The Soil Association Standards Board was made independent after a governance and accountability review in 2007. The review was initiated by Anna Bradley following
her appointment in autumn 2006. It has introduced best practice in standards setting, including:

[3] As is already the case, farmers coming to the end of their two-year conversion period to organic farming will be able to extend their conversion period with prior agreement from their certifier, if they are not able to market their livestock as organic.

[4] The Soil Association's standards were first published in 1967 and were the first purely organic standards in the world. Being independent, it can maintain its own standards.

[5] Joyce d'Silva of respected animal welfare group Compassion in World Farming acknowledges, "Organic farming has the potential to offer the very highest standards of animal welfare. We believe the Soil Association's welfare standards are leaders in the field."