I have kept fairly quite on the recent report commissioned by Britain’s Food Standard Agency last week which concluded that organic food does not provide any significant nutritional or health benefits. There have been lots of comments made and the majority written have been well thought out and make good points about the value of organic food.
Step up Richard Corrigan celebrity TV chef who has branded the report which dismisses the benefits of organic food as “lazy research” by a “bunch of nine to five fuckers”.
Not the most constructive statement but will certainly get him more media air time.
For myself, my thoughts go out to the farmers who have made the choice to go organic and already have a hard enough time what with the weather, the perception of the cost of organic produce and our current economic climate. So this report really will test their ability to remain committed to remaining organic.
Locally to us we have an excellent organic farm (Knockatullera Farm Produce) run by John & Olive Forde. They run a traditional mixed farm comprising of cattle, sheep, pigs and tillage. Their aim is to maintain a sustainable farming system with priorities towards the environment and animal welfare. The farm has been fully certified organic by the Irish Organic Farmers and Growers Association. The produce is reared on the farm and fed almost totally on home produced feeds.
So why buy organic from your local farm?
- No chemicals or antibiotics
- No contaminants
- No genetically modified feeds
- Locally produced
- Low food miles
- Environmentally sustainable
- Animal welfare as a priority
- Full traceability
- Taste
- And all of this at conventional prices
For those reasons I would still buy organic over the non organic variety regardless, and for those doubters beware of Mr Corrigan and his deep fat fryer.
And if you are still not convinced why not try some of the produce from John & Olive either directly from the farm (Knocktullera Farm Produce Newmarket Co Cork) or through Killavullen Farmers Market at the Nano Nagle Centre.
