Organic must shed 'elitist' image, says Patrick Holden

The organic food movement must shed its "elitist" image, according to the director of the Soil Association.
The Telegraph 2 Feb 10;

The perception that it is "a lifestyle choice for people who can afford it" must also be tackled, said Patrick Holden, as Britain's biggest organic farming body prepared for its annual conference.

Part of the problem was that the organic movement was spearheaded by the well-off, Mr Holden admitted in an interview with The Guardian.

He said: "The early adopters of any new approach tend to be people who are not only better educated but better off."

The Soil Association demonstrates that truth: it was co-founded by Lady Balfour, niece of Arthur Balfour, the early 20th century prime minister, and has the Prince of Wales as a patron.

Mr Holden continued: "The paradox is, there's this view that organic is elite, it's expensive, it's a lifestyle choice for people who can afford it."

But he argued: "As far as I'm concerned it's not elitist to believe that everyone should have the right to high-quality, nutritious food from sustainable farming systems."

On Wednesday the Soil Association's annual conference opens in Birmingham. One of the workshops at the two-day event is titled: "Organic elitism- is it for the chosen few?"

The programme asks: "Organic is now seen as expensive and elitist. Have we been complicit in this positioning and how it can be challenged?"

After years of rapid growth, sales of organic food dropped by 14 per cent last year as the recession forced households to tighten their belts.

Organic and 'farmers' market' type shops have also closed up and down the country, as shoppers have reverted to conventionally-grown produce.