Soil Association Organic Fortnight 1-16 September 2007, nationwide The Soil Association is asking everyone to �Wake up to an Organic Breakfast!� to celebrate Soil Association Organic Fortnight, Europe�s biggest celebration of organic food.

The annual Organic Market Report, published to coincide with the launch of Organic Fortnight will confirm growing consumer support for organic food, drink, textiles and health and beauty products. Such sustained market growth confirms the public�s support for and understanding of the benefits delivered by organic food and farming for their health, for wildlife and for the planet.

Robin Maynard, Campaigns Director said, �More and more people are waking up and supporting planet-friendly farming by choosing to buy organic food. They know it�s the best way to avoid things they don�t want in their or their children�s food like pesticides or GM; of getting more of the good stuff, such as increased omega 3s in organic milk, as well as supporting more wildlife and cutting pollution. Organic farming also uses much less energy to grow our food, so producing far fewer dangerous climate change gases.

The government knows organic farming delivers all these benefits � so why doesn�t the government encourage everyone to take the easy, everyday action of choosing planet-friendly, organic food? Organic Fortnight will mobilise public support to deliver an organic wake-up call to Gordon Brown and the government.�

Hundreds of organic breakfast events will take place countrywide on farms and high streets, in cafes, hotels, restaurants, schools and clubs, to promote the health, taste, environmental, and animal welfare benefits of organic food and farming.

Organic Taste Experience, organised by the Soil Association and Jumping Jack Marketing, will give thousands of people the chance to taste delicious, top quality, organic food from a travelling sampling bus. Check out Soil Association Organic Fortnight events near you: http://www.soilassociation.org/organicfortnight

Soil Association Organic Food Festival, sponsored by Yeo Valley Organic 1-2 September, Bristol Harbourside Kicking off Soil Association Organic Fortnight, Europe�s largest organic festival will provide visitors with the opportunity to taste thousands of award winning, top quality organic products, made by the UK�s leading producers and businesses. Following last year�s sell-out success there are even more fun filled activities for every member of the family. Visitors can watch the Festival�s first ever national Organic Fashion Show, test out organic health and beauty products, and enjoy a range of entertainment and art fringe events including celebrity demonstration kitchens. Attractions include a relaxation zone, cookery workshops, and �green planet� and 'green home' pavilions for those who want to find out more about sustainable organic living. In the Kids Zone children will be able to power the Kitchen Academy smoothie pedal bikes to produce their own organic breakfast smoothies. Chefs will be on hand to run cookery demonstrations and assist children in choosing their own original and nutritious organic smoothie recipes.

Read more about the Soil Association Organic Food Festival: http://www.soilassociation.org/festival

Top 6 reasons to wake up to an organic breakfast:

1. A better start to the day for you and your children The best way to avoid pesticides, GM and unnecessary additives is to eat organic. Published research indicates that on average organic food contains higher levels of vitamin C and essential minerals such as calcium, magnesium, iron and chromium as well as cancer-fighting antioxidants. Organic milk is naturally higher in Omega 3 fatty acids, Vitamin E, Vitamin A (Beta-Carotene) and certain other antioxidants than non-organic milk. According to the Food Standards Agency �Organic food contains fewer residues of pesticides used in conventional agriculture, so buying organic is one way to reduce the chances that your food contains these pesticides.� [I]

2. Supporting the UK farmers growing your cereal Organic farming is helping reverse the decline in the UK's agricultural workforce, which has fallen by 80% over the last 50 years. Organic farms in the UK provide on average over 30% more jobs per farm than equivalent non-organic farms. Organic farms tend to be more diverse, so requiring a greater number of people and skills for a wider range of jobs, as well as running entrepreneurial activities like local box-schemes and farm-shops. Although employing more people, organic farms are profitable. [II]

3. A great rise and shine for the environment Overall organic farming supports more butterflies, beetles, birds, bats and wild plants than non-organic farming. The UK government has said that it is better for wildlife, causes lower pollution from sprays, and produces less carbon dioxide - the main global warming gas - and less dangerous wastes. [III]

4. Producing Planet Friendly Food Organic farming can play a major role in addressing climate change. Organic substantially cuts back many of the key input adding to climate change. Organic farming typically uses 30% less energy than non-organic agriculture. Climate-change boosting artificial fertilisers are banned, instead organic farmers build fertility naturally using plants like clover. So, eating an organic breakfast everyday is one simple thing everyone can do to help tackle climate change. [IV]

5. Bacon & eggs from happier pigs and chickens Leading animal welfare organisation, Compassion in World Farming has endorsed Soil Association organic welfare standards - �Organic farming has the potential to offer the very highest standards of animal welfare. Compassion in World Farming believes that the Soil Association�s welfare standards are leaders in the field.� (Joyce d�Silva, Compassion in World Farming). The Soil Association also bans the routine use of antibiotics. [V]

6. No nasty bills hiding under your napkin UK taxpayers fork out over �120m annually to pay for chemicals to be removed from drinking water, mostly from pesticides used in non-organic farming. [VI]

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Notes to editors:

[I] There are fewer additives in organic food Only 32 of the 290 food additives approved for use across the EU are permitted in organic food. While food manufacturers can use more than 500 additives, organic food producers are prohibited from using a host of ingredients that researchers say may be harmful to our health such as aspartame, hydrogenated fat, phosphoric acid, sulphur dioxide, monosodium glutamate, or artificial flavourings and colourings. Only additives derived from natural sources such as lecithin, guar gum and citric acid are allowed and no artificial preservatives, colourings or flavourings are permitted. You can avoid a wide range and large quantity of potentially allergenic or harmful additives if you eat organic food. More on food additives: http://www.soilassociation.org/nutrition

Choose organic for your children Existing regulations on the amount of pesticide residues that non-organic foods may contain are based on 'acceptable' levels for adult consumption. Babies and young children, however, are at greater risk because the immaturity of their organs and body systems makes them more vulnerable to toxins. And because their diet is often restricted to just a few types of less processed food - apples, potatoes, carrots, etc, they may receive higher exposures.

From conception until one year of age, children are at their most vulnerable. During this critical stage of development, cells are multiplying at their peak, yet the body has a limited diet to draw upon. A baby's digestive system is also more efficient than that of an adult at absorbing foods, enabling nutrients to be used more quickly, but also making the body more vulnerable to toxins. More on organic food for children

Avoid GM and pesticides GM crops and ingredients are not allowed under Soil Association organic standards. Over a million tonnes of GM crops are imported to feed non organic livestock that produce much, if not most, of the non organic pork, bacon, milk cheese and other dairy products in our supermarkets.

Over 400 chemical pesticides are routinely used in conventional, non-organic farming and residues are often present in non-organic food. The UK government has recently found high levels of pesticide residues in non-organic baby food, spinach, dried fruit, bread, apples, celery, and chips.

More on GM: http://www.soilassociation.org/gm More on pesticides: http://www.soilassociation.org/pesticides

Good �moos� for organic milk drinkers Several scientific studies have demonstrated the nutritional benefits of organic milk. They show that organic milk generally contains higher levels of beneficial nutrients and vitamins than milk from non-organic cows. The studies have found that organic milk contains higher levels of beneficial compounds in the milk fats, particularly short-chain omega-3 essential fatty acids, as well as vitamin E and the antioxidant beta-carotene (which the body converts to vitamin A). Higher levels of the antioxidants lutein and zeaxanthine have also been found in milk from cows that eat a grass silage based diet typical of organic farming.

More on organic milk: http://www.soilassociation.org/milk

Organic mushrooms and tomatoes No food has higher amounts of beneficial minerals, essential amino acids and vitamins than organic food. Organic mushrooms and tomatoes contain more nutrients and less water. Artificial fertilisers used in non-organic farming increase the water content of fruit and vegetables. Although this method may produce bigger yields, it dilutes the food�s nutrient content.

Researchers found that organic tomatoes "contained more dry matter, total and reducing sugars, vitamin C, B-carotene and flavonoids in comparison to the conventional ones.�

Organic tomato ketchup Research has shown that organic varieties of tomato ketchup contain more cancer-fighting lycopene than non-organic ketchup. Lycopene helps protect against breast, pancreatic, prostate and intestinal cancer, especially when eaten with fatty foods. Also evidence that it can reduce the risk of heart attacks.

Organic fruit We all know the importance of getting our five-a-day, but eating five organic fruit and vegetables a day is even better. A non-organic apple can be sprayed up to 16 times with 36 different chemicals, many of which cannot simply be washed off. The latest Government tests, carried out in 2005, found pesticides in 80% of non-organic apple samples.

The British Medical Association say that some pesticides can be stored in our body's fatty tissues for years, raising concern about them being carcinogenic (cancer causing), mutagenic (causing birth defects) and neurotoxic (damaging to our nervous system). As organic farmers predominantly use natural methods to control pests, choosing organic is the best way to avoid pesticides in your food.

[II] Organic works Organic works demonstrates that organic farming is helping to reverse the decline in the UK's agricultural workforce, which has fallen by 80% in the last 50 years.

This report, based on the first national survey of labour on UK organic farms by the University of Essex, shows that organic farms in the UK provide more jobs per farm than non-organic agriculture. In contrast to the ageing overall farming population, organic farmers also tend to be younger than their non-organic counterparts. Organic farmers are also more likely to be engaged in business innovations activities, such as direct marketing and on-farm processing, significantly adding value to the food they produce.

This new research demonstrates that farming jobs are a positive indicator of a healthy and vibrant farming model � modern farming can be both profitable and increase employment. Farming jobs provide significant economic, social, ecological and long-term security benefits to society as a whole. Not only does organic farming increase agricultural employment, but it is also economically productive and socially and environmentally sustainable.

More on �Organic works�: http://www.soilassociation.org/organicworks

[III] Why is organic farming good for wildlife? Farmland wildlife is under threat as never before. Yet many scientific studies show that going organic can reverse this decline in biodiversity. The only way to rebuild a rich and abundant wildlife right across our countryside is to promote a system of farming that encourages wildlife instead of one that squeezes it out. That system is organic farming. Organic farming actually depends on encouraging a diverse ecosystem to maintain soil fertility and to keep pests under control naturally. Important organic farming practices include:

- Encouraging natural predators by maintaining hedgerows and creating open spaces at side of fields.

- Mixed farming where different crops are planted together.

- Changing the crops planted each season, to keep soil fertile and avoid the need for chemicals.

More on biodiversity: http://www.soilassociation.org/biodiversity

[IV] While there is no UK data for the overall global warming impact of organic farming, there is now data on energy use from Defra-funded studies. These show organic farming is overall more energy efficient than non-organic farming. This is mainly because it does not use nitrogen fertilisers, which are produced from petro-chemicals in an energy-intensive process. �Life cycle� analyses for the Government have found that organic farming generally uses less energy than conventional farming to produce the same amount (29% less energy for wheat and 38% less for milk). More on climate change and agriculture

[V] Organic eggs All animals on organic farms, including chickens, live in free-range systems and are encouraged to roam outdoors and express their natural behaviour. Organic standards go further than the requirements for 'free-range' chickens. All organic chickens are fed on a diet rich in organic cereals, which haven't been produced using pesticides and which is free of GM. Organic chickens can't be given routine doses of antibiotics which weakens an animal�s immune system and so increases the reliance on drugs. Misleading labels 'barn eggs', 'farm fresh' or 'country fresh' do not mean free-range. Most non-organic eggs carry the Lion Mark and chickens often bear the Red Tractor label indicating that they are produced to Assured Food Standards. These chickens are produced to legal minimum standards and typically spend all of their lives indoors. A study by Compassion in World Farming (CIWF) concluded that these two schemes allow �intensive and poor welfare� practises including battery cages for hens, overcrowding, routine mutilations like debeaking, as well as the use of inappropriate breeds and feeding which can lead to health and welfare problems.

More on organic chickens: http://www.soilassociation.org/chickens

Organic bacon and sausages Additives used in non-organic pork products such as polyphosphates, hydrolysed proteins, and sulphur dioxide are not permitted in organic products. Only a limited number of additives are allowed under organic standards for limited and specific conditions. The most common ones are sodium nitrite and potassium nitrate, and salt. This is because of the risk of botulism. Natural sausage skin casings must be used for organic sausages.

All animals must have access to the outdoors, with lower stocking densities and a more natural diet. Consequently, they have naturally stronger immune systems and rarely if ever need to be treated with veterinary medicines. Antibiotics are used extensively in non-organic farming to promote growth and to prevent disease in intensively reared, overcrowded farm animals. High standards of animal welfare in organic farming minimise the need for antibiotics and other veterinary drugs, which are used only when strictly necessary. Routine use of antibiotics is not permitted under Soil Association standards.

[VI] Organic food - a price worth paying? This article was taken from the Summer 2002 issue of Living Earth - the Soil Association's award-winning membership magazine. How cheap is non-organic food and why is organic food worth the extra? We dismantle the myth of cheap food, explain what goes into organic farming and why it is worth paying extra. Read the article online

For further information, please contact:

Clio Turton, media officer Tel: 0117 914 2448 Email: CTurton@SoilAssociation.org