Organic movement needs clear reporting

IN AN article headlined ‘Organic matters’ (Irish Examiner, Feelgood, November 3), Roz Crowley asked: “How do we know if organic produce is worth the money?” She says, for her, taste is key.

That’s fair enough, but there is more involved. Organic food is produced without the assistance of synthetic chemicals; where meat is concerned, animal welfare is guaranteed and the farm environment is managed with conservation in mind. But the most important factor is a strict certificate/inspection scheme ensures these standards are adhered to. An organic producer has to go through hoops to obtain and retain the organic symbol.

Ms Crowley says many vegetable sellers “grow their own chemical-free vegetables and avoid the bureaucracy of the organic label.” How is the customer to know the genuine article? No one is checking the authenticity of claims. That is the point of the organic certification/inspection scheme. It is the only guarantee the food you buy is organic.

Ms Crowley also claimed to have seen “flagrant misuse of the term ‘organic’ on meat, especially poultry”. How does she know? Clearly, she’s not going to name names or places. Did she perhaps speak to a conventional producer who said he supplied this or that organic shop with meat If you make accusatory statements, you have to back them up.

She says free-range chickens are often excellent, but if extra is being charged for organic, “be careful”. Be careful of what? Most people are aware that organic chickens are more expensive than free-range chickens, the main reason being that organic meal is expensive.

Ms Crowley said she saw one stall in a well-known market with an organic sign over it, but not all of the meat for sale there was organic. This is unfair in that she casts a slur over other organic retailers.

Also, how did she know not all of the meat in question was organic?

The fledgling organic movement could do without this sort of ill-founded coverage.

Rosemary Dickson

Mawmore

Enniskeane

Co Cork