Is there any point in this trend for organic food? Is it just a fad that will fade away when the next new fashion takes off?

This lens is a brief look at the reasons for growing food by organic methods.

Organic food is nothing new.
Before the 19th century most foods were organic. Organic cultivation systems were in use throughout China and India, Japan and Korea as much as 4000 years ago. In Japan people were being provided for by a fraction of a hectare per head. This was a form of agriculture which was both organic and intensive.
How did they do it? By recycling and composting virtually everything.

In the west, by contrast we have never really had an organic movement until the advent of chemical farming. There were some known ways of promoting fertility, such as using sewage on fields and rotating crops to keep down pests.

About the time of the first chemical fertilisers, pioneers such as Sir Albert Howard were studying oriental food production methods and experimenting with them for use back home in England.

People sometimes think that organic horticulture is just horticulture minus the modern science. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Modern organic farming is firmly based on science; the science of the soil and its organisms.

Organic horticulture and agriculture create the right conditions for healthy, vibrant crops. They do this by feeding the soil which in turn feeds the plant.

This is in contrast to chemical farming, where the main aim is to feed the plant directly with NPK fertilisers. The soil is mainly used just for support and as a reservoir of moisture.

As the years go by there is less and less organic matter in the soil. Soil organisms which should help the plant to grow gradually die off. This is disasterous for surrounding wildlife. Declining fertility leaves the farmer ever more dependent upon the chemist for the plants' food sources.

Organic farming cleverly mimics nature, using composting and other techniques to deliver rich nutrient sources to the soil and its myriad inhabitants.

The constant breakdown and absorption of organic matter leads to a rich, powerful soil, full of the building blocks of healthy plant life. We all benefit: the birds and other wildlife, beneficial insect species and of course, us.

Wildlife gets to enjoy the natural environment.

We get nutritious food brimming with vitamins and minerals for ourselves and our children.