Annual review
Director's report
At no time in history has the need to address the security and sustainability of our food and farming systems been more urgent. We are approaching a ‘perfect storm’ of climate change, diminishing resources on which industrial agriculture depends – such as oil and phosphates – and a growing global population.
Time is short – some experts believe we may have as little as 100 months to prevent irreversible climate change. The UK Government has recognised this urgency in the publication of its Low Carbon Transition Plan – which for the first time has acknowledged the role of food and farming in our collective carbon ‘footprint’.
Ironically, although our current intensive, fertiliser and pesticide-reliant approach isn’t working, these challenges are giving huge impetus to the already powerful voice of the agro-chemical industry, and those who believe that technologies such as GM will give us a free pass to continue exploiting global resources.
These sceptics believe that organic systems will never feed the world. But the Soil Association is amassing an impressive array of research, evidence-based policy ideas and advocates, who are proving, practically and politically, that sustainable food and farming is not just viable, it is also the way of the future.
The Soil Association is organised around the simple proposition that the health of soil, plant, animals and the planet are connected. Food and energy security are emerging as the key global challenges confronting humanity in the 21st century.
The Soil Association has already created a model for sustainable agriculture on which the future of food and farming could be transformed. Our pioneering organic farmers, growers, producers and processors are already leading a more sustainable way through their everyday practice of working with nature to provide the food on our plate.
The wider adoption of organic systems, which rely on the power of the sun, and nitrogen fixing clover are a ready made solution to the problems of feeding ourselves in a way that respects the planet, animals, wildlife – and ultimately human life.
Patrick Holden