UK: Organic lobby anger as Soil Association backs food by air

The organic food watchdog has caved in to pressure from supermarkets to allow air-freighted produce to display the organic label.

The Soil Association proposed last year to ban suppliers and retailers from putting its certification label on fruit and vegetables that arrived in Britain by air, arguing that air-freighting produce generated 177 times more greenhouse gas than sending the same produce by sea.
The association has retreated after being lobbied by supermarket chains including Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Waitrose and Asda, which want to continue selling air-freighted organic food. The decision to approve air freight, which the association posted discreetly on its website, will provoke uproar in the wider organic movement.

Many supporters of the organic lifestyle believe that it should stand for sustainable consumption, not just organic production.

The Times