Growth in Organic Foods Market

Growth in the organic grocery market in the UK was 3.2 per cent for the four weeks to 16 August 2014 compared with a fall in the non-organic grocery market of 0.9 per cent in the same period.

This continues a trend where organic sales in the UK have been growing at 1.2 per cent compared with a stagnant non-organic market for the year to 16 August 2014.

Organic sales in the UK now make up a 1.3 per cent share of the £96 billion food and drink market.

Despite household budgets still being under pressure, 83 per cent of UK households now buy organic in some form and 29 per cent of shoppers are willing to pay more for products that are ethically produced or kinder to the environment

In the US, agriculture secretary Tom Vilsack has announced the award of more than $52 million in support of the growing US organic industry and local and regional food systems through five US Department of Agriculture (USDA) grant programmes.

"Local and regional food systems are one of the pillars of our efforts to revitalise rural economies," said Secretary Vilsack.

Consumers are increasingly demanding more local and organic options. Investing in local and regional food systems supports the livelihoods of farmers and ranchers, especially smaller operations, while strengthening economies in communities across the country.

“Today's announcements also improve access to fresh, healthy food for millions of Americans."

In the global food market FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva has called on policy makers to support a broad array of approaches to overhauling global food systems, making them healthier and more sustainable.

He said: "We cannot rely on an input intensive model to increase production and the solutions of the past have shown their limits."

Speaking at the 24th session of the Committee on Agriculture (COAG) he called for a "paradigm shift," to lower the use of agricultural inputs, especially water and chemicals, in order to put agriculture, forestry and fisheries on a more sustainable and productive long-term path.

Options such as Agro-ecology and climate-smart agriculture should be explored, and so should biotechnology and the use of genetically modified organisms, FAO's director-general said.