Scotland is embracing what�s been hailed as a healthy food revolution... but is it all it�s cracked up to be? Cate Devine investigates.

It's more expensive than mass-produced food, doesn't last as long without wilting, and can look awful. Yet the Scottish appetite for organic produce is voracious. "Organic food has reached an all-time high, and consumer demand for Scottish organic beef, lamb, milk and dairy products is going through the roof," says Debs Roberts, development officer at the Scottish Organic Producers Association (SOPA). "This is a dramatic change from even 12 months ago."

This weekend, the Soil Association Scotland is anticipating 5000 visitors at its second Organic Food Festival in Glasgow. True, compared with the thousands expected at next month's BBC Good Food Show at the SECC, such figures may seem small potatoes. But for many it's proof that the Scottish organic movement is shifting to the mainstream.

The UK-wide organic market is the third-largest in Europe after Germany and Italy. Brits are spending an average of £37m each week on organic produce, and there has been a 53% increase in door-to-door delivery schemes in the last year. Sales of free-range and organic eggs have outstripped eggs from caged birds.

Last year the number of certified organic producers in Scotland leapt by 50 to 686. The amount of Scottish agricultural land under organic conversion increased by 110%, and Scotland now has 38% of the UK's organically managed land.

Yet the organic lifestyle is still regarded by many as a middle-class pretension, and even a commercial con. The health benefits of organic produce have yet to be endorsed by government-funded study - and the higher price, say critics, is unjustified. So is going organic simply the equivalent of trying on the emperor's new (ethically sourced cotton) clothes? Isn't it better just to source grass-fed beef and fairly traded produce?

Absolutely, says Ayrshire beef and lamb farmer John Scott MSP, former chairman of the Scottish Association of Farmers' Markets and an organic refusenik. "I believe the health benefits of organic food are exaggerated and illusory. Being organic is simply a marketing tool, and I don't believe people can tell the difference between grass-fed beef and organic beef."

Wilma Finlay, director of Cream O'Galloway, which makes organic fair-trade ice-cream, feels very differently. "Where fair trade helps people, organic helps the environment," she says. She believes the advantage of organic farming is that it doesn't use artificial fertilisers, and so helps the soil produce healthier food.

Organic production emphasises good animal welfare and increased biodiversity, adds Debs Roberts. It produces smaller yields, so buying organic often means buying local, and supporting local producers.

Gundula Azeez of the Soil Association says there are proven health benefits. "There is now a significant body of scientific evidence from around the world that organic vegetables, fruit and milk contain more nutrients than non-organic food." Furthermore, a report from the Economic Social Research Council, published today - called Reconnecting Consumers, Food and Producers: Exploring Alternative Networks - suggests that consumers who participate in organic vegetable box schemes tend to increase their consumption of fruit and veg - and improve their cooking skills and knowledge about food, too.

In 2001, an independent review found that organic crops had significantly higher levels of all 21 nutrients analysed. This included statistically significant higher levels of iron (21% more) and vitamin C (27%) - and significantly less nitrate. Organic spinach, lettuce, cabbage and potatoes showed particularly high levels of minerals. In the same year, the Soil Association reported that organic food contained higher levels of minerals such as calcium, magnesium, iron, chromium and vitamin C than non-organic. Organic tomatoes, apples, peaches and kiwi fruit have also been found to contain higher levels of vitamin C and antioxidants.

"The improved bioavailability of minerals in the soil of organic farm systems explains these higher levels," says Azeez. "Organic farming is based around the maximisation of soil biology to optimise nutrition pathways from soil to crops."

It's not just vegetables, either. A recent study by Glasgow and Liverpool Universities - following others with similar results - reported that whole organic milk produced in the UK had on average a 68% higher level of essential omega-3 fatty acids than non-organic.

Not everything in the garden is rosy, of course. For producers, converting to organic can mean slower growth and smaller yields, yards of paperwork and, in many cases, having to re-learn the fundamentals of traditional agriculture such as smaller fields, crop rotation, hand-weeding and non-chemical pest control - all for small financial returns. During the first two years of conversion, production is especially small. The resulting price hikes are unpalatable to many consumers - though not all.


Still, demand for financial aid for organic conversion, through the Scottish Government's Rural Development Programme, has been shooting up. In 2006 it was £11m, up from £3.1m the previous year. Although the next five-year scheme is on hold until the European Union approves Scotland's £50m plan for 2007-2013, lodged with Brussels in June, approval is expected next month. But conversion takes two years, which means the potential new wave of Scottish organic farmers won't be able to sell their produce until at least 2010.

This is frustrating for both SOPA and the Soil Association. "There's a desperate shortage of supply compared to demand," says Debs Roberts. Indeed, demand for organic vegetables has increased in Scotland to the point that some organic producers would like to double their capacity.

High domestic demand and short supply mean it is unlikely that the price of organic food is going to come down - and a global shortage in supply of organic grain is another major factor. "It would help if we had more organic arable producers," says Hugh Raven, director of the Soil Association Scotland. "It is stifling sectors such as pig and poultry production, which depend on a cereal-based diet." And with all global food prices soaring, because of a combination of rising fuel prices, poor harvests and increased demand from China and India, the price of organic food could well even out.

John Scott isn't convinced, and thinks organic production might have to fall. "With the rising price of oil, milk and grain prices in the last year, we are going to have to increase food production in this country in the next two to three years," he says. "I believe that going further into the reduced potential output of organic farming is not the way forward at this time."

But Wilma Finlay argues that, on the contrary, land for organic use should be increased. "The only way we'll be farming in 20 years' time will be organically. For the long-term future of farming we're all going to have to learn to live without expensive chemicals as the price of oil and gas go through the roof," she says.

Organic food playing a part in global politics? There's a novel idea.

Worldwide boost for our produce


Locally produced seasonal Scottish food, both organic and non-organic, is to be promoted online for the first time.

Scottishfoodinseason.com , a new VisitScotland website, has been launched in recognition of the potentially significant role to be played by Scottish produce in attracting tourists to Scotland.

Food and drink will be promoted seasonally each month, and individual food categories will provide more information. Seasonal recipes are available to download, and the site also includes a list of dining-out promotions and foodie events throughout Scotland.

"Food is an important part of any visit to a country," says tourism minister Jim Mather.

"If we can give visitors a taste for our wonderful home-grown produce, we can give them a taste for Scotland."

Food tourism could be of great benefit for the Scottish economy. Already 21% of tourist expenditure in Scotland is on produce - including soft fruits, seafood, beef, lamb, game and dairy. But VisitScotland wants to increase its appeal.

"Increasingly, the very best restaurants look first to Scotland in their search for the very finest," says Mather. "When the best chefs across the world are doing that, you know we have something special.

On top of this, VisitScotland hopes there will be a boost for local farmers and small businesses across the country. "Using local produce helps sustainable tourism three ways," explains Sandy Dear, manager of the sustainable tourist unit at VisitScotland. "It supports local business, cuts food miles and helps local farmers and growers."

This month, visitors and potential visitors will be able to access information on Scottish-grown squash, broccoli, beetroot, kale, mushrooms, partridge, hare, venison, rabbit, halibut and sardines.