Soil Association Organic Food Standards

The SA logo is the most widely used trademark logo in organic food standards certification, as well as for other organic products. The SA promotes and enforces standards based on EU and UK regulations, as well as its own higher standards, developed in pursuit of the highest levels of organic integrity.

(The full SA article from which the following extracts (italics) have been taken can be found here. (Acknowledgment to Marisa Vaughan as SA author)

Poultry

Quality of living standards in terms of space and comfort for laying and meat birds are of paramount importance. The term 'free-range' is not truly met by minimum standards set by legislation. The SA redresses this:

Pigs

Under UK law it is still possible for pigs to be fitted with nose-rings, have their teeth clipped and tail docked, as well as castrated. On top of this abuse, the term 'free-range' can mean access only to an outside run. SA standards work to eliminate these stress-producing practices:

Cows

Often, dairy cows are kept from performing their natural act of grazing. Instead the grass is brought to them in the confines of sheds or small paddocks. While supposedly meeting EU/UK law on minimum organic standards, it fails to meet the quality of those of the SA.

Another concern is the withdrawal period for cows that have been injected with antibiotics. The SA explains:

Crops

The controversial genetically modified (GM) crops or 'frankenfood' as some have dubbed it, come under SA scrutiny in their work of developing ever-higher standards for organically produced foods:

Nature Conservation

Intensive farming disturbs and destroys local environments and eco-systems. The SA sets conservation standards for farmers. meeting these standards promotes environmental/ecological health:

The Soil Association

It is clear to many that the SA is the frontrunner in the campaign to enforce the highest organic food standards. These standards naturally benefit environmental health as well as human health.

I, for one, trust the SA logo (see above) more than any other by far. I know that it sets the highest organic food standards and only awards its certification logo if those standards are met.

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