Food Standards
LEAF is a charity helping farmers improve their environmental and
business performance and create a better public understanding of
farming through a nation-wide network of demonstration farms.
Underpinning this is the development of a sustainable system of
food production that is viable, realistic and socially acceptable.
Integrated Farm Management (IFM) is able to deliver these
attributes and address the concerns of society with regard to
agriculture and the countryside.
We believe it is now time to promote this common-sense form of
farming to the consumer using a label on produce. This label will
be backed by an independently verified standard, which will give
the consumer the assurance that the produce they are purchasing
will be produced to IFM guidelines including environmental
enhancement.
Farms that comply with LEAF recommendations can deliver these
attributes. Their production methods represent a '3rd way' of
farming which integrates such concerns with efficient management.
The all round qualities of LEAF produce can be assured with
confidence. These are facts which stakeholders at all levels in the
food chain are increasingly coming to recognise. This scheme will
be known as LEAF Marque Scheme.
The Red Tractor logo represents a partnership throughout the food
chain, from farmers and growers to retailers, to promote British
food quality standards. All stages of production have been
independently inspected to ensure that they meet proper standards
of food safety, animal welfare and environmental impact. Look for
this label in all retail outlets as a symbol of food you can
trust.
The Soil Association has been researching and promoting organic
farming as the key to sustainable agriculture since 1946, with its
distinctive symbol now widely recognised as the consumer's
guarantee of organic quality. Our organic expertise has also been
applied to developing forestry certification. Thirty thousand
members and supporters back our campaign for organic farming and
sustainable land use. We produce two quarterly publications; Living
Earth, our membership magazine, and Organic Farming, the premier
journal for organic producers read in over 30 countries.
The Soil Association has been developing standards for organic
food production since 1972. The first standards document was a
broad statement of principles and about ten pages in length.
Current standards still follow these principles but run to 110
pages of detailed best practice. Sections are broken down into
recommended, permitted, restricted and prohibited practices and
cover everything from crop production and livestock to
conservation, processing, packing and distribution.
