Stand your ground, then retreat
Climate change is a reality, and one that is creeping (or leaping) up on the world at an alarming rate. Last week, I read a report which stated that the levels of CO2 in the atmosphere are rising faster than predicted due to less efficient use of fossil fuels and carbon sinks that are absorbing less carbon1.
With this in mind, and with the weight of scientific evidence, it makes me wonder why drastic rather than piecemeal action is not being taken. I guess it comes down to wealth and selfishness. If you are earning a lot of money or gaining wealth (and power) through an activity, however climate damaging that is, people seem reluctant to give it up and change it. But big businesses will have to change - no longer will they be able to rely on growth year after year. It will become the age of the small, local business, but the big boys will doubtless fight for their corner until the end.
Although there are some altruistic soles who will change their lives without prodding, it will be up to governments to ‘make’ people change. There is a very fine line between telling people the reality of climate change and setting off mass panic, but the current message seems to be geared around saying, recycle more, use energy efficient appliances, switch off your lights when you’re not in a room and things will be just fine - in other words, just make a few small adjustments to your lifestyle. The reality, from what I can see, is that this will be nowhere near enough.
Anyway, back to the point of this article - it’s about the Soil Association and their organic certification on products flown into the UK. Some time ago the Soil Association (who ‘certify’ around 85% of organic produce sold in the UK) announced that they would be tightening some of the rules under which products can be certified organic, due to concerns that it is not good for the environment to have fresh food air freighted thousands of miles just to please a few UK consumers. All sounds sensible to me, but then some of the growers (and their governments) step in and say how it will affect their jobs and prosperity - what about Kenyans growing food for Kenyans? Is it just me, or does it sound strange that a continent such as Africa, is growing food for export whilst people die through lack of food?
Eventually the Soil Association backed down and revised their rules. They will be reviewing them again in 2009 and introducing extra checks on growers such as workers pay, conditions and treatment etc (a bit like current Fair-Trade rules), which should help us as consumers choose between real organic and corporate organic produce.
I wish the Soil Association had stuck to its guns and not allowed organic certification on air-freighted goods. Yes, I feel for the farmers and growers who have recently become dependent on the export trade to the UK, but we need to be able to understand that we shouldn’t expect vegetables out of season.
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences [↩]
