Menu for the Millennium

Will you be supporting farmers who care about the environment and farm in the best ways for conservation and health?

And will you be choosing food free from toxic chemicals and pesticides?

In a nutshell - will you be eating organic?

Many people are becoming increasingly concerned about the quality of the food they eat - whether bought in from outside or reaped from their own gardens and allotments.

According to Healthy Eating Magazine, the quantity of organic food - free from artificial fertilizers or pesticides - eaten in the UK has rocketed over the last 10 years despite the scarcity of organic farms.

Once linked to people favouring kaftans, it is now widely accepted as THE way to achieve a healthy, balanced diet and, for some, a method of combating illness.

Tracey Tomlinson runs Organic Way, based in Cobden Street, Bury, a service that delivers organic produce door to door.

"People are becoming increasingly concerned with what they are eating," she says.

"Not just, 'am I eating too much fat' or 'do I get enough protein', but how the food they eat has been grown - naturally and directed towards human health."

Tracey adds: "With organic foods, freshness is paramount and the longer vegetables are stored, the more essential nutrients and vitamins are lost.

"Our veg is cropped in the morning, picked up in the afternoon, bagged by the Organic Way the next morning and in our customers' kitchens that evening.

"You can't beat fresh vegetables - whether you eat them as an accompaniment to a meal or use them to make a delicious juice drink."

Clearly the range of organic produce is growing. Organic pasta sauce, breakfast cereal, cheese, yoghurt, ice cream, soya, meat, tea, coffee, baby food and, for those with limited time, convenience foods.

These are just a few of the organic items available and most can be bought from specialist outlets, health food shops and some supermarkets.

Tracey agrees that, when organic food made its debut, it was more expensive than other foods. But, because of its growing popularity, the original price appears to have dropped.

"It was initially more expensive," she says, "because fewer people bought it, leaving more waste for the farmer."

Bolton butcher and organic meat specialist, Ray Cornmell has been selling organic meat from his shop on Halliwell Road for the past 16 years and says he's seen its popularity rise.

"Many people think organic farming is relatively new but I get my produce from Arthur Hollins' farm in Market Drayton, Shropshire and he's been farming organically since 1943.

"Organic meat is different - it tastes different, looks different and it doesn't shrink when cooked - and, although slightly more expensive, it's value for money.

"All the animals are farmed naturally - no factory farming - so there are no additives or chemicals."

In a recent issue of the BEN we told the story of a man in the Bolton area who is fighting skin cancer.

His diet is completely organic and he believes it's helped him defy medical odds.

"The organic way is a healthier way of eating," says Ray, "because of the absence of additives. Of course I don't know if it can cure illnesses but it certainly makes for a healthier diet."

Ray is keen to point out the availability of organic food through local traders.

"Although some supermarkets do stock organic produce, small private traders can offer that personal service - explanations and advice - so important when buying organic produce."

Lecturer in food science at Bolton College, John Clark says that, on a personal level, he would eat organic food above any other.

"But that is purely a personal view," he says. "Organic food IS healthier because it hasn't had myriad chemicals poured onto it and into the soil surrounding it."

Some of the man-made chemicals added to crops include "organophosphates" - used as a nerve gas agent by the Nazis.

It's believed many scientists want this banned.

Mr Clark says: "There is no immediate danger with organophosphates and plants want the nitrogen from it - it's not poisonous to humans in that form.

"It's like the manure we spread on crops - taken directly it would be harmful but absorbed by crops it isn't."

Facts:

3,500 man-made chemicals have been added to our food since 1940

Most potentially harmful are "organophosphates", first developed by the Nazis as a nerve gas agent designed to kill. These are widely sprayed pesticides on food we eat

In 1997 it was noted carrots had 25 times the government's Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI)

In 1998, 10 per cent of lettuce had been found to be excessively contaminated

Many scientists believe organophosphates should be banned

Dr Andrew Watson, from Montfort University said: "Major indications, from brain tumours and breast cancers, to a decline in fertility are associated with pesticides."

Facts taken from Organic 2000 Ltd, a network of independent distributors whose aim is to "promote the long-term growth of organic agriculture, change shopping habits from the supermarket to more local shops/home delivery and to support organic and UK farming".

Distributors operate a delivery service where orders are either delivered direct to a customer's house or to a neighbourhood pick-up point.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.