Organic

All Arjuna’ fruits and vegetables are Organic, and whenever possible, Local. Anything we sell that is grown overseas has been shipped to us, nothing is flown in. And, whereas supermarkets sell the same products in the same way, in the same style buildings, from one end of the country to another, we at Arjuna believe in diversity!

Despite increasing conformity in the size, shape and colour of fruits and vegetables, we are delighted to be able to sell a variety that are strangely shaped, organic, and delicious. We are also proud of the range of home-made mueslis we have developed over the years, and of a multitude of other organic foods.

The plant foods that form the bulk or the entirety of a wholefood diet should come from the soil in the most direct way possible. Generally, any processing reduces nutrient content, particularly vitamin content, and should be avoided. The combinations of nutrients found in food plants are beneficial because of the way different substances work together; thus wholeness is as important as freshness. Cooking techniques are important too. Vegetables are best eaten raw, or, failing that, lightly steamed. (In our climate, hot food is probably a necessity in winter.) Additives should be avoided because of possible toxic effects and because they often hinder absorption of nutrients; organically grown food is best of all.

“Organic,” in the context of agriculture or gardening, means growing without artificial pesticides or fertilisers. Until relatively recently, all farming was organic; the new “agrochemicals” were not used on a significant scale until the 1920s or 1930s, and only achieved their current dominance after the Second World War. Almost from the start, far sighted people were urging a rejection of this innovation. And, as the evidence for the dangers posed by agrochemicals grew, so the organic movement grew in response.

The organic movement is about more than just a return to the farming practices of a hundred years ago; faced with an ever increasing human population and a degraded natural environment, it aims to mix modern research and traditional lore in such a way that large amounts of safe-to-eat food can be produced in an environmentally sustainable way.

The basic standards applicable to organic foods are the prohibition of agrochemical pesticides and herbicides and avoidance of artificial fertilisers; instead using manure and vegetable wastes, crop rotation (including rotation with weed suppressing crops) and techniques which aim to build soil fertility naturally and minimise damage to and pollution of the environment.

Agrochemicals are undesirable for several reasons. They affect the health of consumers, farm workers and, sometimes, people who simply happen to live in areas of particularly intensive farming. Agrochemicals in food may reduce nutritional content, produce toxic effects in the body, and inhibit the take up of nutrients. Agrochemicals also deplete the soil and threaten wild plants and animals; wild flowers have completely disappeared from many of Cambridgeshire’s intensively farmed fields.

Beyond the health and environmental benefits, organically produced dairy and eggs guarantee a standard of animal welfare by government regulations on organic farming. Dairy cows are fed on grass based diets rather than concentrated feed. They are predominantly kept outside rather than permanently housed. Also organic standards for chickens are more free range than free range!

Many people ask us how they can be sure that food sold as organic really is free from chemicals. As our whole environment is now saturated with chemicals, incidental pollution can never be completely stopped, but substantial guarantees of organicness can be made. In 1992, the European Community introduced stringent new regulations governing the growing and marketing of organic food, and we registered as a packer and processor under these, allowing us pack organic foods in our warehouse, and make organic muesli. Furthermore, we only sell products as “organic” if they come from suppliers who are also registered.

Currently the biggest food question is that of GMOs, or Genetically Modified Organisms. The organic foods sector is opposed to the inclusion of these products in foods, and any product or crop containing GMOs cannot be registered as an organic product with the Soil Association. Extensive lobbying is under way to try to change labelling regulations for all food stuffs, but at present it is impossible to tell from a label if a product contains any GMOs unless the item is organic, or you have a guarantee from the manufacturer.

In the UK the most important organisation for research, promotion and licensing of organic foods is the Soil Association, with whom we are registered as a packer and processor. A product can now only be labelled “organic” if at least 95% of the ingredients are from a certified organic producer.