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{{short description|Farming charity based in the United Kingdom}}
{{Short description|British registered charity}}
{{advert|date=December 2018}}
{{Third-party|date=December 2021}}

{{EngvarB|date=October 2013}}
{{EngvarB|date=October 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2016}}
{{cleanup list|date=July 2012}}
{{Infobox organization
{{Infobox organization
| name = Soil Association
| name = Soil Association
| logo = [[File:Soil Association logo.png|200px]]
| logo = Screenshot20.pn.png
| type = Charity
| image =
| type = Charity, lobby association
| founded_date = 1946
| founded_date = 1946
| founder = [[Lady Eve Balfour]], [[Jorian Jenks]].
| founder = {{ubl|[[Lady Eve Balfour]]|[[Jorian Jenks]]|[[Friend Sykes]]}}
| location = Soil Association, Spear House, 51 Victoria Street, Bristol, BS1 6AD
| location = Spear House, 51 Victoria Street, Bristol BS1 6AD
| origins =
| origins =
| key_people = [[Monty Don]]: President <br> [[Helen Browning]]: Chief Executive
| key_people = {{ubl|Martin Nye, chair of trustees|[[Helen Browning]], chief executive}}
| area_served = United Kingdom
| area_served = United Kingdom
| product =
| product =
| mission =
| focus = [[Organic movement]]
| focus = [[Organic movement]]
| method = Campaigning and certification
| method = Campaigning and certification
| revenue =
| revenue =
| endowment =
| endowment =
| status = {{ubl|{{nobreak|[[Registered charity]] 206862 (England and Wales){{r|cc}}}}|Charity SC039168 (Scotland){{r|sc}}}}
| num_volunteers =
| owner =
| num_employees =
| homepage = {{url|soilassociation.org}}
| num_members =
| dissolved =
| subsid =
| footnotes =
| owner =
| Non-profit_slogan = healthy soil, healthy people, healthy planet
| homepage = [http://www.soilassociation.org www.soilassociation.org]
| dissolved =
| footnotes = {{EW charity|206862}}
}}
}}


The '''Soil Association''' is a charity based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1946, its activities include campaign work on issues including opposition to [[intensive farming]], support for [[local purchasing]] and public education on nutrition; as well the certification of [[organic food]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Our history|url=http://www.soilassociation.org/aboutus/ourhistory|publisher=Soil Association|accessdate=11 April 2012|deadurl=yes|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120327163627/http://www.soilassociation.org/aboutus/ourhistory|archivedate=27 March 2012|df=dmy-all}}</ref>
The '''Soil Association''' is a British [[registered charity]] focused on the effect of agriculture on the environment.<ref>[https://www.soilassociation.org ‘’Official website’’]</ref> It was established in 1946.{{r|cc2}} Their activities include campaigning for [[local purchasing]], public education on nutrition and certification of [[organic food]]s, and against [[intensive farming]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Our history|url=http://www.soilassociation.org/aboutus/ourhistory|publisher=Soil Association|access-date=11 April 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120327163627/http://www.soilassociation.org/aboutus/ourhistory|archive-date=27 March 2012|df=dmy-all}}</ref>


==History==
== History ==
The Soil Association was formally registered on 3 May 1946,<ref name=a>{{cite journal | last1 = Paull | first1 = John | year = 2009 | title = The Living Soil Association: Pioneering Organic Farming and Innovating Social Inclusion | url = http://orgprints.org/16429/1/16429.pdf | journal = Journal of Organic Systems | volume = 4 | issue = 1| pages = 15–33 }}</ref> and in the next decade grew from a few hundred to over four thousand members.<ref name=Conford&Holden2007>{{citation |year=2007 |author1=Conford, Philip |author2=Holden, Patrick |lastauthoramp=yes |chapter=The Soil Association |editor=William Lockeretz |title=Organic Farming: An International History |publisher=Oxfordshire, UK & Cambridge, Massachusetts: CAB International (CABI) |isbn=978-0-85199-833-6 |pages=187–200|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=25QnL3-njZQC&printsec=frontcover&dq=%22Organic+farming%22&hl=en&ei=QaBgTJmFOIjOuAPMlaSOCQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CEQQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q&f=false |accessdate=10 August 2010}} ebook {{ISBN|978-1-84593-289-3}}</ref>


===The Haughley experiment===
According to its website:
[[Lady Eve Balfour]] (niece of former British Prime Minister [[Arthur Balfour]]) was one of the first women to study agriculture in a British university. She and her sister Mary bought New Bells Farm at Haughley Green in Suffolk and started the [[Haughley Experiment]], trialling different types of farming techniques to compare chemical and organic farming.<ref>[https://green-history.uk/people/pioneers/who-was-eve-balfour ‘’Green History website’’]</ref>
:"The Soil Association was founded in 1946 by a group of farmers, scientists and nutritionists who observed a direct connection between farming practice and plant, animal, human and environmental health..."The catalyst was the publication of "''[[The Living Soil]]''" by [[Lady Eve Balfour]], the niece of former Prime Minister [[Arthur Balfour]], in 1943. The book presented the case for an alternative, [[sustainable]] approach to agriculture that has since become known as [[organic farming]]."


The Haughley experiment was the first formal, side-by-side farm trial to compare organic and chemical-based farming.<ref>{{cite book|last1=White|first1=Kim Kennedy|last2=Duram|first2=Leslie A|title=''America Goes Green: An Encyclopedia of Eco-friendly Culture in the United States''|date=2013|publisher=ABC-CLIO|location=California|isbn=978-1-59884-657-7|page=176}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=LADY EVE BALFOUR|url=http://www.ifoam.org/en/lady-eve-balfour|website=IFOAM|accessdate=21 August 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Balfour|first1=Lady Eve|title=Towards a Sustainable Agriculture&mdash;The Living Soil|url=http://www.soilandhealth.org/01aglibrary/010116Balfourspeech.html|website=Canberra Organic Growers Society Soil And Health Library|publisher=IFOAM|accessdate=21 August 2014}}</ref> It was based on an idea that farmers were over-reliant on fertilizers, that livestock, crops and the soil should be treated as a whole system and that "natural" farming produced food which was in some way more wholesome than food produced with more intensive methods.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=The Haughley Experiment|date=1957|journal=Nature|language=en|volume=179|issue=4558|pages=514|doi=10.1038/179514d0|s2cid=4197385 |issn=0028-0836|doi-access=free|bibcode=1957Natur.179T.514. }}</ref> Lady Balfour believed that humanity's future and human health were dependent on how the soil was treated, and ran the experiment to generate scientific data that would support these beliefs.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Gordon|first=Ian R.|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/58547418|title=Reproductive technologies in farm animals|date=2004|publisher=CABI Pub|isbn=0-85199-049-5|location=Wallingford, Oxfordshire|oclc=58547418}}</ref>
The Soil Association was founded in part due to concerns over intensive agriculture and in particular the use of [[herbicides]].
[[British Union of Fascists]] (BUF) member, [[Jorian Jenks]], who wasclosely associated with [[Oswald Mosley]] was one of the founders of the Soil Association. Jenks was for years the editorial secretary of the Association's journal "Mother Earth". During the late 1940s the Association involved far-right and even [[antisemitic]] elements, remnants of the defunct BUF, and was driven by far-right political ideas as much as ecological concerns. Following Jenks' death in 1963, the Association tilted towards the left of the political spectrum, especially under the new president of the Association, [[Barry Commoner]].<ref name="VeryDeeplyDyed">{{Cite book |publisher= I.B.Tauris |isbn= 978-1-84511-284-4 |last= Macklin |first= Graham |title= Very deeply dyed in black: Sir Oswald Mosley and the resurrection of British fascism after 1945 |year= 2007}}</ref> The campaigner [[Alastair Sawday]] was Vice Chairman of the association between 2005 and 2007.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.thesimplethings.com/blog/2013/10/25/alastair-sawday|title=Alastair Sawday: the green travel pioneer|website=The Simple Things|language=en-GB|access-date=2019-01-07}}</ref>


Lady Balfour then published results in 1943 in her book ''[[The Living Soil]]''. Reprinted numerous times, it became a founding text of the emerging organic food and farming movement and of the Soil Association.<ref>"Lady Eve Balfour". Theberton and Eastbridge Parish Council (onesuffolk). Archived from the original on 13 January 2016. Retrieved 12 January 2016.</ref>
The Soil Association was one of five like-minded associations that founded the [[International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements]] (IFOAM) in 1972 in [[Versailles (city)|Versailles]], France, to act as the [[umbrella organisation]] to advocate for the global uptake of [[organic farming]].<ref>{{cite journal| last1 = Paull| first1 = John| year = 2010| title = From France to the World: The International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM)| trans_title = | journal = Journal of Social Research & Policy| volume = 1| issue = 2| pages = 93–102| url = http://orgprints.org/18808/1/Paull2010IfoamJSRP.pdf}}</ref>


===Founders' meeting===
==Activities==


[[Lady Eve Balfour]], [[Friend Sykes]] and [[George Scott Williamson]] organized a founders' meeting for the Soil Association on 12 June 1945 and about a hundred people attended.<ref>Conford, Philip. (2001). ''The Origins of the Organic Movement''. Floris Books. p. 252. {{ISBN|978-0863153365}}</ref><ref>Lockeretz, William. (2018). ''Organic Farming: An International History''. CABI. p. 189. {{ISBN|978-0-85199-833-6}}</ref> The association was formally registered on 3 May 1946,<ref name=a>{{cite journal | last1 = Paull | first1 = John | year = 2009 | title = The Living Soil Association: Pioneering Organic Farming and Innovating Social Inclusion | url = http://orgprints.org/16429/1/16429.pdf | journal = Journal of Organic Systems | volume = 4 | issue = 1| pages = 15–33 }}</ref> and in the next decade grew to over 4,000 members.<ref name=Conford&Holden2007>{{citation |year=2007 |author1=Conford, Philip |author2=Holden, Patrick |name-list-style=amp |chapter=The Soil Association |editor-first=William |editor-last=Lockeretz |title=Organic Farming: An International History |publisher=Oxfordshire, UK & Cambridge, Massachusetts: CAB International (CABI) |isbn=978-0-85199-833-6 |pages=187–200|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=25QnL3-njZQC&q=%22Organic+farming%22 |access-date=10 August 2010}} ebook {{ISBN|978-1-84593-289-3}}</ref>
The Soil Association carries out work certifying products as organic in the following areas: farming, food processing, restaurants and catering, [[Fishery|fisheries]], textiles and leather, health and beauty, and fulfilment.


It was also founded in part due to concerns over intensive agriculture and in particular the use of [[herbicides]]. [[British Union of Fascists]] member [[Jorian Jenks]], who was closely associated with [[Oswald Mosley]], was one of the founders. Following Jenks' death in 1963, the association tilted towards the left of the political spectrum, especially under the new president, [[Barry Commoner]].<ref name="VeryDeeplyDyed">{{Cite book |publisher= I.B.Tauris |isbn= 978-1-84511-284-4 |last= Macklin |first= Graham |title= Very deeply dyed in black: Sir Oswald Mosley and the resurrection of British fascism after 1945 |year= 2007}}</ref>
===Campaigns===
The Association's campaign priorities are to promote organic food and farming, promote food security, and to [[lobbying|lobby]] against [[genetic modification]], many [[pesticide]]s and the routine use of [[antibiotic]]s.<ref>http://www.soilassociation.org/whatisorganic/organicfarming</ref> Many campaigns are led by reports produced by the policy department.


The association was one of the five bodies which in [[Versailles (city)|Versailles]] in 1972 formed the [[International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements]] to act as the [[umbrella organisation]] to advocate for [[organic farming]].<ref>{{cite journal| last1 = Paull| first1 = John| year = 2010| title = From France to the World: The International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM)| journal = Journal of Social Research & Policy| volume = 1| issue = 2| pages = 93–102| url = http://orgprints.org/18808/1/Paull2010IfoamJSRP.pdf}}</ref>
===Policy reports===
The Soil Association's policy department carries out research and releases reports to further its aims. The reports have covered topics relating to climate-friendly farming, welfare and wildlife, health, and genetic modification.


===Education===
==Campaigns==
Former campaigns by the association include the following areas:
The Soil Association also runs a number of schemes designed to educate people and reconnect them with the land and where their food comes from:
*intensive pesticide use
*neonicotinoid pesticides
*deregulation of gene editing
*megafarming
*agroecology
*welfare of farm animals
*ultra-processed foods
*healthy school meals
*labelling of beauty products


The association takes part in industry and trade events, as well as offering training days.
* 'The Food for Life Partnership' <ref>[http://www.foodforlife.org.uk Food For Life website]</ref> is a £16.9m [[National Lottery (United Kingdom)|lottery]]-funded programme involving four charities – the Soil Association, [[Focus on Food Campaign]], Health Education Trust and [[Garden Organic]]. It aims to transform school and community food culture across England by giving schools and communities access to seasonal, local and organic food and the skills they need to cook and grow fresh food for themselves;
* 'Organic Farm School' is a series of over 300 hands-on courses in growing your own food, [[Animal husbandry|rearing animals]], cooking and [[rural crafts]];
* 'Organic Apprenticeship Scheme' is a two-year course involving a work-based placement with an organic farmer or grower and eight structured [[seminar]]s per year.


==Twenty-first century==
===Quality of food===
Campaigner [[Alastair Sawday]] was vice-chairman of the association between 2005 and 2007.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.thesimplethings.com/blog/2013/10/25/alastair-sawday|title=Alastair Sawday: the green travel pioneer|website=The Simple Things|date=25 October 2013 |language=en-GB|access-date=2019-01-07}}</ref>
In July 2009 the [[Food Standards Agency]] published a report<ref>[http://www.food.gov.uk/news/newsarchive/2009/jul/organic Organic review]. Retrieved 13 September 2009.</ref> which concluded that there were "no important differences in the nutrition content, or any additional health benefits, of organic food when compared with conventionally produced food." The Soil Association issued a statement<ref>[http://www.soilassociation.org/News/NewsItem/tabid/91/smid/463/ArticleID/97/reftab/57/t/Soil-Association-response-to-the-Food-Standards-Agency-s-Organic-Review/Default.aspx Soil Association response to the Food Standards Agency's Organic Review]. Retrieved 13 September 2009.</ref> criticising the report for not taking into account existing studies on the subject and noting reasons other than nutrition for consumers to choose organic food, such as environmental and animal welfare concerns.


As of 2023, Wiltshire farmer [[Helen Browning]] is the [[chief executive]];<ref name=":0" /> broadcaster [[Monty Don]] was president from 2008 to 2016.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/dec/11/monty-don-tim-adams-dogs-gardening |title=Monty Don: 'I like dogs because they are not humans' |work=The Guardian |date=11 December 2016}}</ref> Honorary vice-presidents include [[Jonathan Dimbleby]], George McRobie, and Charlotte Mitchell. [[King Charles III]] is a royal patron.<ref name=":0">{{cite web |title=Our people |url=https://www.soilassociation.org/who-we-are/our-people/ |access-date=13 July 2023 |publisher=Soil Association}}</ref>
===BOOM Awards===
The Soil Association awards annual '''BOOM Awards''' ('''Best of Organic Market''') for businesses, producers and brands. In 2017 there were awards in 21 categories such as "Bakery", "Best Organic Box Scheme" and "Best Organic Blogger", and "The Nation's Favourite", won that year by Island Bakery of Mull for their "Lemon melts" (lemon biscuits dipped in white chocolate), out of 3,000 public nominations.<ref name="boom2017">{{cite web|title=The BOOM Award Winners 2017|url=https://www.soilassociation.org/organic-living/the-boom-awards-2017/the-boom-award-winners-2017/|publisher=Soil Association|accessdate=26 February 2018}}</ref><ref name="soilnations2017">{{cite web|title=The 2017 Nation's Favourite Shortlist|url=https://www.soilassociation.org/organic-living/the-boom-awards-2017/nationsfavourite/|publisher=Soil Association|accessdate=26 February 2018}}</ref>


== Certification ==
==Farmers and growers==


The association certifies organic products in farming, food processing, restaurants and catering, [[Fishery|fisheries]], textiles and leather, and health and beauty products.<ref>[https://soilassociation.org/certification ‘’Official website’’]</ref> Its subsidiary Soil Association Certification Ltd is approved by the [[Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/organic-certification-list-of-uk-approved-organic-control-bodies|title = &#91;Withdrawn&#93; Organic certification: List of UK approved organic control bodies| date=29 January 2021 }}</ref> It sets standards for [[packaging]], animal welfare, [[wildlife conservation]], residues and [[Food additive|additives]].<ref>[https://soilassociation.org/certification/certification-updates/ ''Official website'']</ref> Since 2008 its standards have excluded [[nanomaterials]].<ref>Paull, John (2011) [http://orgprints.org/19528/1/Paull2011NanoISOFAR.pdf "Nanomaterials in food and agriculture: The big issue of small matter for organic food and farming"], Proceedings of the Third Scientific Conference of ISOFAR (International Society of Organic Agriculture Research), 28 September - 1 October, Namyangju, Korea., 2:96-99.</ref>
===Standards===
Soil Association standards set strict [[benchmarking|benchmarks]] for organic food production, [[packaging]], animal welfare, [[wildlife conservation]], residues and [[Food additive|additive]]s to reassure the buying public over the quality of products labelled organic. It was an early adopter of organic production standards to exclude [[nanomaterials]].<ref>Paull, John (2011) [http://orgprints.org/19528/1/Paull2011NanoISOFAR.pdf "Nanomaterials in food and agriculture: The big issue of small matter for organic food and farming"], Proceedings of the Third Scientific Conference of ISOFAR (International Society of Organic Agriculture Research), 28 September – 1 October, Namyangju, Korea., 2:96–99.</ref> The standards cover agriculture,<ref>{{cite web|title=Agriculture standards committee|url=http://www.soilassociation.org/Whatwedo/Organicstandards/Standardscommittees/Agriculture/tabid/250/Default.aspx|publisher=Soil Association|accessdate=27 October 2010}}</ref> aquaculture,<ref>{{cite web|title=Aquaculture standards committee|url=http://www.soilassociation.org/Whatwedo/Organicstandards/Standardscommittees/Aquaculture/tabid/251/Default.aspx |publisher=Soil Association|accessdate=27 October 2010}}</ref> ethical trade,<ref>{{cite web|title=Ethical trade standards committee|url=http://www.soilassociation.org/Whatwedo/Organicstandards/Standardscommittees/Ethicaltrade/tabid/252/Default.aspx |publisher=Soil Association|accessdate=27 October 2010}}</ref> food processing,<ref>{{cite web|title=Food processing standards committee|url=http://www.soilassociation.org/Whatwedo/Organicstandards/Standardscommittees/Foodprocessing/tabid/254/Default.aspx|publisher=Soil Association|accessdate=27 October 2010}}</ref> forestry,<ref>{{cite web|title=Forestry standards committee|url=http://www.soilassociation.org/Whatwedo/Organicstandards/Standardscommittees/Forestry/tabid/253/Default.aspx |publisher=Soil Association|accessdate=27 October 2010}}</ref> health and beauty products,<ref>{{cite web|title=Health products standards committee|url=http://www.soilassociation.org/Whatwedo/Organicstandards/Standardscommittees/Healthproducts/tabid/255/Default.aspx|publisher=Soil Association|accessdate=27 October 2010}}</ref> horticulture,<ref>{{cite web|title=Horticulture standards committee|url=http://www.soilassociation.org/Whatwedo/Organicstandards/Standardscommittees/Horticulture/tabid/256/Default.aspx |publisher=Soil Association|accessdate=27 October 2010}}</ref> and textiles<ref>{{cite web|title=Textiles standards & trade group|url=http://www.soilassociation.org/Whatwedo/Organicstandards/Standardscommittees/Textiles/tabid/257/Default.aspx|publisher=Soil Association|accessdate=27 October 2010}}</ref>


===Certification===
==See also==
* {{annotated link|Rolf Gardiner}}
Soil Association Certification Ltd (SACL) is a [[not-for-profit]] subsidiary of the Soil Association charity, independently providing organic certification services and advisory support on all aspects of organic certification. SACL is one of the organic certification bodies in the UK,<ref>https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/organic-certification-list-of-uk-approved-organic-control-bodies</ref> approved by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
* {{annotated link|Claire Loewenfeld}}
* {{annotated link|H. J. Massingham}}
* {{annotated link|Innes Hope Pearse}}, founder member
* {{annotated link|Craig Sams}}
* {{annotated link|E. F. Schumacher}}
* {{annotated link|Tracy Worcester}}
* {{annotated link|Lizzie Vann}}
* {{annotated link|Living Soil Association of Tasmania}}
* {{annotated link|Australian Organic Farming and Gardening Society}}


==References==
===Business support===
{{Reflist|45em|refs=
The association provides general, legal, trading, marketing and training advice and support to existing businesses and those considering going organic. This includes tailored support for livestock, arable, horticulture, processing and forestry.


<ref name=cc>[https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/charity-search/-/charity-details/206862 The Soil Association Limited, Charity number: 206862]. The Charity Commission of England and Wales. Accessed December 2021.</ref>
The Soil Association has been at the forefront of establishing alternative routes to market for organic produce. Projects have included creating producer groups to optimise trade in conventional market systems, nurturing UK [[Farmers' market]]s and [[Vegetable box scheme|box schemes]], promoting community-supported agriculture schemes and better public catering, and encouraging visits to a network of over 100 farms.


<ref name=cc2>[https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/charity-search/-/charity-details/206862/governing-document The Soil Association Limited, Charity number: 206862; Governing document]. The Charity Commission of England and Wales. Accessed December 2021.</ref>
The Soil Association provides a host of financial and economic information, including yearly [www.soilassociation.org/Businesses/Marketinformation/tabid/116/Default.aspx] ( market reports) and monthly agricultural price data. It created Organic Marketplace, the UK's largest searchable directory of organic livestock, feedstuff, [[forage]] and [[grazing]], a free online service available to all.


<ref name=sc>[https://www.oscr.org.uk/about-charities/search-the-register/charity-details?number=SC039168 Charity Details: Soil Association Ltd, SC039168]. Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator. Accessed December 2021.</ref>
Data and organic action plans are available for each UK region.


}}
The Soil Association is a major supporter of the Organic Trade Board, a commercially focused body, representing about 100 organic businesses and acting as an industry voice. The Soil Association complements the board by acting as the voice of the organic campaign movement.

==Key Personnel==
[[Helen Browning]] serves as chief executive;<ref>[http://soilassociation.org/aboutus/whoweare/chiefexecutive Soil Association website] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140121083010/http://www.soilassociation.org/aboutus/whoweare/chiefexecutive |date=21 January 2014 }}. Retrieved 8 October 2015</ref> Dennis Overton is the chair of trustees; broadcaster [[Monty Don]] served as president from 2008 to 2016.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/dec/11/monty-don-tim-adams-dogs-gardening Monty Don: ‘I like dogs because they are not humans’, The Guardian, 11 Dezember 2016]</ref>; honorary vice-presidents include [[Jonathan Dimbleby]], George McRobie, and Charlotte Mitchell; and [[The Prince of Wales]] is a royal patron<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.soilassociation.org/about-us/who-we-are/ | title=Who We Are | publisher=Soil Association | accessdate=26 September 2016}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Lady Eve Balfour|Eve Balfour]]
* [[Rolf Gardiner]]
* [[Claire Loewenfeld]]
* [[H. J. Massingham]]
* [[Innes Hope Pearse]], founder member
* [[Craig Sams]]
* [[E. F. Schumacher]]
* [[Tracy Worcester]]
* [[Lizzie Vann]]
*[[Living Soil Association of Tasmania]]
*[[Australian Organic Farming and Gardening Society]]
==References==
{{reflist}}


==Further reading==
==Further reading==
{{refbegin}}
*{{citation |year=2001 |author=Conford, Philip |title=The Origins of the Organic Movement |place= |publisher=Floris Books |isbn=0-86315-336-4}}
:{{citation |date=4 March 2004 |author=Sayre, Laura |title=Review: ''The Origins of the Organic Movement'' |publisher=[[The Rodale Institute|Rodale Institute]] |url=http://newfarm.rodaleinstitute.org/books/reviews/march04/origins.shtml |accessdate=14 August 2010}} (provides useful overview and commentary on the book's contents).
*{{citation |year=2001 |author=Conford, Philip |title=The Origins of the Organic Movement |publisher=Floris Books |isbn=0-86315-336-4}}
:{{citation |date=4 March 2004 |author=Sayre, Laura |title=Review: ''The Origins of the Organic Movement'' |publisher=[[The Rodale Institute|Rodale Institute]] |url=http://newfarm.rodaleinstitute.org/books/reviews/march04/origins.shtml |access-date=14 August 2010}} (provides useful overview and commentary on the book's contents).
*{{citation |year=2008 |author=House of Commons Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee |title=Eleventh Report of Session 2007–08 |series=The potential of England's rural economy |volume=Vol.I Report, together with formal minutes |place=London |publisher=The Stationery Office Ltd |url=https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200708/cmselect/cmenvfru/544/544i.pdf |accessdate=16 August 2010}}
*{{citation |year=2011 |author=Conford, Philip |title=The Development of the Organic Network: Linking People and Themes, 1945-95 |publisher=Floris Books |isbn=978-086315-803-2}}
*{{citation |year=2008 |author=House of Commons Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee |title=Eleventh Report of Session 2007-08 |series=The potential of England's [[rural economics|rural economy]] |volume=I Report, together with formal minutes |place=London |publisher=The Stationery Office Ltd |url=https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200708/cmselect/cmenvfru/544/544i.pdf |access-date=16 August 2010}}
*{{citation |year=2008 |author=House of Commons Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee |title=Eleventh Report of Session 2007–08 |series=The potential of England's rural economy |volume=Vol.II Oral and written evidence |place=London |publisher=The Stationery Office Ltd |url=https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200708/cmselect/cmenvfru/544/544ii.pdf |accessdate=16 August 2010}} [https://books.google.com/books?id=mXSjbryDCvYC&printsec=frontcover&dq=HC+Paper+544&hl=en&ei=xchpTLT0C4eEvAOgwvz9Aw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CDEQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false Google books preview] (Report contains submission from the Soil Association, p.&nbsp;197)
*{{citation |year=2008 |author=House of Commons Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee |title=Eleventh Report of Session 2007-08 |series=The potential of England's rural economy |volume=II Oral and written evidence |place=London |publisher=The Stationery Office Ltd |url=https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200708/cmselect/cmenvfru/544/544ii.pdf |access-date=16 August 2010}} [https://books.google.com/books?id=mXSjbryDCvYC&q=HC+Paper+544 Google books preview] (Report contains submission from the Soil Association, p.&nbsp;197)
*{{citation |year=2007 |editor=William Lockeretz |title=Organic Farming: An International History |publisher=Oxfordshire, UK & Cambridge, Massachusetts: CAB International (CABI) |isbn=978-0-85199-833-6 |pages=187–200|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=25QnL3-njZQC&printsec=frontcover&dq=%22Organic+farming%22&hl=en&ei=QaBgTJmFOIjOuAPMlaSOCQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CEQQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q&f=false |accessdate=10 August 2010}} ebook {{ISBN|978-1-84593-289-3}}
*{{citation |year=2007 |editor-first=William |editor-last=Lockeretz |title=Organic Farming: An International History |publisher=Oxfordshire, UK & Cambridge, Massachusetts: CAB International (CABI) |isbn=978-0-85199-833-6 |pages=187–200|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=25QnL3-njZQC&q=%22Organic+farming%22 |access-date=10 August 2010}} ebook {{ISBN|978-1-84593-289-3}}
*{{citation |year=2007 |author=Macklin, Graham |title=Very Deeply Dyed in Black: Sir Oswald Mosley and the Resurrection of British Fascism after 1945 |place=London |publisher=I.B. Tauris & Co Ltd |isbn=978-1-84511-284-4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=unVfsheD430C&printsec=frontcover&dq=%22very+deeply%22&hl=en&ei=odZpTPfdEYeovQPQ_4D-Aw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCUQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false |accessdate=17 August 2010}}
*{{citation |year=2007 |author=Macklin, Graham |title=Very Deeply Dyed in Black: Sir Oswald Mosley and the Resurrection of British Fascism after 1945 |place=London |publisher=I.B. Tauris & Co Ltd |isbn=978-1-84511-284-4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=unVfsheD430C&q=%22very+deeply%22 |access-date=17 August 2010}}
*{{citation |year=2007 |editor=Wright, Simon |editor2=McCrea, Diane |title=The Handbook of Organic and Fair Trade Food Marketing |place=Oxford, UK |publisher=Blackwell |isbn=978-1-4051-5058-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1iR88X-xocUC&printsec=frontcover&dq=handbook+organic&hl=en&ei=lNJpTNKXLoO4vQOF7_T9Aw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5&ved=0CEcQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q&f=false |accessdate=17 August 2010}}
*{{citation |year=2007 |editor=Wright, Simon |editor2=McCrea, Diane |title=The Handbook of Organic and Fair Trade Food Marketing |place=Oxford, UK |publisher=Blackwell |isbn=978-1-4051-5058-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1iR88X-xocUC&q=handbook+organic |access-date=17 August 2010}}
{{refend}}


==External links==
==External links==
* {{Official website}}
* {{Official website}}
* {{EW charity|206862}}
* {{Scottish charity|SC039168}}
* [http://shapingsustainablemarkets.iied.org/soil-association-certification Profile- Soil Association Certification.]

===Video clips===
* [https://www.youtube.com/user/TheSoilAssociation Soil Association YouTube channel]
* [https://www.youtube.com/user/TheSoilAssociation Soil Association YouTube channel]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=laisvjpYdBc Patrick Holden, ex-Director of Soil Association, presents ''Week In, Week Out'' for BBC Wales examining the implications of a carbon constrained world on agriculture]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=laisvjpYdBc Patrick Holden, ex-Director of Soil Association, presents ''Week In, Week Out'' for BBC Wales examining the implications of a carbon constrained world on agriculture]


{{Agriculture in the United Kingdom}}
{{Agriculture in the United Kingdom}}
{{Authority control}}


[[Category:Organic farming organizations]]
[[Category:Organic farming organizations]]

Latest revision as of 21:26, 24 May 2024

Soil Association
Founded1946
Founder
TypeCharity, lobby association
Legal status
FocusOrganic movement
Location
  • Spear House, 51 Victoria Street, Bristol BS1 6AD
Area served
United Kingdom
MethodCampaigning and certification
Key people
Websitesoilassociation.org

The Soil Association is a British registered charity focused on the effect of agriculture on the environment.[3] It was established in 1946.[4] Their activities include campaigning for local purchasing, public education on nutrition and certification of organic foods, and against intensive farming.[5]

History[edit]

The Haughley experiment[edit]

Lady Eve Balfour (niece of former British Prime Minister Arthur Balfour) was one of the first women to study agriculture in a British university. She and her sister Mary bought New Bells Farm at Haughley Green in Suffolk and started the Haughley Experiment, trialling different types of farming techniques to compare chemical and organic farming.[6]

The Haughley experiment was the first formal, side-by-side farm trial to compare organic and chemical-based farming.[7][8][9] It was based on an idea that farmers were over-reliant on fertilizers, that livestock, crops and the soil should be treated as a whole system and that "natural" farming produced food which was in some way more wholesome than food produced with more intensive methods.[10] Lady Balfour believed that humanity's future and human health were dependent on how the soil was treated, and ran the experiment to generate scientific data that would support these beliefs.[11]

Lady Balfour then published results in 1943 in her book The Living Soil. Reprinted numerous times, it became a founding text of the emerging organic food and farming movement and of the Soil Association.[12]

Founders' meeting[edit]

Lady Eve Balfour, Friend Sykes and George Scott Williamson organized a founders' meeting for the Soil Association on 12 June 1945 and about a hundred people attended.[13][14] The association was formally registered on 3 May 1946,[15] and in the next decade grew to over 4,000 members.[16]

It was also founded in part due to concerns over intensive agriculture and in particular the use of herbicides. British Union of Fascists member Jorian Jenks, who was closely associated with Oswald Mosley, was one of the founders. Following Jenks' death in 1963, the association tilted towards the left of the political spectrum, especially under the new president, Barry Commoner.[17]

The association was one of the five bodies which in Versailles in 1972 formed the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements to act as the umbrella organisation to advocate for organic farming.[18]

Campaigns[edit]

Former campaigns by the association include the following areas:

  • intensive pesticide use
  • neonicotinoid pesticides
  • deregulation of gene editing
  • megafarming
  • agroecology
  • welfare of farm animals
  • ultra-processed foods
  • healthy school meals
  • labelling of beauty products

The association takes part in industry and trade events, as well as offering training days.

Twenty-first century[edit]

Campaigner Alastair Sawday was vice-chairman of the association between 2005 and 2007.[19]

As of 2023, Wiltshire farmer Helen Browning is the chief executive;[20] broadcaster Monty Don was president from 2008 to 2016.[21] Honorary vice-presidents include Jonathan Dimbleby, George McRobie, and Charlotte Mitchell. King Charles III is a royal patron.[20]

Certification[edit]

The association certifies organic products in farming, food processing, restaurants and catering, fisheries, textiles and leather, and health and beauty products.[22] Its subsidiary Soil Association Certification Ltd is approved by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.[23] It sets standards for packaging, animal welfare, wildlife conservation, residues and additives.[24] Since 2008 its standards have excluded nanomaterials.[25]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ The Soil Association Limited, Charity number: 206862. The Charity Commission of England and Wales. Accessed December 2021.
  2. ^ Charity Details: Soil Association Ltd, SC039168. Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator. Accessed December 2021.
  3. ^ ‘’Official website’’
  4. ^ The Soil Association Limited, Charity number: 206862; Governing document. The Charity Commission of England and Wales. Accessed December 2021.
  5. ^ "Our history". Soil Association. Archived from the original on 27 March 2012. Retrieved 11 April 2012.
  6. ^ ‘’Green History website’’
  7. ^ White, Kim Kennedy; Duram, Leslie A (2013). America Goes Green: An Encyclopedia of Eco-friendly Culture in the United States. California: ABC-CLIO. p. 176. ISBN 978-1-59884-657-7.
  8. ^ "LADY EVE BALFOUR". IFOAM. Retrieved 21 August 2014.
  9. ^ Balfour, Lady Eve. "Towards a Sustainable Agriculture—The Living Soil". Canberra Organic Growers Society Soil And Health Library. IFOAM. Retrieved 21 August 2014.
  10. ^ "The Haughley Experiment". Nature. 179 (4558): 514. 1957. Bibcode:1957Natur.179T.514.. doi:10.1038/179514d0. ISSN 0028-0836. S2CID 4197385.
  11. ^ Gordon, Ian R. (2004). Reproductive technologies in farm animals. Wallingford, Oxfordshire: CABI Pub. ISBN 0-85199-049-5. OCLC 58547418.
  12. ^ "Lady Eve Balfour". Theberton and Eastbridge Parish Council (onesuffolk). Archived from the original on 13 January 2016. Retrieved 12 January 2016.
  13. ^ Conford, Philip. (2001). The Origins of the Organic Movement. Floris Books. p. 252. ISBN 978-0863153365
  14. ^ Lockeretz, William. (2018). Organic Farming: An International History. CABI. p. 189. ISBN 978-0-85199-833-6
  15. ^ Paull, John (2009). "The Living Soil Association: Pioneering Organic Farming and Innovating Social Inclusion" (PDF). Journal of Organic Systems. 4 (1): 15–33.
  16. ^ Conford, Philip & Holden, Patrick (2007), "The Soil Association", in Lockeretz, William (ed.), Organic Farming: An International History, Oxfordshire, UK & Cambridge, Massachusetts: CAB International (CABI), pp. 187–200, ISBN 978-0-85199-833-6, retrieved 10 August 2010 ebook ISBN 978-1-84593-289-3
  17. ^ Macklin, Graham (2007). Very deeply dyed in black: Sir Oswald Mosley and the resurrection of British fascism after 1945. I.B.Tauris. ISBN 978-1-84511-284-4.
  18. ^ Paull, John (2010). "From France to the World: The International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM)" (PDF). Journal of Social Research & Policy. 1 (2): 93–102.
  19. ^ "Alastair Sawday: the green travel pioneer". The Simple Things. 25 October 2013. Retrieved 7 January 2019.
  20. ^ a b "Our people". Soil Association. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
  21. ^ "Monty Don: 'I like dogs because they are not humans'". The Guardian. 11 December 2016.
  22. ^ ‘’Official website’’
  23. ^ "[Withdrawn] Organic certification: List of UK approved organic control bodies". 29 January 2021.
  24. ^ Official website
  25. ^ Paull, John (2011) "Nanomaterials in food and agriculture: The big issue of small matter for organic food and farming", Proceedings of the Third Scientific Conference of ISOFAR (International Society of Organic Agriculture Research), 28 September - 1 October, Namyangju, Korea., 2:96-99.

Further reading[edit]

  • Conford, Philip (2001), The Origins of the Organic Movement, Floris Books, ISBN 0-86315-336-4
Sayre, Laura (4 March 2004), Review: The Origins of the Organic Movement, Rodale Institute, retrieved 14 August 2010 (provides useful overview and commentary on the book's contents).

External links[edit]

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Soil_Association&oldid=1225507682"