Ethical Living is one of the most highly regarded natural and organic magazines in the UK, and every year they have their ‘Ethical Living Health and Beauty Awards’. So Organic was highly commended as the UK’s Best Ethical retailer.

What is even more pleasing is that voting was by the general public, customers who love what So Organic stands for and what we believe in. Organic is a lifestyle choice, and not a compromise.

With great products like Dr Hauschka, Green People, Lavera, NVEY Eco, there is something for every member of the family. We have a new catalogue coming out soon, so if you would like to place an order, then please do sign up now.

After the criticism that Organic Food has had in the press over the last 12 months, it is finally good to see a national newspaper come out with the truth...that organic fruit is both tastier and better for your health!

In the Daily Mail today, they quote that the most detailed research study of its kind has found that organic strawberries contain higher levels of anti-cancer nutrients than fruit sprayed with chemical pesticides. Naturally-produced strawberries also have a longer shelf life and a richer, more fruity flavour, according to the researchers. These findings add to a growing body of evidence that organic food is healthier than conventional fruit and vegetables. At So Organic, we know this already!

Here is what the Daily Mail said:

‘Dr John Reganold, who led the study at Washington State University in the U.S., said: 'We show that you can have high quality, healthy produce, without resorting to an arsenal of pesticides.'  Researchers analysed the taste, nutrition and quality of three strawberry varieties growing on 13 organic and 13 conventional farms in California, as well as 31 chemical and biological properties of the soil where they were grown. The organic fruit had ' significantly higher' levels of antioxidants - nutrients that mop up potentially dangerous and cancer-causing 'free radicals' in the body. They also last longer and have 'more strawberry in the strawberry', Dr Reganold reports in the journal PLoS One, published by the Public Library of Science. In blind taste tests, volunteers said they found organic strawberries sweeter and more flavoursome. And when they saw the fruit, they judged the strawberries from the organic farms to have a better colour. ‘

To all those people that criticise our belief that organic products are better for you, they better watch out...organic is back!

The suburb of Vauban in the German town of Freiburg has taken a bold move to reduce its air and noise pollution; it's removed all the cars from the streets. If you want to own a car you have to pay €20,000 for a space to park it in a garage on the outskirts of the district. Over half the residents have sold a car in favour of the very efficient tram service that will take them to the centre of Frieburg within 15 minutes.

Somewhat of an eco experiment the Vauban project sounds like a great idea for towns where public transport is good and an enthusiasm to tackle climate change by reducing community CO2 emission head on. For holidays or shifting things people can hire a car, become a member of a car club (like Streetcar) or share a vehicle with others.

The suburb was revamped somewhat from it's former army barracks into quite the eco-conscious and sustainable community. Sixty architects were commissioned to recreate Vauban as an alternative to nuclear power.

The sign at entrance to the suburb ‘we are creating the world we want' says a lot about the green intentions of Vauban. Some of the eco-friendly technology that is used in the buildings includes triple-glazed windows, an intricate ventilation system fitted with heat exchangers, solar panels, biological toilets that compost waste, co-generator engines that run on wood chips and 35cm thick walls for superb insulation where just one extra person in an apartment can change the internal temperature.

Heating for a four roomed house costs €114 a year to heat, which is what some neighbouring areas buildings pay in a month. It's no surprise then that Vauban produce excess electricity that they sell to the power companies that run the national electricity grids. Just another benefit of going green.

Researchers at the University of California have found that children up to the age of 7 are more susceptible to the toxic effect of some pesticides. The reason being they lack a particular enzyme called paraoxonase which helps to protect most of us from some of these toxins by neutralizing and then eliminating them from the body.

This enzyme increases as we grow but it does take those young formative years to be effective in helping the body fight off toxins. Organophosphate pesticides are the prime suspects; extremely toxic and banned from home use they are still used widely in agriculture.

These pesticides affect the nervous system of insects but could also have a similar effect on children. Studies have shown that mothers exposed to the pesticide during pregnancy have children with significantly lower IQs.

It's not just kids that are more susceptible. A person's genes can determine how affected they are as genes are responsible for deciding how effective the enzyme is at breaking down the toxins. Variations of the paraoxanase gene will affect the quantity and quality of the paraoxanase enzyme and thus a person's natural ability to fight the pesticides.

Our best defence is to avoid pesticides where we can. Go organic and grow your own, make your own. It's the best way to avoid these body disruptors.

The first real plan for reducing greenhouse emissions has been formulated by the government. The target in the new Low Carbon Transition Plan for farming is to reduce emissions by 6% over the next decade. Many say this is not high enough, others believe it is a achievable goal to reach for.

The Soil Association say this is a considerably ‘modest' target and a short-term when considering the huge reductions we must make by 2050. They point out that the ‘farming industry risks having to make massive cuts of over 70% between 2020 and 2050' if they start a slow 6% now. What's more the proposed reductions of carbon emissions from farming will only contribute 4% of the total the Government are hoping to save by 2020.

The Government say that their Transition Plan will ‘help protect the equivalent of over 37 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide that is currently locked into natural reservoirs of carbon in our soils and forests'. But there is nothing in this plan that reduces the loss of carbon from agricultural soils.

The Rodale Institute (a non-profit organisation which researches organic farming) in the US points out that conventional farming adds 925 billion pounds of CO2 to the atmosphere each year whilst organic farming can reduce CO2 by 1.1 trillion pounds per year by sequestering CO2 and reducing fossil fuel energy (ie commercial fertilizers which require a lot of energy to produce and distribute)

They also say that on a global scale, soils hold more than twice as much carbon as terrestrial vegetation and ‘practices like reduced tillage, the use of cover crops, and incorporation of crop residues can dramatically alter the carbon storage of arable lands'.

Perhaps more incentives for organic farming from the Government may help the agricultural industry surpass this meagre 6% target.