It seems to be most of us are sticking to our organic-ite values by continuing to buy organic food. This, despite the global economic turmoil we're confronted with almost on a daily basis from newspapers, TV and workplace cutbacks.

In the US there has been up to 30% growth rates, with the country accounting for 45% of the global total $23 billion organic food and beverage sales in 2007, according to market research company Euromonitor International. Though growth slowed at the end of last year the industry is still going strong as the Italian market illustrates. According to a Bio Bank (research specialists for the organic industry) report Italian organic farms have increased sales by 47% in the three year period leading to 2008.

This is only an indicator of the organic produce we're consuming. The number of people using and seeking allotments to grow vegetables has become hugely popular. With 330,000 allotments available in the UK, more than 100,000 people are on waiting lists with countless others hoping councils will reopen their lists to at least give them an opportunity to secure one.

If you don't have the garden or the space to start your own garden how about a smaller version - say a window box or an indoor pot? It's easy and will save you a little money in the long run... oh and you can go organic all the way! Try Rocket Gardens for the easy easy option to organic grow-your-owns.

I stumbled across this great gardening website somewhere in the Internet ether recently called The Plant Exchange. It grabbed my attention because although not ‘the gardening type' I'm feeling the pull to join the veggie garden brigade in light of concerns that traditional food growing and production methods are not serving our land, our bodies or those countries who export produce at the cost of their own hungry people.

The Plant Exchange is all about local growing and sustainable living. The idea is to offer gardening enthusiasts in the UK a forum to buy and sell surplus plants locally to reduce the amount of miles plants potentially travel if ordered from afar. So Ms Bonnet in Bedfordshire who has a spare 20 daffodil bulbs she can't make use of in her own garden can advertise on the website and make a small profit of say £4.00 or, donate proceeds to a charity of her choice.

The website is brilliant for beginner green thumbs like me as it's simple to use and very informative without making you feel daunted about creating your own beautiful garden. There is a plant encyclopedia and a recipe section - always great for a vege garden apprentice to have a culinary goal to reach for!

For the expert looking for an expert's advice, seasonal gardening tips are offered by a professional horticulturalist. The site also features a personalised weather service, the travelling distance from you to the plants advertised, local ecology news (for example updates on the recent outbreak of Sudden Oak Death disease) and a directory of garden clubs, flower arranging clubs and horticultural societies.

You need to register and memberships cost £10 for the year. This is a fairly small sum when you consider that you're lowering your carbon footprint of bought plants. Also you save money by exchanging in your local area rather than buying from a nursery, which may import some of their plants and seeds.

For more info visit The Plant Exchange website.

Here's a bit of news that that has reminded me, once again, why I buy organic food - an EU food monitoring report has found that half of all fruit, vegetables and cereals are contaminated with pesticides.

Apparently this is quite a significant increase from levels measured five years ago - and that's not too long at all when you consider the mounting evidence to support the harmful effects pesticides have on our bodies and our earth. The EU report also found that five of the pesticides most commonly found in our food have proven to be ‘carcinogenic, mutagenic or disruptive to the hormonal system.' PAN (Pesticide Action Network) Europe say that these are the worst pesticide results they've ever seen.'

In a special press release commenting on the EU food monitoring report, Elliott Cannet, Coordinator of PAN Europe said 'a record proportion of fruits and vegetables are contaminated, while twenty three pesticides were detected at levels high enough to present an acute risk to public health - according to the EU's own risk calculations.'

Yes, I think I'll be sticking with the pesticide free variety thanks.

And the timing, if plans are given the nod, couldn't be better. The world's biggest environmental body, International Union for Conservation of Nature, recently said that they believe at least twenty percent of all mammals currently face extinction.



The proposed National Wildlife Conservation Park is set to be 136 acres and based just north of Bristol. The cramped cages of captivity will be non existent at this spa for wildlife consisting of open land, moats and ditches for animals to roam about in. Materials required to build the sanctuary's facilities will be locally sourced with the aim to be a sustainable development. It has also been said that food for the animals will be organic... they'd get it in the wild right.

There would be replicas of the Sumatran lowland rainforest, the Congo river, the Indian Ocean coral reef, Tanzanian savannah, Georgian wetlands, and a Costa Rican swamp.

But not everyone agrees with the idea. Animal activist Will Travers from the campaign group Born Free told the Independent last month that he believed the money would be better spent on actually conserving the wild rather than constructing a ‘tourist attraction'. He pointed out that ‘the Kenya Wildlife Service's budget is about 20 per cent of the figure proposed by Bristol, yet they have to protect 8 to 10 million acres.'

The United Nations recently released a study which positively up's the benefits of organic farming in the face of a global food shortage and a starving Africa.

Achim Steiner, head of the UN's Environment Programme, told the Independent when the report was released that the UN's findings indicate ‘the potential contribution of organic farming to feeding the world maybe far higher than many had supposed' and it ‘could make a serious contribution to tackling poverty and food security.'

The environmental benefits of organic farming were also highlighted in the report. These include greater soil fertility and better water retention, which leads to greater resistance to drought. Plus farmers save money on pesticides that they can use to buy better seeds. Many studies have also found that organic farming can provide higher yields than industrialised farming.

The UN's report is good news for the organic movement and hopefully, with the support from more international organisations, governments and powers that be, it will lead to a healthier Africa - land and people.