| Geography Dictionary: soil association |
1. In Britain, a group of soil series developed on a similar parent material or on a combination of rocks.
2. In the USA, an area in which different soils occur in a characteristic fashion, or a landscape which has characteristic kinds, proportions, and distributions of component soils.
| Wikipedia: Soil Association |
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| Founders | Lady Eve Balfour, Jorian Jenks et al. |
|---|---|
| Type | Charity |
| Founded | 1946 |
| Headquarters | South Plaza, Marlborough Street, Bristol BS1 3NX, UK |
| Staff | Monty Don, President |
| Area served | United Kingdom |
| Focus | Organic movement |
| Method | Campaigning and certification |
| Motto | healthy soil, healthy people, healthy planet |
| Website | www.soilassociation.org |
| Soil Association, Registered Charity no. 206862 at the Charity Commission | |
The Soil Assocition is a charity based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1946, its activities include the certification of organic food and campaign work on issues including opposition to intensive farming, support for local purchasing and public education on nutrition.
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This article needs references that appear in reliable third-party publications. Primary sources or sources affiliated with the subject are generally not sufficient for a Wikipedia article. Please add more appropriate citations from reliable sources. (November 2009) |
According to their website: "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 sister of a Prime Minister, in 1943. The book presented the case for an alternative, sustainable approach to agriculture that has since become known as organic farming."
The Soil Association was founded in part due to concerns over intensive agriculture and in particular the use of herbicides. A comparison between the two forms of farming in 1939 was called the Haughley Experiment. The headquarters of the Soil Association used to be at the nearby Haughley Green in Suffolk.
One of the founders of the Soil Association, was Jorian Jenks, a former member of the British Union of Fascists (BUF), closely associated with Oswald Mosley. Jenks was for years the editorial secretary of the Association's journal ("Mother Earth") and indeed, the early days of the Association in the late 40s saw the involvement of the far-right and even antisemitic elements, remnants of the defunct BUF with Association's driving ideas as much political (far-right) as much as ecological. 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.[1]
The Soil Association carries out work certifying products as organic in the following areas:
The Soil Association does not set standards for organic production of textiles but endorses the standards called the Global Organic Textile Standards by re-certifying them once a transactions certificate certifying to Global Organic Textile Standards on import in to the UK.
Soil Association standards[2] are recognised to exceed statutory organic standards, such as those set by the European Union, and the UK government. Compassion In World Farming regards Soil Association standards to offer the best guarantee of high animal welfare standards in the UK[citation needed].
In July 2009 the Food Standards Agency published a report [3] 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 [4] 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.
Soil Association Certification Ltd is a subsidiary company of the Soil Association, independently providing organic certification services and advisory support on all aspects of organic certification. Soil Association Certification Ltd is one of ten approved organic certification bodies in the UK.
Broadcaster Monty Don became President of the Soil Association in late 2008.[5]
There is a Scottish division called Soil Association Scotland, which is based in Edinburgh.
In more than one instance,[6][7] the UK Advertising Standards Agency judged that the Soil Association’s claims about organic produce can not be substantiated and demanded that the Association pulls certain advertising materials.
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