28.03.06 - An Interview With Patrick Holden - back
In his 10 years as Soil Association director, Patrick Holden has seen annual sales of UK organic food rise from £105m to £1.2bn.
'I am merely the conduit,' says Patrick Holden, director of the Soil Association, when I ask him to sum up his achievement after 10 years in the job. 'The great thinkers, the founders of the organic movement at the beginning of the 20th century, had some hugely powerful ideas. All I have done is communicate those ideas to the world. That's what I think I've achieved, on a good day, with the wind behind me - and there is plenty of wind here.'
What he means, of course, is the steady intellectual wind power of the Soil Association's history and the energy and dedication of its staff - but it's easy to interpret his words mischievously. Holden, famously, can talk for Britain. In our two hours together, he effortlessly articulates issues ranging from avian flu and the vaccination of poultry flocks, to secondary metabolites (the health-enhancing compounds found in organic crops), sensitive crystallisation (a technique for measuring the vitality of food) and the relative merits of buying locally sourced produce versus fairly traded imports from the developing world.
These are the subjects - and the ethical dilemmas - that increasingly interest consumers, and Patrick Holden has played no small part in raising our awareness of them. Using parliamentary lobbying, the media, reams of scientific research and downright hounding of the food industry and advocates of conventional farming, he has plausibly expressed our collective fears about the impact of 50 years of intensive agriculture on our health and on our planet.
'There are millions of people out there who sense there is something profoundly wrong with farming,' says Holden. 'If you asked, they wouldn't be able to give a coherent account of exactly why. But if you stand in front of them and start describing accurately what you know about the consequences of industrial agriculture and the benefits of sustainable, organic farming, you are tapping into a knowledge field that they've not yet articulated but which they sense is right.'
That is why, in the decade that Holden has been director, sales of organic food in Britain have risen from £105m a year to £1.2bn. Prince Charles -his own Duchy Originals organic food range is now in most surpermarkets - believes Holden has 'contributed enormously' to the organic movement. 'The development of the organic food market over the last few years has been staggering and much of it down to Patrick's unique determination and commitment,' said the Prince this month. 'I am delighted that he has received this award from the Observer Food Monthly.'
There are 70,000 visits a month to the Soil Association's website. Last year, its booklet about pesticide residues in popular foods was requested by 30,000 people, while 40,000 - an unprecedented number - flocked to the annual Organic Food Festival in Bristol. In the wake of Jamie's School Dinners, the Soil Association is now working with 300 schools and several education authorities in its Food for Life programme - set up in 2003 to campaign for improved nutritional standards. Around 44,000 products carry the Soil Association symbol and 4,000 farms and businesses adhere to its strict organic criteria. To maintain 'equivalence' - ensuring imported foods match the Association's rigorous standards - its inspectors are active in 28 countries around the world.
As the organisation celebrates its 60th anniversary this year, it feels like its time has come. In 1988, when Holden first joined, it was very much the opposite. 'We were five people working above a shop on the other side of town,' says the tall, silver-haired 55-year-old, dressed in the trademark blazer, shirt and tie that make him look faintly ex-military. (As an organic farmer who cut his ecological teeth in a hippie commune in Wales, nothing could be further from the truth.)
'We set about building a platform for sustainable farming - organising producers, though there weren't many of them, focusing on the production capacity, the infrastructure, the means, the standards. Through the media - and we had no other resources - we tried to get our ideas across to the public. I'd say that process took 15 years.' What helped enormously were the surges of interest that occurred with BSE, foot-and-mouth and similar outbreaks. 'That's when it started to take off,' says Holden. In similar fashion, he says, the appeal of organic food right now is boosted by the threat of disasters - both natural and man-made - that could destroy our centralised, highly industrial food system and make us reliant on local sourcing. If the oil runs out, not only will transport become an issue but there will be fewer (and more expensive) agrochemicals - largely made from petroleum by-products - making organics a better choice. 'Real breakdown is so much closer than we think,' says Holden, 'whether it is a conflict, or a New Orleans-type event, or if the oil goes - all three of which are either happening or about to happen. The force has been with me, because I'm around at a time when the world is ready for these ideas.'
