Organic Targets Bill Update
Regular readers of Action Briefing will be familiar with FOE's ongoing campaign
to get the Organic Food and Farming Targets Bill adopted, the latest installment
of which took place on January 23rd when a party of the Bill's supporters descended
on Westminster for a mass lobby of Parliament. Emboldened by speeches from the
likes of Tim Lang, professor of food policy at Thames Valley University, Patrick
Holden, Director of the Soil Association, and FOE's very own Charles Secrett,
Birmingham FOE campaigners Richard Cave-Bigley and myself joined the procession
from Westminster Methodist Hall and with placards in hand made our way to the
Houses of Parliament. And there we waited. Outside. For three hours. In the rain.
Only then to discover that our respective MPs were away on constituency business.
However, we were sure to leave our green calling cards urging our MPs to support
the Bill and endorse its targets - 30% of UK farmland converted to organic and
20% of food marketed to be organic by 2010. The campaign continues . . .
James Botham