The Soil Association is the main umbrella group in the UK for organic farmers. The Soil Association is a membership organisation with charitable status, promoting organic products to consumers and through the government and NGOs. Utilizing both traditional and scientific knowledge, organic agriculture is a system that relies on ecosystem management rather than external agricultural inputs. ... Organic Production is the production of animal and plant products without the use of synthetic chemicals or growth hormones. ... A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an organization that is not part of a government and was not founded by states. ...

The Soil Association sets standards for organic production in:

• organic farming
• organic food processing
• organic restaurants and catering
• organic fisheries
• organic textiles and leather

Compassion In World Farming regards Soil Association certified animal produce as the best guarantee of high animal welfare standards available in the United Kingdom. Utilizing both traditional and scientific knowledge, organic agriculture is a system that relies on ecosystem management rather than external agricultural inputs. ... Compassion In World Farming is a European based Animal Welfare organisation, which has branches in the United Kingdom, China and Ireland. ...

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. Organic certification is an accreditation process for producers of organic food and other organic agricultural products. ...

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. 1946 was a common year starting on Tuesday. ...

"The catalyst was the publication of The Living Soil by Lady Eve Balfour in 1943. The book presented the case for an alternative, sustainable approach to agriculture that has since become known as organic farming." The Living Soil (1943) by Lady Eve Balfour is considered a seminal classic in organic agriculture and the organic movement. ... Lady Eve Balfour (Evelyn Barbara Balfour; 1899-1990) was a British farmer, educator, organic farming pioneer, and a founding figure in the organic movement. ... 1943 is a common year starting on Friday. ...

See also

• E. F. Schumacher

Ernst Friedrich Fritz Schumacher (16 August 1911 – 4 September! 1977) was an internationally influential economic thinker with a professional background as a statistician and economist in Britain. ...

External link

• www.soilassociation.org
• Big Picture TV Free video clip of Soil Association Director, Patrick Holden