Shoppers who have experienced reaching the till with what they thought was a modest basket of organic groceries, only to be faced with an eye-watering total, might have been heartened by Delia Smith's recent comments targeted at organic sticklers. She hit out at celebrity chefs who push the organic cause and added that she tends to plump for whatever products look best, regardless of the organic credentials.
But those who feel Delia's organic fatigue will be bucking the trend, as the British appetite for all things organic is rapacious. The supermarket chain Waitrose has been selling organic food for near 25 years and says sales are rising by 11 per cent year on year, backing up Datamonitor's 2006 report indicating strong organic sales into the future.
The reasons UK consumers go for organic food are many, but it is not likely to be because of the cost, as even a basic seven-item list of typical groceries bought in Sainsbury's this week might cost organic shoppers £5 more than their non-organic counterparts.
The Soil Association, which certifies as organic 70 per cent of organic produce sold in the UK, says that many people buy organic food because they believe that it tastes better or because they have concerns over food additives linked to asthma and heart disease which are banned under organic standards.
The association also says that organic farming is friendlier to the environment as organic farmers can only use – and only as a last resort – a limited range of pesticides, meaning there is a much greater diversity of birds, butterflies and plants on organic farms.
