In the Hot Seat: Helen Browning

Organic and conventional farmers aren’t the best of friends. Will you bring a more harmonious approach?

Misinterpretation has led to spats, you’re right. I’m a farmer; a practical person. I would like to think we can find solutions and ways forward which bring the farming community and wider society together.

I’m going into this in a spirit of working with others wherever possible. That doesn’t mean to say we won’t sometimes disagree. But my intention is to work constructively with as many people as possible.

This is a big challenge. Why did you take it on?

It’s one of the most important jobs in food and farming at the moment. We need to find ways of reconciling productive agriculture with the other demands that society is making on land and the environment.

I’d like to see the Soil Association become much more relevant to a lot more people – the public, farmers and food manufacturers. I want us to become better known for what we are for, rather than for what we are against.

Organic sales have been tough during the recession. Are we at a saturation point?

No – the organic market has an awful lot more to deliver. On the continent the market is pushing on very well indeed and in the UK, over the past two months or so, we have seen sales rise.

The Soil Association isn’t just about organic food – we work much more broadly on better food and better nutrition. Having said that, there is a huge amount more mileage on the organic side.

You mention organic sales abroad. What is better: imported organic food or conventional food produced locally?

Local food isn’t always good. It just happens to be closer to where you are. And imported food isn’t always bad because, often, you are working with places that have a better approach to seasonality and a better climate. Local food, for example, could be produced using high amounts of energy – such as winter tomatoes in glasshouses. It may be better to look at imported tomatoes, organic or otherwise, that are produced using techniques requiring less energy.

So I don’t think you can simplify the argument in that way. We need to look at the total environmental and social cost of producing food in a certain way if we are to end up with a sensible answer to your question.

You came under fire not so long ago for shipping UK pork abroad for processing and then re-importing it. Are you still doing it?

It is true that one of our products is manufactured in Germany using pork from UK farmers. We have a great partnership with that company. We can’t find anyone in the UK to make the same high-quality product without using preservatives.

We trade across Europe and we still work with a small number of producers in Sweden – partly because we need the extra supply and partly to reduce the impact on the business of any disease outbreak such as foot-and-mouth.

I’m actually quite proud of the fact that we have an international collaboration between pig producers in the UK and Sweden. We learn from each other and trade shouldn’t be seen as inherently evil.

Your business approach suggests you see organic farming as much more than a niche market.

The key thing, as farmers and food producers, is to make fantastic products. Organic food comes out of its niche when people really love what we are doing. Nobody would say the Green & Blacks chocolate brand is niche.

To me, organic is the ultimate assurance scheme. It gives people confidence in the product they are buying. But a product won’t sell just because it is organic. You have to build fantastic quality into it too.

I’m a farmer. Should I go organic?

Any farmer should do what they really enjoy doing and what they believe will work for them. I never advise farmers to go organic because it has to be their own decision and they have to weigh up the business case.

Whatever you do in farming, you must secure your market first. If you are passionate and you really think you will enjoy the organic approach, then I believe it is the right way to go. But not to earn a quick shilling.

There’s a big debate about size and scale in UK farming. What’s your view on super-dairies?

I have real reservations – without saying it would be impossible to run a system of that sort of scale to reasonable welfare conditions. But agriculture on this sort of scale wouldn’t give UK farming the right image with consumers.

Big isn’t necessarily bad, but very big can get worse if it goes bad. When you scale-up, there are issues you need to be aware of, especially when it comes to the intrinsic quality of life of those cattle.

The organic approach would say there is a fundamental need for animals to spend some of their time with sunlight on their backs and able to graze grass. It is the least people expect us to do for the cattle that are feeding us.

Isn’t “big agriculture” vital to meet the needs of a growing global population? Can organics really feed the world?

I’m not sure any form of agriculture will feed the world if we keep growing at the current rate forever. It depends on the diet we want. If we want an American-style diet it will be very difficult to feed the world under any circumstances.

Organic techniques have a huge role. If you look at recent work in developing countries, it is clear that small-scale eco-intensive farming systems are probably the most productive and socially responsible way of feeding people.

You can get very big increases in yields by using eco-intensive techniques in places such as Africa and south-east Asia where people can’t afford fertilisers and agrochemical sprays. It is an approach that deserves a lot more attention.

How about genetic modification?

I’m not convinced GM technology has the potential to deliver this “feeding the world” ambition. It involves the wrong kind of mindset and a dangerous corporate structure.

GM suggests we can find a find a technological fix to our problems, rather than tackling the root cause. I am interested in tackling root causes, such as addressing salination rather than developing crops that grow in salty soils.

I am also concerned about the way that farmers are becoming less autonomous when it comes to crop inputs – the way that the intellectual property rights associated with GM technology are in the hands of very few companies.

Has the organic movement ever got anything wrong?

I’m sure we’ve got loads of things wrong. As a movement, we need to get it more right by harnessing what we have learned about food and farming for the benefit of people and the environment.

These kind of debates – and we are having one now – often end up becoming adversarial. Sometimes we’ve allowed ourselves to be divided by issues – and misunderstood each other – in ways that are just not helpful.

We’ve all stood on our soapbox too much sometimes. It can be fun but there is a limit. We need to think more about how we can pool our resources and work better together.

Helen Browning in a minute:

Who or what inspires you?

My farm. Whenever I am there, it reinvigorates me and reminds me why I do what I do.

Why organics?

It brings together all my interests – agriculture, the environment, social issues and animal health and welfare.

How do you relax?

I take a lot of exercise and love walking. But the best way for me to completely unwind is a hard game of squash.

What are you reading?

The Ascent of Money by Niall Ferguson and Prelude to Power by Alastair Campbell – I always have more than one book on the go.

Where do you escape to?

The Brecon Beacons and Black Mountains in Wales. My dad has a small place by a river. I go there three or four times a year and walk for miles.

Who would you invite to dinner?

Barack Obama

What car do you drive?

A Subaru Outback – I had my last one for 15 years and it did 235,000 miles.