Is the recession the death of the organic dream?

Consumers are turning away from organic food in favour of cheaper ethical alternatives as the recession bites. Is this the beginning of the end for organics?

On its website, the Soil Association highlights its desire to turn the UK 'organic by 2050'. According to the organic accreditation body, the UK's current food and farming system is 'not fit' to meet the challenges of climate change, rising oil process, soil erosion and even diet-related ill-health.

Hence it is campaigning to 'mobilise the UK' to change to a 'more resilient, climate-friendly, organic, local model, less vulnerable to external shocks and challenges'.

It may seem a bold statement for what is still a relatively small sector. But it was made on the back of an astonishing decade of growth, averaging 26 per cent a year, which saw organic food move from a tiny niche into the mainstream, with UK sales in excess of £2 billion.

It is a success story the organic movement fully expected to continue deep into the future.

But with the onset of recession, suddenly survival, rather than global domination, is now the goal for many in the organic sector.

Sales data from market analysts, TNS confirm a dramatic slowdown in UK organic sales growth in 2008 and, worryingly, a substantial year-on-year fall in the latter part of the year.