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.

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.

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.

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.

"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."

See also

• Eve Balfour
• E. F. Schumacher

External links

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

Agriculture organizations | Organic farming | Organic food