Stockfree Organic Services: update

ByTim Carey
Stockfree Organic Services (SOS) provides information and support on VON's Stockfree Organic certification, and promotes the Stockfree Organic symbol. Excellent work has been done in establishing the Soil Association accredited Stockfree Organic standards, and in the publication of the guide to Stockfree growing Growing Green by Jenny Hall and Iain Tolhurst. It is now our job to greatly expand the numbers of registered commercial Stockfree Organic producers, and to raise awareness amongst discerning consumers of the existence of the symbol. In recent months (very belatedly), the profile of the environmental issues surrounding livestock farming has been raised in the mainstream media. Worldwide it is responsible for a staggering 18 per cent of the global warming effect more than the world's entire transport sector, and is set to place ever increasing pressures on scarce land and water resources as consumption continues to increase. Clearly, the Stockfree Organic alternative has a relevance that extends well beyond the confirmed vegan fraternity to include anyone concerned about the wider impacts of their decisions as a consumer. As awareness of the bigger picture grows, no doubt more and more people will continue to 'join the dots' making the connections between (among other things) ecology, personal responsibility, social justice and respect for all life.

Contact
Tim Carey, email: info@stockfreeorganic.net Stockfree Organic Services, c/o Welsh College of Horticulture Northop, Flintshire CH7 6AA tel: 07726 266501 New SOS website: www.stockfreeorganic.net Editors note: Tim Carey has recently taken on responsibility for SOS. He is presently a mature student at the Welsh College of Horticulture, funded through the VON bursary scheme. Tim holds a BA in Development Studies, and has a continuing interest in issues of sustainable development, particularly in East Africa, where he spent his early years. His interests also include vegan permaculture 'a.k.a. living peaceably and creatively on the land'.

The way forward!

As ever, VON finds itself at the forefront. As we know, Stockfree Organic farming uses no animal or synthetic chemical inputs, relying instead on successful innovations including the extensive use of green manures and minimum soil disturbance to maintain and build fertility in an essentially closed system. It aims at the absolute minimum use of fossil fuels, and central to its ethos is the importance of local and seasonal food. As such it is 'the greenest, most ecologically sustainable and carbon neutral way of producing healthy food' (from VON statement on climate change 'A Growing Solution: How Stockfree Organic farming systems can help combat climate change' see VON website homepage). The Stockfree Organic standards are the first of their kind anywhere in the world and provide a blueprint for other countries to follow. SOS is contacting growers and farmers around the UK who may already be operating without animals, or who might otherwise be interested in going Stockfree Organic. We are also assisting in the process of developing a vegan organic standard for the US in conjunction with the Florida-based organic certifying body QCS (see article in this issue by Kip Bellairs). Readers of Growing Green International can help by spreading the word to potential new symbol holders.
GGI No 21 Summer 2008

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