Robert Maynard: 'It would be a nice christmas gift for the FSA to finally accept the health benefits of organic'

Few meals are more laden with expectation, significance and symbolism than Christmas dinner. Ideally a celebration of the gifts of the earth and the good things of life, be it spiritually focused or simply a gathering of friends and family, it can also bring on guilt and indigestion. Market research shows that when buying food for a meal to serve to family or friends, 95 per cent of people prioritised "the taste and quality of the food". For more and more people that means buying organic food, as the 26 per cent year-on-year increase in organic sales bears out.

Recent EU-funded research confirms many people's gut instinct that organic food brings real health benefits. The research found significantly fewer allergic reactions such as eczema in children drinking organic milk and additionally higher levels of healthy fatty acids in the breast milk of mothers consuming organic dairy products. These findings reinforce a wider range of studies showing higher levels of key minerals and vitamins in organic food compared to non-organic. It would be a nice Christmas present for the Soil Association if the Food Standards Agency acknowledged this body of scientific evidence and abandoned its historic reluctance to accept any nutritional or safety benefits for consumers choosing organic food.

Christmas is a time of generosity, by giving your family and friends organic food and drink, you'll not only be providing good, tasty, healthy fare (although Soil Association organic standards don't cover size of portions or numbers of glasses of wine!), but also benefiting the environment. That's because a wealth of studies by conservation groups such as the RSPB, WWF and the Government's own nature advisors show that there are more birds, butterflies, bats and bees on organic farms (on average, wildlife is 50 per cent more abundant, with 30 per cent more species overall). There's no guarantee that organic food won't cause indigestion, but the farming methods that produce it do put less strain on the planet. According to Government studies, organic farming, on average, uses a quarter less energy to produce the same amount of food as non-organic.

A key reason for this is that organic farmers build fertility naturally using clover and rotations, rather than fossil fuel-greedy artificial fertilisers. For every ton of nitrogen fertiliser, nearly seven tons of the main greenhouse gas carbon dioxide are given off in the manufacturing process.

Eating's something everyone needs to do every day. With food and farming making up over 31 per cent of the global warming potential of all products consumed within the EU, what we choose to eat has more impact on climate change than any other aspect of our daily lives. Eating organic food is a positive environmental action, one we'd like you to take more than once a year. "Ah here's the hard-sell, he's going to ask us to make a New Year's Resolution to join the Soil Association next!" Well, yes, that would be great, but not because we simply want to increase the number of committed organic consumers, but more importantly and urgently to create the critical mass of citizens capable of changing Government policy so that our food system is capable of meeting the twin-challenges of climate change and depleting oil stocks.

Food connects all of us to farming, to the land and soil on which our crops and livestock are raised. That's what our founder, Lady Eve Balfour, sought to achieve to help people make the vital connection between how our food is produced and the impacts upon our health and that of our planet.

That's what drives the Soil Association today. Our critics and those the practical solution of organic farming threatens, like the agrochemical and GM lobby, seek to limit our role to mere marketers of a niche product. But in choosing organic produce, you are doing far more than merely buying a brand. Embedded in Soil Association certified organic goods are real values and principles, which seek to protect and deliver public health, environmental sustainability, animal welfare and long-term food security. Enjoy a very happy, organic Christmas.