Oral question asked in the House of Lords, by Earl Peel (Conservative). It was answered on Monday, 8 May 2006.

Food: Organic

Question: My Lords, most of us applaud the sentiments expressed by my noble friend Lord MacLaurin, but does the noble Baroness agree that such objectives should apply to all food, not just to organic food? To that effect, what are the Government doing to reduce the impact on our producers of cheap imported food that does not comply with the same statutory environmental and animal health standards as are imposed on our producers?

Answer: My Lords, we work closely with other governments in the European Union to ensure that European Union standards apply. In the context of my earlier reply on developing countries and their produce, we will seek to ensure that our retailers are not disadvantaged because of differential standards. I understand that bringing indigenous organic food production up to 70 per cent will match the figure for non-organic indigenous food production. We at all times seek to work—for example, through government procurement—to ensure that the time taken to get food from the supplier to the plate is as short as possible. We work very closely with suppliers through a variety of means, including supporting farmers' markets, to ensure that where possible—for example, in school meals—food is procured locally.

Secondary information