Organic. It is very easy to either be a skeptic of organic foodstuffs or become a devotee.

Everything about organic farming and its produce seems right on paper. Is it good for the environment? Check. Is it good for the consumer? Check. Is it ethically produced? Check. Is it affordable? Check…Well… Apart from the price, it looks great. Not only is it good for the environment, but it is also healthy. At least I thought it was before I read that David Miliband, the former environment secretary, declared going organic was a ‘lifestyle choice’ and there was no evidence that it was healthier for consumers.

Amazingly, I found that despite the significant lack of evidence in organic health benefits, people still seem to favour organic. Organic food sales rose by thirty percent last year and the industry is now worth a booming £1.6 billion. It is great for those farms that can afford to be organic, but it is the less affluent farms that people tend to forget. The financial burden to farmers can be crippling. Not only are there the registrations costs, which are enough to put any small farm off, but there are other problems with just the extra cost in managing the land.

But what about Oundle? I asked Mr. Phil Norman of Oundle’s grocery store Normans, for his perspective on organic foods and his response was not surprising for a small, independent store. He doesn’t sell organic food because of the high costs involved in buying from the growers, which he then has to pass on to the consumer. He also said that with such a lack of evidence regarding the authenticity of organic produce; it simply wasn’t worth the price. He said that one of the main reasons why he does not stock organic fruit and vegetables was because much of the organic produce available is from abroad. He believes that buying organic food that is not sourced in Britain is hypercritical and defeats the whole point of the organic principles. Instead, he sells locally produced fruit and veg where he knows the growers and the land that the produce is grown on. He believes that it is more important to support the local farmers, whose produce, (though not entirely organic) is not over burdened with pesticides, and that is more beneficial for the community to order most of their produce from within a 5-mile radius.

If Oundle does become consumed by the organic trend, less affluent people will no longer be able to shop in Oundle due to the high prices. Oundle will become a bijoux town, utterly useless except to those few who can still afford to shop here. If people cannot or will not pay such high prices, then they will have to look elsewhere; somewhere that has everything at cheaper prices; somewhere like Tesco. Small, independent shops that are part of the Oundle community would close and Oundle would be yet another ‘once was’ market town, with a very good organic section in aisle three.