AN ORGANIC farmer has hit out at a Food Standards Agency claim that organic food is no better than conventional produce.

Peter Kindersley owns and runs Sheepdrove Organic Farm in Lambourn, having previously been co-founder and co-owner of the Dorling Kindersley publishing empire.

He spoke out after Government body the Food Standards Agency (FSA) released the results of an independent study it commissioned into the benefits or otherwise of organic food.

It concluded that there was no proof of an organic diet being better for people than a non-organic one.

Mr Kindersley, however, has accused the study of being too narrow to do organic produce justice, and insists nutrition is only one issue among many.

He said: “By focusing on the nutritional statistics, the research fails to account for several key reasons people buy organic produce.

“Pesticides and chemical residues are chief amongst this list.

“Whereas organic farming negates or minimises pesticide use, industrial methods are constantly exploring new ways of increasing yields through the use of chemicals.

“The Pesticide Action Network worked with the Sheepdrove Trust some time ago to produce educational tools for people of all ages to highlight the dangers of pesticides in your food.

“They detailed the fact that 31,000 tonnes of pesticide are sprayed on UK land every year, and they detailed the individual effects of many pesticides - particularly their effect on the human body.”

Mr Kindersley believes that when it came to conventionally-grown crops, we cannot be certain that there will be no adverse effects from pesticide residues long after the food is eaten.

He added: “Who actually knows what effect a chemical sprayed or ingested this week will have in 50 or even 100 years’ time?

“In fact, research in the USA has revealed babies in the womb polluted with pesticides, including DDT.”

Sheepdrove has its own farm shop as well as butcher’s shops in Bristol and London.

The farm’s crops include wheat, oats and various plants used to make organic winter feed for animals. Livestock includes beef cattle, sheep, pigs, turkeys and chickens.

Sheepdrove also produces honey, with its bees gathering nectar and pollen from plants that are not exposed to pesticides.

Mr Kindersley has been disturbed by the tone of some of the mainstream media’s coverage of the FSA’s findings.

He said: “Amazingly, throughout this research and press reports of the story, organic and natural farming was considered a modern fad, an experiment for crackpots, hippies and earth-mothers.

“The truth, though, is rather different - farmers have used natural and organic methods for thousands of years, successfully feeding themselves, their families and local communities whilst working in harmony with nature.”

Sheepdrove’s website is at www.sheepdrove.com.