Professional Documents
Culture Documents
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'.