According to the Australian Organic Market Report for 2021, the Australian organic food industry is blooming. As a whole, the organic food industry in this country is estimated to be worth $2.3 billion annually and has seen an annual growth rate of 13 per cent every year since 2012. Consumer demand for organic produce is growing at between 20 and 30 per cent each year, and estimates are that 60 per cent of households buy organic food on some occasion. Unsurprisingly, as a result of this eager embrace of organics, the number of certified organic food producers has increased by 38 per cent since 2011. Clearly, there is an established demand for organic food, but if we want to understand the role organics can play in our society, we need to dig a little more into the nature of “organic” production.
Digging deep
Organic farming can be split into two categories: farming of plants (agriculture) and the raising of animals (husbandry). Organic agriculture prohibits the use of chemical pesticides and artificial
