A prominent organic farmer and brand owner has challenged the Pasture For Life scheme for permitting chemical inputs on certified farms.
Judith Freane, owner of Brown Cow Organics, said she was “stunned” when she discovered that Pasture For Life’s certification standard – which places no restriction on the use of either artificial fertilizers or herbicides.
She commented: “Whilst I certainly applaud a certification that encourages animals to be grass-fed, I also ask ‘can a certification mark that does not regulate the use of damaging artificial fertilizers and weed killers on the very grass the cattle are eating be deemed of better benefit to humans?’. Certainly our organic certification does regulate such practices, and with good reason.”
The Pasture For Life mark was launched in January 2015 at the Oxford Real Farming Conference by the Pasture-Fed Livestock Association. The farmer-led organisation aims to “promotes the health, welfare and environmental benefits of raising cattle and sheep exclusively on grass and forage crops”. Several organic farms are currently certified under the scheme.
Sara Gregson, communications director at the Pasture-Fed Livestock Association (PFLA) told NPN that she was surprised at the comments from the Brown Cow Organics founder. “We work closely with the Soil Association, the Sustainable Food Trust and other like-minded organizations – we’re on the same page. Many, of our members – probably the majority – are organic, while our non-organic members are typically low-input farmers. Some of them use our scheme as a stepping stone to becoming organic.”
Commenting on the PLFA’s decision not to place specific restrictions on the use of artificial fertilizers and herbicides, Gregson said: “All farms are different. You have to be able to get the quantities of feed you need for your livestock and sometimes you need a little bit of fertilizer. But of course you can always choose to be organic, which many members do.”
Gregson added: “The real point of difference with pasture-fed is to do with feed. If you feed animals grain you change the consistency of the meat and important nutritional aspects, even if that is done in the last stages. Under organic rules 40% of ‘composite feed’ is permitted, including grains and soya. Pasture For Life is the only mark in the UK, and possibly Europe, that certifies 100% pasture-fed meat.”
