We buy £3.9 billion of it a year, and grow 3.4% of our land's worth
What happened
On Wednesday 14 October 2026, Defra published an Organic Action Plan for England. The plan was launched by Environment Secretary Dame Angela Eagle. It sets out a long-term aim to grow England's organic sector so that farmers here can supply more of what shoppers are already buying. The numbers behind it are striking. Organic food sales in the UK are worth more than £3.9 billion a year, and rising. But organically farmed land makes up only about 3.4 per cent of agricultural land in England. The plan's ambition is to reach around 10 per cent by 2036. The plan has three parts. The first is supporting producers, both existing organic farmers and processors and those thinking of converting. The second is matching supply to demand, bringing what English farms grow closer to what British shoppers buy, which currently means a large amount is imported. The third is building demand, through consumer awareness and public sector procurement, which means the food bought for schools, hospitals and prisons. Specific measures include advice for farmers considering a switch, work on supply chains so organic products reach supermarkets and restaurants faster, and new markets at home and abroad. Dame Angela Eagle said: "People are buying more organic food, and we want English farmers to be in a strong position to respond to that demand." The plan was welcomed by the English Organic Forum, whose co-chairs are Sos Stopes of Organic Farmers & Growers and Adrian Steele of the Soil Association. Helen Browning, chief executive of the Soil Association, described organic farming as a solution to climate and nature challenges that does not take land out of food production. Rob Haward, chief executive of the box scheme Riverford, said growers need confidence and clear government support before they will invest in organic fruit and vegetables. The plan cites two examples: Shimpling Park Farm in Suffolk, as organic production working at scale and helping neighbouring farms convert, and Riverford Organic Farmers in Devon, which sources about 70 per cent of the produce in its boxes from UK growers.
Why this matters
There are two ways to care about this, and they are quite different. The first is food security. If we buy £3.9 billion of organic food a year and grow a small fraction of it, the rest comes in by lorry, ship and plane. That makes prices and availability dependent on other countries' weather, politics and shipping costs. Growing more here is not a romantic idea; it is a supply question. The second is land. Organic farming avoids most synthetic pesticides and fertilisers, relies more on rotations and manure, and typically supports more insects, birds and soil life. The trade-off is usually lower yields per acre, which means more land to grow the same amount of food. That trade-off is the central argument about organic farming, and it has not been settled by this plan. For shoppers, the more immediate point is cost. Organic food is generally more expensive, and the gap matters when budgets are tight. A plan that increases domestic supply could, over time, narrow that gap by cutting import and transport costs. Over time is doing a lot of work in that sentence: 2036 is ten years away.
What the evidence actually says
It is worth separating what is measured from what is hoped for. Measured: organic sales of more than £3.9 billion a year, and about 3.4 per cent of England's agricultural land farmed organically. Those are current figures. Hoped for: around 10 per cent of land by 2036. That is an ambition, not a legal target, and the plan acknowledges that farmers will choose the systems that suit their businesses. Nobody is being made to convert. Converting a farm to organic is not a quick decision. Certification requires a conversion period, usually two years for land in arable or horticultural use, during which you farm to organic rules but cannot sell at organic prices. That is a genuine cash-flow problem and the main reason farmers hesitate. Whether the advice and support in this plan is enough to bridge it is the real test. On the environmental claims, the plan says organic farming has potential benefits for soil health, biodiversity, water quality and animal welfare. "Potential" is the right word. The research broadly supports more biodiversity on organic farms per unit of land, with a more mixed picture per unit of food produced, because of the yield gap. Anyone telling you the question is simple in either direction is overstating it. On nutrition, it is worth being clear: there is no strong evidence that organic food is meaningfully more nutritious. The good reasons to buy it are about pesticides, farming methods, animal welfare and taste preference, not vitamin content. A plan to grow the organic sector does not change that.
Practical advice
If you want to eat well on a budget, here is the order that actually helps. Eat more vegetables, full stop. The gap between "not many vegetables" and "plenty of vegetables" is far bigger for your health than the gap between conventional and organic. Frozen counts. Tinned counts. Reduced-price wonky veg counts. If you want to spend extra on organic, spend it where it makes the most difference to you. For most people that is the things they eat a lot of, or produce with thin skins they eat whole. Washing fruit and vegetables under running water removes a meaningful amount of surface residue from any produce, organic or not. Check the certification logo rather than the word. In the UK, organic is a legally protected term and products must be certified by an approved body such as Organic Farmers & Growers or the Soil Association. The logo and a code number will be on the pack. "Natural", "farm fresh" and "free from" mean nothing legally. If you farm and are curious, this is the moment to ask questions. The plan promises advice and support for those considering conversion, and the Soil Association and Organic Farmers & Growers both run free initial conversations. The honest question to ask them first is about the conversion period and how you fund it. And if cost is the barrier to eating well, say so to someone who can help. Healthy Start vouchers, free school meals and local food partnerships all exist and all go unclaimed by people who qualify. Your pharmacy, GP surgery or local Citizens Advice can point you to what applies where you live.
Qurexa perspective
Qurexa delivers groceries alongside prescriptions, mostly across Lincolnshire, and most of our grocery customers are not choosing between organic and conventional. They are choosing between cooking and not cooking, because getting to a shop is hard. That shapes how we read a plan like this. More domestic organic supply would be welcome, and over ten years it may bring prices down. But the thing that changes what someone actually eats this week is whether fresh food arrives at the door at all. So our practical contribution is unglamorous: if you or someone you care for struggles to shop, we can bring food and medicines in the same delivery. If a carer or family member usually does the shopping and cannot this week, that is exactly the gap we exist to fill. No organic claim attached. Just food that turns up.
What to know
Defra published an Organic Action Plan for England on 14 October 2026, launched by Environment Secretary Dame Angela Eagle. Organic food sales are worth more than £3.9 billion a year in the UK, while about 3.4 per cent of England's agricultural land is farmed organically. The plan's ambition is around 10 per cent by 2036. It has three strands: supporting producers, matching domestic supply to demand, and building demand including through public sector procurement. It puts into action a commitment in the Farming Roadmap to 2050. The ambition is not a legal target, and the plan accepts that farmers will choose what suits their businesses. Converting a farm takes a conversion period, usually two years, during which organic rules apply but organic prices do not. There is no strong evidence that organic food is more nutritious. Eating more vegetables of any kind matters more for health than which type you buy. In the UK, "organic" is legally protected and certified. Look for an approved certifier's logo and code number on the pack. Sources: GOV.UK (Defra), "Plan to unlock organic market for stronger farms, more homegrown food", 14 October 2026, https://www.gov.uk/government/news/plan-to-unlock-organic-market-for-stronger-farms-more-homegrown-food; GOV.UK blogs (Farming), "Organic Action Plan for England published today", 14 October 2026, https://www.blog.gov.uk/; Soil Association, organic certification information, https://www.soilassociation.org/certification/ This article is for general information and does not replace advice from a doctor, pharmacist, dietitian or other qualified professional. If you have a medical condition that affects your diet, speak to your healthcare team before making significant changes.
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