Green Earth Organics are a Galway based distributor of organic vegetables, delivering nationwide.

Green Earth Organics are a Galway based distributor of organic vegetables, delivering nationwide.

On seasonal produce

When we started out [in 2006] we thought we’d be growing week to week, completely seasonally – but the reality is different. We’ve found we have to produce with consumer tastes in mind, otherwise it doesn’t work! So the customer informs what we make available. What we can’t grow, we source – first locally, then nationwide, then from Europe. Everything is certified organic and as fresh as possible – that’s really our priority, getting the freshest produce.

On certification

Certification leads to accountability, it’s there to protect the consumer. Looking at the number of big food producers who now do an organic range – when you think of things like the horsemeat scandal, there definitely needs to be regulation against industrial corruption.

On farming subsidies

Agriculture really shouldn’t be dependent on grant aid. Overall, I would say grants help, yes, but the vast majority of organic farmers got started because they feel it’s the right thing to do. Certainly the capital grant aid has been great for us, we’re delighted to have it, it helped us work with demand and create new jobs.

On evidence of climate change

The upside of a milder winter for us has been that things have continued to grow, unlike in hard frost – although we’ve just had a whole generation of carrots rendered unusable due to carrot greenfly appearing much later than usual. I’d relate that to climate change, definitely.

On the value of agri-environmental schemes

Such a small percentage of land goes to the hedgerows – your outgoings will go down, because with fewer animals, you’ll have healthier animals – often people are more interested in the short term health of their land. Anything that encourages trees and wildflowers is a good thing. You see a lot of hedgerows and wildlife on organic farms.

On allotment growing

I’d encourage anyone to look to growing wherever they can. Not only can you actually produce your own food, which is great, but as an exercise it’ll give you a sense of what’s involved in food production. That alone makes you think about changing other things, like how you choose to eat. Start with crops you enjoy. Things like salad veg, lettuces and peas - there’s no feeling quite like pulling a carrot out of the ground. People get discouraged trying to grow temperamental crops – don’t start with broccoli!

On awareness

One really positive thing is that our business is driven by consumer awareness, people are becoming more aware of how their choices impact the world around them. The CO2 emissions from conventional farming are huge - organic farming can go some distance towards preventing that, thinking of minimising our impact long term. The food we eat has a massive impact on our planet. I’d encourage anyone to stop and think about it - how your consumption affects yourself and your environment.