Respondents to a survey conducted by the BBC’s Countryfile programme have said that, when buying food, price and animal welfare are the most important factors. 92 per cent of respondents said price influenced their buying decisions, with 90 per cent also saying animal welfare played an influential role.

The programme, which was investigating declining sales of organic produce in the UK, found that only 34 per cent of the population thought that buying organic food was worthwhile.

Although organic farming in the UK appears to be dropping off, with figures released last year suggesting the amount of land under conversion and organic management has declined since the onset of the recession, in Eruope, organic production continues to grow.

Helen Browning, the director of organic certification body The Soil Association, told the programme’s presenter that, although there has been a drop-off in farmland under organic management, sales of organic food increased to £1.7 billion in 2011, compared to £100,000 20 years ago, and claimed that organic represented a “common sense” choice for the future, as the world is facing diminishing resources. She said organic is more resource effecient and protects biodiversity better than 'conventional' systems.

There has been a significant shift in recent years towards more ‘ethical choices’ by consumers; this week, the BEIC announced that eggs from non-cage systems outweigh those from cages by 51 per cent to 49 per cent for the first time. A rapid shift, in response to consumer concerns over animal welfare.     

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