Can Australian organics bloom beyond a profitable niche?

Is the definition of “organic” for producers and consumers fundamentally incompatible with larger ambitions?

A chicken from Ruby Hills Organics Picture: Emma Steendam Photography

Everybody has a different view of what organics are. For some people it’s to do with certification, for others it relates to ethical values which inform consumer decisions. Items labeled as organic can suggest it’s produced on a farm that is kinder to animals or more sustainable.

The definition of organics is simply not using chemicals and synthesised fertilizers. Australia produces about AU$1.7 billion of organic food, wool and cotton every year. This is only 3 per cent of our total AU$60 billion rural agricultural production. Today, Australia’s organics industry is only a small slice of the countries total food production, but there’s plenty of optimism and commercial investment in the space.

Australia’s organic industry today is only a small slice of total food producasian tion, but there’s plenty of optimism and commercial investment in the space. Eric George explores what the term “organics” actually means to producers and consumers, and asks if that way of seeing the world is compatible with commercial aspirations.