I am one of the biggest supporters of the organic theory, but in practice going down the organic route can be disappointing. Organic growers need to realise that just because their produce is organic doesn't mean to say that it has to be excessively large or covered in mud. Take a courgette, for instance, or a bunch of carrots. Those that I have seen in the supermarkets are invariably large. I grow a variety of organic vegetables, herbs and salads for my restaurant Wiz and I pick wonderfully small and flavourful items. I then wash them, albeit under the tap (no I'm not going to use mineral water), bunch them and pack them in vac-pack bags before they are sent to the restaurant. They are wonderful looking products that compete on looks and win on flavour against intensively farmed vegetables. Once the organic hype has receded, can organic produce continue to increase its percentage share of the market? I think it can, but only if it changes its holier than thou' attitude. It is important to educate the public that going organic doesn't mean you have to be vegetarian, it doesn't mean you are necessarily going to be any healthier (an old organic vegetable loses just as many vitamins and minerals as a similarly aged intensively farmed vegetable) and it doesn't mean you have to buy organic cookbooks. Any recipe can be organic as long as you can find the organic produce. Manufacturers of organic processed foods must get away from the idea that all their packaging has to be in various shades of green or brown. There is no reason why organic products should not sell themselves in sexy packaging with bright eyecatching colours. Organic food doesn't mean frumpy food, you buy it in the knowledge that you are not ingesting a cocktail of chemicals and therefore may go someway to protecting the environment. {{NEWS }}