Britons top league of organic consumers

Britons are the biggest consumers of organic produce in Europe, with more than half prepared to pay a higher price to try to avoid chemicals, a survey has shown.

Last year, 29 million adults regularly ate or drank products certified as meeting organic standards of production, research by the market analysis firm Datamonitor found.

Shoppers said they were more likely to choose organic food for its health benefits than because it might help to sustain the environment.

Britons were relatively slow to "go organic", but demand is now outstripping that of the rest of Europe. Research into eating habits in seven European countries showed 40 per cent of adults in Germany and 38 per cent in France regularly chose organic products.

Dominik Nosalik, Datamonitor's consumer markets analyst, said: "There will always be a niche group of altruistic consumers who are motivated to buy green and ethical products for the greater good ... but more people are buying 'green' because that is what makes them feel better." The report suggested that businesses recognised that "while consumers want to derive dual benefits from a product, the benefits for the individual need to be stronger than the benefits of any given cause".

Spending on organic produce in Europe is forecast to double over the next five years to €17bn (£10.5bn). By that time 58 per cent of European consumers will choose to eat organic food.

According to Datamonitor, organic consumers fall into two categories: those who buy into the "organic ethos" and shop entirely for organic products; and those who buy organics occasionally.

The Soil Association, the gatekeeper of organic food standards in Britain, said demand for its approved goods rose by one third last year and the market was now worth £802m. The group forecast that sales would reach £1bn in Britain this year.

A spokeswoman for the association said: "The health benefits of organic are well known, but consumers should not lose sight of the ethical advantages. Farmers whose produce is approved by us work with nature rather than aiming to exploit it."

Campaigners for organic food production point out that approved farmers undertake to operate with minimum impact on the environment.

They use alternatives to the chemicals used in conventional farming, which can have a detrimental effect on animals and hedgerows.

The Datamonitor report also revealed a slowdown in the growth of vegetarianism. It said only 100,000 people became vegetarians between 2000 and 2001, the lowest increase since 1996.

The report said: "Although a core of loyal followers has developed in certain countries such as the UK and Netherlands, vegetarianism is no longer attracting so many new joiners. Many who joined in the late 1980s and early 1990s have abandoned vegetarianism as it has begun to lose its trendy appeal." The number of vegetarians in Europe has risen by one million to 12 million since 1996 but Datamonitor forecast that there would now be negligible future growth.

The survey identified Britain as having the highest number of consumers choosing to reduce the amount of meat in their diet because of health concerns heightened by the BSE crisis. Britain and Germany have the greatest proportion of "meat reducers" at 46 per cent and 44 per cent respectively.

Consumers in traditionally more carnivorous countries such as France and Spain have reduced meat consumption and Datamonitor forecasts that the number of Europeans reducing meat in their diet will increase by 11 million by 2006.