Re: Misuse of statistics - UK developments

Jane Sooby (phrc031@unlvm.unl.edu)
Mon, 10 May 1999 13:27:25 -0600

Dear Nic,
Thank you for the clarification. The statistic seemed incredible to me, one
reason I put it out there to find out the response.

The power of our communication technology continues to amaze me, as a
comment that came overseas to me went back overseas to you and you were able
to recognize it as your own! And it all started because I ordered some
organic chocolate bars!

There was no intent to "misuse statistics," but instead to provoke thought.

Jane

>In a recent message on SANet, I read that:
>
>>the following statement appeared in an e-newsletter sent out by a food
>vendor in England:
>
>>Nationally sales of organic food are growing at a rate such that, if it
>were to >continue at the same rate, 80% of all the food we eat will be
>organic by the year 2010.
>
>Before anyone gets too carried away, the figure derives from a paper I
>presented at the recent UK organic farming conference at Cirencester, in
>which I suggested that if growth rates of 35% per year or more could be
>achieved, then this might be the case, but this was highly unlikely because
>the average long run trend in Europe was for 25% annual growth. I concluded
>that the UK was much more likely to achieve 10% by 2010, while the European
>average could reach more than that.
>(Organic farming currently accounts for 2% of agricultural land in western
>Europe (3 million ha) and 1% in the United Kingdom (200,000 ha)).
>
>
>Nic Lampkin
>
>Welsh Institute of Rural Studies
>University of Wales, Aberystwyth
>GB-Ceredigion SY23 3AL

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