We are delighted Eco-Age has joined our Soil Circle membership. Eco-Age's beliefs are so 'at one' with the Soil Association's vision for sustainable (organic), low-carbon farming needing to be central to how all food should be grown to ensure a safe and secure food future.

Over the past year, the impact of climate change, depleting natural resources and the increase of diet-related illnesses is causing many more people to question how we will continue to feed ourselves and live a healthy life-style in the near future. The Soil Association is the leading environmental, membership charity addressing these challenges, working to educate, inspire and transform food culture. We are already making significant headway by working with 1000 schools in the UK, who are participating in the Soil Association-led Food For Life Programme as part of our goal of involving 3,600 by 2011, as well as many nursery schools and hospitals. We have over 100 UK organic farms open to the public, attracting a million visitors each year and through our Organic Farm School classes we are teaching new skills from bee-keeping to setting up small holdings, whilst also helping communities link with their local farmers and growers, so supporting their local economy. In addition, lots of our attention is given to our campaigning work lobbying government and other key opinion-formers, including the media, on the central role organic food and farming can play towards a secure food future.

We have much more to do to help people realise the wide benefits organic farming has to offer from the highest standard of animal welfare, avoidance of exposure to GM, chemicals and sprays to the fact that organic food is the most sustainable way of producing food in tune with nature so resulting in more birds, insects, healthier crops, healthier animals and a far more fertile environment, all with using 30% less fossil fuel energy  - which is central to protecting our planet!

We act as the voice for sustainable, organic food and farming, as well as organic beauty, fashion and homeware. Our members and supporters directly affect what we can achieve as we rely heavily on membership income, gifts and donations to be able to do our work.

If you too would like to join our charity we would love to hear from you. By joining you can help us make a bigger difference and in turn we will keep you fully informed of the issues impacting on our food systems and planet and the many ways you can get involved to help grow our movement and prevent us leaving a severely damaged planet and inadequate food systems in place for our children and generations to follow.

We are hugely grateful to Eco-Age for all their support. For more information about us please visit: www.soilassociation.org.

Helen Taylor

Development Director