Newcastle University is leading a new £12m project to investigate why the taste and nutritional value of our food are decreasing and if organic farming can be a solution to these problems. The project includes 31 partners from across Europe and is funded by the European Union. Organic farming is one of the most dynamic sectors of agriculture in Europe but also faces substantial challenges to meet consumers' demands for safe, high-quality and affordable food. It minimises or avoids the use of synthetic pesticides and fertilisers. Scientists at Newcastle University are growing test crops which include cabbages, lettuces, carrots, potatoes and wheat at the university's agricultural research centre, Nafferton Farm, near Stocksfield, Northumberland. These are being grown under a variety of conditions for the research team to compare factors such as taste and nutritional quality between vegetables which are grown organically and those grown using chemicals. The Europe-wide project is called QualityLowInputFood (Qlif) and aims to improve quality, safety and productivity along the European organic food chains. Organic farming is the best-known low-input system. Qlif is expected to make a significant impact on increasing the competitiveness of the organic industry to the benefit of European consumers and farmers. It will encompass the whole food chain from fork to farm for protected crops (tomatoes), field vegetables (lettuces, onions, potatoes, carrots cabbages), cereal (wheat) and pork, dairy and poultry. It will measure consumer attitudes and expectations, develop technology to improve the quality of organic foods and will assess the social, environmental and economical impacts of growing foods organically Partners in the project come from 31 research institutions, companies and universities in countries which include the UK, Denmark, Germany, Switzerland, Holland, Italy, France, Poland, Austria, Portugal, Greece, the Czech republic, Israel, Turkey and Finland. Project leader Prof Carlo Leifert, leader of Nafferton Ecological Farming Group at Newcastle University, said: "We need to find out what is behind reports which have proved that the taste and nutritional value of our foods is deteriorating. "There are more and more indications that moving to natural production systems, such as organic farming, can improve food quality. "This project will attempt to find out why this is the case and how we can further improve on these production systems." The first set of results from the project will be presented at a conference which will run from January 6 to 9, 2005 at Newcastle University. The Organic Farming, Food Quality and Human Health Congress will be attended by leaders from the growing industry as well as academics. | 
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