Soil Association

Clare McDermott - Business Development Director, Soil Association "Organic Food, Drink and Beauty – what’s it all about then?"

De-bunking the myths around organic and getting back to basics, what is it, what are the benefits, is it more expensive, where do you find it from the high street to cafes to supermarkets, what should you be buying; and how the inspection and certification process happens. Clare McDermott from the Soil Association, the UK’s leading organic certification body (the ones that say it can have the organic symbol on it) will give you an insight into the background of organic and why its Food As It Should Be.

Clare will be speaking on the Food for Thought Stage on Saturday 26 May at the Food Fair.

Clare McDermott - Business Development Director, Soil Association

Clare is Business Development Director for the Soil Association, the UK’s leading certifier of organic food and drink and the Soil Association symbol appears on over 70% of organic food sold here. She has a long held passion for food and for ensuring access to good food for all, making Organic accessible as part of that.

As an award winning marketer, her passion is to broaden people’s understanding and access to organic food, showing how it is food as it should be and everyday, easily available food that can be a part of anyone’s lifestyle. Having worked in both commercial businesses and charities across all aspects of buying, marketing, fundraising and retail, she joined the Soil Association in June 2014 and has led the growth of the Food for Life Served Here Scheme enabling healthy, sustainable and organic food to be served in schools, hospitals and universities. The amount of organic food served through these outlets has doubled in the last two years.

Outside of work, Clare’s passion is food and fitness, everything from cooking to triathlon whilst trying to instil some notion of healthy and sustainable eating in her two teenage boys.