Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if his Department will work with the relevant control bodies to enable vertical farms to apply for organic accreditation.

Organic production is internationally recognised as a soil-based system, that is strictly regulated by assimilated organic Regulations 834/2007 and 889/2008. Vertical farming relies on hydroponic production, the method of growing plants with their roots in a mineral nutrient solution or in an inert medium, which is specifically prohibited within organic production systems. Therefore, it is not possible to certify vertical farming as organic.