The Soil Association was founded in 1946 by a group of farmers, scientists and nutritionists who observed a direct connection between farming practice and plant, animal, human and environmental health. The catalyst was the publication of The Living Soil by Lady Eve Balfour (pictured) in 1943. The book presented the case for an alternative, sustainable approach to agriculture that has since become known as organic farming. In the ensuing years the organisation has developed organic standards and now works with consumers, farmers, growers, processors, retailers and policy makers. But at its heart our mission remains the same - to create an informed body of public opinion about these links and to promote organic agriculture as a sustainable alternative to intensive farming methods. » 2006 marks our 60th birthday - our timeline highlights a small sample of our achievements » Soil Association director Patrick Holden discusses the origins of the organic movement on bigpicture.tv