Why feed organic?

Although modern farming methods produce cheap and plentiful food, they also have a big impact on the variety of wildlife seen in the countryside. This in turn can affect the number of bird species which visit our gardens.

When research has been carried out to compare organic and conventional farming methods it has been found that for most bird species, the numbers found were greater on the organic farms.

Over the last 25 years the use of insecticides and pesticides has increased, and recent developments in herbicide resistant crops has added to the pressure on wildlife and habitats.

Feeding Burns Organic Food makes sense :

• The British Trust for Ornithology has shown that over the past 25 years, numbers of several farmland bird species have declined. This period of time has also seen major changes in farm management practice.
  
  
• The populations of 22 of Britain's most common birds have dropped by more than 50% in 25 years, and with some species the decline would seem to be accelerating. The once common sight of skylarks and starlings is becoming rarer as farming and forestry methods have reduced winter food supplies needed for breeding and survival.
  
  
• Powerful chemical pesticides and herbicides leave residues on the grain which birds eat. Having a very high metabolic rate, birds eat a far greater quantity of food for their body weight than we do, with a result that these chemical residues build up in their system.
  
  
• Not all poisonings result in immediate death. A poisoned bird may lose weight, increasing its chances of dying from other stresses, such as bad weather. It may sing less and fail to attract a mate or defend a territory. It may raise smaller broods or provide less food for its chicks.