Ethical retailer of the week: Doves Farm

Doves Farm is a family-owned business specialising in organic, fairtrade and ethical flours, without using additives or genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

Doves Farm Foods was created in 1978, by Michael and Clare Marriage in Wiltshire, with a specific focus on organic farming practices.

“My father started farming here in 1958 and I became interested in sustainable organic farming in the 70’s”, Michael said.

“Around that time the UK Agriculture Industry was dominated by an intensive agro-chemical and fertiliser approach to farming. We felt this was damaging to the environment and wildlife populations were being decimated as reported in Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring.”

The business has now grown and offers a wide range of flours, biscuits, cookies, breakfast cereals, cereal bars and yeasts. The farm mills a variety of grains, including some suitable for those diabetic or on a gluten-free diet. These include buckwheat, rye, oat, spelt and rice.

The company’s products are mostly organic, vegetarian and 25 of them also have the Fairtrade certification, which means ingredients such as cocoa is sourced considering fair treatment of workers and sustainable agriculture in developing countries.

Doves Farm practices crop rotation to preserve a healthy soil and is a member of the Countryside Stewardship Scheme, which helps create habitat for wildlife, such as birds and bees.

Doves Farm operates with a GM and pesticides-free policy and uses neither enzymes, artificial flavouring, added nutrients nor hydrogenated fat. It also has targets in place to use more renewable energy, increase recycling and minimise packaging and pollution.

Photo: Doves Farm logo

www.dovesfarm.co.uk