Last week’s Re:fresh Conference certainly lived up to expectations when it came to sparking a frenzied debate on the question of organics.

But during the event, there was little evidence to suggest that the conventional and organic produce sectors are any closer to pulling together and working in the same direction - leading me to fear that the kind of negative press reports we have seen emanating from both sides of the argument over the last few years will continue to rear their heads.

What a shame that what must surely be our industry’s overarching aim - getting increasing numbers of consumers to enjoy fruit and vegetables - is clouded by conflict and internal fighting between the two warring factions.

It was interesting to juxtapose the heated debate we watched with great interest in the afternoon (see p1) with what can only be described as the inspirational presentation that Rugby World Cup 2003 winner Will Greenwood kicked off the day with. Teamwork, unity and a sense of everyone singing from the same hymn sheet were the main themes of his talk. Perhaps the industry could all take a leaf out of the victorious England rugby team’s book.

As always, the quality of entries for the Re:fresh Awards was exceedingly high, and on behalf of everyone at FPJ, many congratulations to all those named as winners and finalists.