The Soil Association is the United Kingdom’s leading organisation for organic certification and advocacy. It inspects and certifies organic farms, food manufacturers, and caterers against its standards, which go beyond the legal organic minimum on issues like animal welfare and additives, and licenses the use of its symbol on packs. Beyond certification it campaigns on sustainable farming, food, and forestry, influencing policy on pesticides, antibiotics in farming, and school food. Founded in 1946 by farmers and scientists worried about industrial agriculture, it has grown from a fringe movement to a mainstream mark of trust. For shoppers, its logo is the assurance that an organic claim has been independently checked.