Caroline Attwooll

Earth Food Store in Bondi is the most beautiful organic food store in town, which probably has something to do with the fact Attwooll was the director of her own theatre company before opening the shop in 1991.

Her journey to organics began in India, where, she says, "I went to a rural area and saw a lot of deformities. I asked in the villages and they said it was caused by DDT [a lethal pesticide, banned in the US in 1972 and in Australia in 1987]. That a company making DDT could ship it to the Third World, knowing its danger was so immoral - it really angered me."

As a retailer, Attwooll is very aware of the cost of organic produce which, she says, can be anything from "cheaper than conventional to double the price - depending on supply and demand and things like drought conditions".

She adds: "If a producer concentrates solely on organic and quality, down goes the yield and you automatically have a price increase. But my mark-up is less than a conventional fruit and veg shop, mainly because there's only a certain price people will pay."

Does it taste better? "It always depends on the growers. I deal mainly in vegetables. If they're planting the right varieties and handling them well, you get excellent, well-rounded flavours. If they're poor growers, you'll get the same problems you get with bad conventional farmers."

Is it better for you? "Looking at the bigger picture, it has to be advantageous, by not contributing to run-off in our rivers and not polluting in other ways."

Why should I go organic? "Because we're more aware of the problems - such as salinity - being caused by our years of adherence to European agricultural methods."

Is it a passing fad? "It's certainly trendy. But before events in the US and Europe such as mad cow disease, I don't think people realised the direct link between what you eat and what can happen to your body. The more these devastations are caused by trying to increase yield or get more meat off an animal, the greater our awareness will become."

Angus Dowling

Dowling's family have been farming at Murringo, near Young, since the 1850s. By going organic, he has gone back to the way the farm would have been run originally - without chemicals.

After leaving agricultural college, and while looking for market opportunities for the family farm, he noted that a couple of his fellow students had become organic farmers. But it wasn't until he married that he took the plunge.

His wife, Sonya, says: "I was horrified by the chemicals. His hands would be immersed in fly oil for the sheep, with no protection." Today, the whole farm is organic - including sheep and grains - but the Dowlings are best known for their Envirorganics brand chickens.

"The bottom line for me is the soil - balanced soil and no chemicals means balanced food without chemical residues," Dowling says. "When you buy an organic chicken, you're buying the whole deal: chemical-free meat, sustainable farming and humane killing."

Does it taste better? "There are good and bad organic products. We buy organic oranges and they're beautiful. Our chickens taste better because they have more exercise and they're older when they're killed."

Is it better for you? "It has to be."

Why should I go organic? "You are what you eat so, if you're eating healthy, chemical-free food, you'll go the same way. And you're supporting an improved environment."

Is it a passing fad? "We're not going back. The market is growing with consumer awareness."