Organic Youth Guide by a volunteer quintet
If you buy an organic product, say for example a cookie, do you know what is behind this organic labeling?
At the end of their European Voluntary Service (EVS) at the IFOAM EU in Brussels, The Organic Five, a quintet of young Europeans, has put together an Organic Youth Guide to inform us about organic agriculture in Europe.
“Organic Agriculture is a production system that sustains the health of soils, ecosystems and people. It relies on ecological processes, biodiversity and cycles adapted to local conditions, rather than the use of inputs with adverse effects. Organic Agriculture combines tradition, innovation and science to benefit the shared environment and promote fair relationships and a good quality of life for all involved.”
The guide follows IFOAM’s definition of organic agriculture:
“Organic Agriculture is a production system that sustains the health of soils, ecosystems and people. It relies on ecological processes, biodiversity and cycles adapted to local conditions, rather than the use of inputs with adverse effects. Organic Agriculture combines tradition, innovation and science to benefit the shared environment and promote fair relationships and a good quality of life for all involved.”
The Organic Five also highlights that in European Union organic food is food that has been grown and processed according to the EU regulations on organic food and farming, but that it is also much more than that. Organic food is grown with the highest regard for the environment, for animal welfare, for food safety and for food quality.
Established in 1972, IFOAM (International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements) is an international umbrella organization for organic farming organizations. Standards set by IFOAM are the main basis on which national organic agriculture regulations largely lean on. In Europe, IFOAM EU Group is the advocate for the development and integrity of European organic food and farming. The organisation works with the entire organic food chain and beyond: from farmers and processors, retailers, certifiers, consultants, traders and researchers to environmental and consumer advocacy bodies.
According to the guide, in Spain the organic sector has started to evolve during the last decades and currently “Spain is the European Union Member State with the most organic land use out of total agricultural land/ hectares of organic land.” Majority of the organic products are however being exported and the Spanish consumers have only recently started incorporating them into their routines.
The Organic Five also tells us what is behind an organic cookie. An organic product is made using only organic raw materials. In case of a cookie this means that you use, for example, organic oat flour, organic Bourbon-Madagascar vanilla, unrefined organic cane sugar as well as unsalted organic butter and organic eggs. Related to each different ingredient, there are different EU regulations in terms of production. For example, organic butter production is related to organic dairy cows which produce the milk from which the butter is made. Thus, the breeding, living conditions, diets and health measure of the cows are essential issues linked to organic butter.
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