“BEING Organic in EU” project events at BIOFACH 2025
The BEING Organic in EU project is a promotion campaign proposed by FederBio in cooperation with Naturland co-financed by the European Union under EU Regulation No. 1144/2014., which aims to promote organic farming in the Italian and German markets by raising awareness and recognition of EU organic farming practices and the EU organic logo.
In the context of the project, IFOAM Organics Europe successfully organised 2 sessions and 1 networking reception at BIOFACH 2025, the biggest and most prestigious international fair for organic, happening yearly in Nuremberg, Germany.
- Fixing broken water cycles: Organic farming’s role in the EU Water Resilience Strategy (11 February 2025): Moderated by IFOAM Organics Europe Policy Manager Silvia Schmidt, with the participation of Sabine van Wiren-Lehr (van Wiren-Lehr consulting), Sophia Majnoni d’Intignano (FNAB), and Policy Associate Manager Hanna Winkler (IFOAM Organics Europe), we discussed how organic can play a role in addressing the issue that water is under pressure as a resource, by promoting sustainable land management as nature-based solution. The important role of the EU Water Resilience Strategy was also highlighted, for the protection of all water bodies. Organic can play a key role in the upcoming water resilience strategy given its largely reduced impact on ground water pollution compared to conventional practices, stemming largely from the prohibition to use synthetic pesticides. The role of water agencies in France was further presented as case study, given that they support the conversion and/or maintenance to organic, as it is less costly to support organic rather than cleaning water from groundwater pollution. Check our X & Bluesky threads and for more insights. For take-aways from our sessions during the first BIOFACH day, check out our LinkedIn wrap up post.
- Networking reception (11 February 2025): Together with our project partners FederBio and Naturland, we hosted a networking reception open to organic operators, consumers and other stakeholders from the value chain, along with high-level representatives from the EU and national institutions. Accompanied by organic food and drinks, Eduardo Cuoco (IFOAM Organics Europe) and Aldo Cervi (FederBio) informally presented BEING Organic in EU’s goals and activities. Moreover, the call for applications to the EU Organics Awards was successfully launched and presented, together with Henri Delanghe (European Commission, DG AGRI) and Kerli Ats (European Economic and Social Committee).
- Update on the EU Organic regulation and international trade (12 February 2025): Moderated by IFOAM Organics Europe Regulation Consultant Lea Bauer, with the participation of Henri Delanghe (European Commission, DG AGRI), Michel Reynaud (ECOCERT), Tom Chapman (Organic Trade Association), Cristina Rigoni (Rigoni di Asiago), we discussed the latest updates on the legislative work of the past year. The need to define better equivalence in the current organic regulation was highlighted. Learn more in the LinkedIn wrap up post we wrote for the second BIOFACH day!
Funded by the project BEING Organic in EU of the European Union, coordinated by Federbio and Naturland. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Research Executive Agency (REA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.