PRESS RELEASE: Organic is part of the solution, speakers of European Organic Congress agree
BRUSSELS, 3 JULY 2020 – High-level speakers from the European Commission, European Parliament and the German Presidency of the EU Council all sent the same message at the European Organic Congress 2020: Our system is experiencing a biodiversity and climate crisis, and organic food and farming is part of the solution and way forward.
Jan Plagge, recently re-elected IFOAM Organics Europe President, stated: “What we heard from the speakers from the Commission is that they are serious about the target of 25% organic land by 2030 through an ambitious Farm to Fork strategy. As organic movement, we appreciate that they are putting organic at the heart of the transition to sustainable and fair food systems. But we still have much to do and no time to waste to make European food and farming more resilient after the Covid-19 crisis showed the food system’s weaknesses.” He continued: “A clear way to reaching 25% organic land at EU level by 2030 is for Member States to set national targets in their CAP Strategic Plans and to ensure that the policy rewards farmers providing public goods, going beyond the income foregone logic.”
Felix Prinz zu Löwenstein, Chairman of the German Association of Organic Farmers, Food Processors and Retailers (BÖLW), stressed that it is important for all organic actors to be agents of change and become a tool of that change to make the target for organic land a reality. “As German organic movement, we will take our responsibility working towards a sustainable agrifood system during The Council Presidency. He added “We expect the German Presidency to achieve an ambitious Council position on the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), so that the policy gives a clear perspective to the sector and to society as a whole on how it will contribute to public goods.”
Following this press release, IFOAM Organics Europe will put together the ten key take-aways from the European Organic Congress to those who attended it and send them next week. If you would like to receive them even though you did not attend the congress, subscribe to our press release list. As of next week, the recordings of all sessions will be online on the European Organic Congress website.
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IFOAM Organics Europe
IFOAM Organics Europe is the European umbrella organisation for organic food and farming. We represent organic in European policymaking and advocate for a transformation of food and farming. Our work is based on the principles of organic agriculture – health, ecology, fairness and care. With more than 200 members in 34 European countries, our work spans the entire organic food chain.
Special information
As of 15 July, IFOAM Organics Europe’s email addresses will change. They will be ending on @organicseurope.bio instead of @ifoam-eu.org. Please remember to adjust it in your address book and visit our new website on www.organicseurope.bio.
Bund Ökologische Lebensmittelwirtschaft (BÖLW)
The German Association of Organic Farmers, Food Processors and Retailers (BÖLW) represents the interest of the organic sector as an umbrella organization. The turnaround with organic food and drinks generated by more than 42.000 organic enterprises amounts to a total annual turnaround of almost 12 billion EUR.
The European Organic Congress
The European Organic Congress is IFOAM Organics Europe’s annual high-level event to discuss and exchange with policy-makers, academia and key stakeholders about the future of Europe’s food and farming. The congress takes place in the country that hosts the Presidency of the Council of the European Union. Every edition of the European Organic Congress is organised together with the flagship organic umbrella organisation from the country holding the Presidency.
For more information please contact:
Eva Berckmans, Communications Officer
+32 (0)2 416 52 32 (EN & NL), [email protected]
Or visit www.organicseurope.bio
Joyce Moewius, Press Officer
+49 30 28482-307 (DE & EN), [email protected]
Or visit www.boelw.de
