25/05/2023

Review of events

Exploring the Future of Organic Agriculture: Highlights from Day 1 of the Organic Food Conference, 22-23 May 2023, Sansepolcro, Italy

The Organic Food Conference took place on 22-23 May at Aboca’s premises in Sansepolcro, Tuscany (IT), and its first day was nothing short of exciting! A broad variety of participants, from organisations and companies to university students, media, etc.. came together to share their passion for organic food and sustainability. The conference kicked off with a warm welcome and inspiring words from our Director Eduardo Cuoco, our President Jan Plagge and Aboca’s Agricultural Public Affairs & Impact and Sustainability Manager Jacopo Orlando.

Undoubtedly, one of the most remarkable moments of the day was the keynote speech by Christian Felber, writer, university lecturer, and initiator of Economy for the Common Good and of the Austrian Cooperative for the Common Good. “Economy for the Common Good – A model fit for the future” was the title of his intervention, and his impactful words left a profound impression on the entire audience, especially when he emphasized that the current global ecological crisis necessitates the establishment of a sustainable, socially responsible, and human-centric economic model. A model in which money is just the mean to achieve its primary goal and purpose of the Common Good, a good life for everyone on a healthy planet. At the heart of this concept lies the idea that values-driven businesses are mindful of and committed to human dignity, solidarity and social justice, environmental sustainability, and transparency and co-determination. To learn more about the Economy for Common Good movement and how it works in practice, visit their website and watch Christian Felber’s TedX on YouTube.

After Felber’s speech, we had an interesting discussion on organic food in a changing world, moderated by our director Eduardo Cuoco, with ISMEA’s President Angelo Frascarelli, our President Jan Plagge, and AssoBio’s President Roberto Zanoni. The panel was lively and engaging, with participants focusing on future challenges and sharing insights, experiences and needs of the organic sector from their respective countries.

To cap off an already enriching day, we had the opportunity to visit Aboca’s beautiful museum, which showcased the story of herbs and health through the ages, as well as the company’s history and their commitment to sustainability. It was truly inspiring to see firsthand how Aboca has built a successful business while staying true to their values.

Day 1 ended with a delicious organic dinner, opened by a toast by our Vice-President Marian Blom and FederBio’s Managing Director Rossella Bartolozzi, who also briefly introduced the project BEING Organic in EU, sponsor of the dinner itself and of day 2 of the Organic Food Conference.

This event is co-financed by the LIFE programme of the European Union, under the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA). The sole responsibility for this event lies with IFOAM Organics Europe. The CINEA is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information provided.

A recap of the Organic Food Conference by BEING Organic in EU, 22-23 May 2023, Sansepolcro, Italy

IFOAM Organics Europe was happy to continue promoting the BEING ORGANIC in EU project objectives through the organisation of the Organic Food Conference,that took place on 22-23 May in the beautiful premises of our member and main sponsor Aboca, in Sansepolcro, Italy.

At the end of day 1, after an opening toast by our Vice-President Marian Blom and by Probios’ Rossella Bartolozzi, representing FederBio’s presidency, who gave a brief introduction to the BEING Organic in EU project, participants had the pleasure to enjoy delicious organic food and wine at the Osteria il Giardino di Piero.

Day 2 of the Organic Food Conference offered an intense and interesting programme. We kicked off the day with a passionate speech by Cav. Valentino Mercati, founder of Aboca, on how businesses should work towards sustaining – not sabotaging –  life. We then dove into a panel discussion on the sustainability challenges brought about by the EU Farm to Fork strategy. While we aim at achieving more sustainable food systems via targets such as the 25% organic land and the 50% reduction of pesticides use and risks by 2030, we are facing concrete challenges such as the geopolitical context, the lack of policy coherence, and the concerns about the impact of the transition on livelihoods. The whole agri-food system is trying to ride the sustainability train, and the risk of greenwashing is tangible. The transition won’t be easy, but it can be an opportunity to transfer good organic practices to the rest of agriculture. Organic, as a pioneer, will have to show leadership and strive to improve while raising the bar for organic production, and not settle for minimum standards.

The second session, “Organic for All Ages – Navigating the Current Market with Multi-Generational communication”, dealt with how to best get messages about organic and its benefits across, especially when addressing consumers of different ages, which can require using different media. With more and more brands claiming to be sustainable, the consumer is left in a green jungle and can easily get confused. But today’s consumers are not only buyers anymore, they wear a lot of different hats, and they also create communication around their values. Through “showing heart and values”, meeting people where they are, and the use of transparency tools – such as e.g. True Cost Accounting – organic can build sustainable connections with consumers, as well as project itself as key tool for business models, meet the needs of a user that is increasingly sensitive to these topics, and contribute to closing the price gap between organic and conventional products.

Lastly, the third and last session focused on the new organic regulation and on how to produce organic food in a polluted world. With the global pesticide market almost doubling in the last 20 years, and leading to a rise in pesticide poisoning (source: Pesticide Atlas), contamination is omnipresent in the environment. How to deal with pesticide residues in organic products is therefore a relevant topic for most organic stakeholders, especially since the burden of contamination costs is currently carried by the organic sector, and not by polluters. This was the topic of our “Pesticide use & contamination project“, which resulted in a Position Paper on the management of pesticide residues in organic products, presented by panellists Bernhard Speiser (FiBL) and Michel Reynaud (EcoCert) during this session. Bottomline is that, to combat fraud and remain able to produce healthy food products, good knowledge of risks, guidance for organic producers, and proportionate control measures are needed.

The Organic Food Conference was a successful event, with a varied attendance, from organisations and companies to university students, media and a delegate of the Italian Ministry of Agriculture, Mr. Pietro Gasparri. It was once again a great opportunity to discuss hot topics of the organic sector with high-level speakers, as well as to network among organic stakeholders while enjoying the Tuscan sun & food!

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 increase and strengthen the consideration of European organic farming in the Italian and German markets by raising awareness and recognition of EU organic farming practices and the EU organic logo

 
IFoam
I accept I do not accept