State of Organic Farming in Europe (Health)

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The following article may be a bit optimistic. It is likely organic farming in the U.S. is in about the same stage as France. Due to the extra work required from growing to retail, I am now sure how much it will catch on. Organic dairying is, to me, a different matter than organic, multi-crop farming. Consumers may not want the use of pesticides, but then they don't want worm holes or insect damage either.

March 8, 2001 Organic Farmers Say They Will Soon Be the Norm By REUTERS

PARIS (Reuters) - If Francois Thierry is right, organic farming will some day be the norm.

How soon that happens, however, depends on the will of all the players in the European food sector -- producers, consumers, retailers and politicians.

Thierry, a dairy producer who made the switch to organic farming 10 years ago, says he has been flooded with so many calls from nearby farmers since the mad cow disease crisis hit France last October that he is holding a one-day seminar to respond to their queries on converting their farms.

``The day will come when organic farming is considered normal, mainstream,'' says the suave, silver-haired Thierry, who could pass for a male model if he weren't so busy minding some 50 cows in the Vosges region of eastern France.

Today, only about three percent of Europe's farmland produces food organically, or without synthetic chemicals. In France, organic farms make up about 864,900 acres, or 1.2 percent of the total agricultural area.

Benoit Vergriette, a top official at the French organic farmers' union FNAB, said between 3,000 and 3,500 farmers are expected to make the shift this year, bringing the number of organic producers in France to more than 11,000 by 2002.

``More and more farmers are looking at organic production. On the one hand, consumer demand is growing for products of quality, particularly organic products. But it's also producers who are realizing the problems of mainstream farming,'' he says.

``They are asking themselves: 'How is it possible that we've gotten to such an aberrant system in which we have to slaughter two million head of cattle?' It's a shock,'' he adds, referring to the EU's ``purchase-for-destruction'' scheme designed to resolve the beef crisis by removing excess supply from the market.

FARMERS' MINDS

Dominique Verot, FNAB's spokesman, believes the biggest obstacle keeping European farmers from going organic is in their minds.

``It's a different kind of production than they're used to -- the yields are lower than in traditional agriculture ... and the amount of work on an organic farm is about 20 to 30 percent more than on a conventional farm,'' he says.

The pay-off for farmers is that organic food is better valued than the alternative.

Organic farmers can charge more for their goods because they cater to a niche market of consumers tired of worrying over what they eat. In their search for an alternative, peace of mind eclipses the price tag for many consumers.

A British survey last year comparing the price of organic and non-organic baskets of food found that the former attracted a premium of between 70 to 80 percent.

But with more European farmers turning to organic agriculture, the premium they charge for their goods may drop as supply rises.

On its own, that could deter more farmers from converting. But FNAB's Verot says more farmers producing organically will mean lower production costs.

``It's clear that for the moment, we don't have economies of scale. But in the event that production goes up, you'll start to see these. That's desirable,'' Verot said.

DISTRIBUTION KEY TO GROWTH

European retailers and food companies have already seized on the value of organic farming to European consumers sick of hearing about the dangers on their dinner plates.

According to industry consultants Euromonitor, Western Europe is the largest organic food and drinks market in the world, with retail sales in 2000 of $9.55 billion. The European market is set for sustained growth and will account for 5 to 10 percent of total food sales in 2005.

The French retailer Carrefour recently expanded its already impressive selection of organic products by signing contracts with four organic wine makers, while multinationals Nestle and Danone have unveiled organic brands in recent years.

Observers say that while marketing and product development are important, organic food producers must establish better collection and distribution networks.

``Before we start marketing organic products, collection and information flow has to be improved, so when demand increases for certain products, they can be found and delivered,'' says Johannes Michelsen, an agricultural economist from Denmark.

FARM POLICY

With consumers, retailers and multinationals on board, and with more farmers joining each day, there remains only one other key influence group to convince -- politicians.

Many European Union countries already offer incentives to increase the amount of food produced organically, and EU Farm Commissioner Franz Fischler said in February he wants to do more to encourage less intensive-style agriculture.

But his call must now be accepted by the EU's 15 member states -- and that may be the hardest part.

French Farm Minister Jean Glavany last month dismissed his German counterpart's suggestion that organic farm production could grow to one-fifth of total food output within 10 years in response to recent food safety scares.

Glavany struck down the idea in yet another sign of the fundamental difference of approach between Paris and Berlin, which have clashed repeatedly over reforming EU farm budgets and voting mechanisms.

``Yes, organic farming is growing in France, as it is everywhere else, but from there to reaching 20 percent is an objective that seems to me, I won't say sheer lunacy, but unattainable at any rate,'' Glavany said.



-- Ken S. in WC TN (scharabo@aol.com), March 09, 2001

Answers

What an interesting article. But, couple things that Reuters seems to have mistaken....

First, the quote about slaughtering so many cattle was a recent one aimed at FAM, not BSE as it implies.

Second, the slaughter of the animals with hoof and mouth disease is a political lark of the highest degree. It is a common viral disease, and until the politicians butted in, was NOT a cause for concern. The products of the animals (mainly meat and milk) is safe to eat. Not only that, but it is not a fatal disease. It generally goes away after a couple weeks. It simply LOOKS bad. Go figure.... Worldwide panic over a cold sore.... Typical.

Third, the article implies that organic farming is less intesive a method than conventional industrial farming techniques. Anyone who does it can tell you otherwise. Our organic (manure and veggie based) fertilizers are more potent and productive, our plants are closer, allowing for more per acre, and the plants produce more than with 'conventional' techniques. (I can feed my 5 person extended family on 1/4 acre less the fruit trees - AND have some leftovers for the rabbits and chickens.)

I would love to see the world go organic. But, the one thing in the article that is glaringly true is that it will take some considerable effort and quite some time. That is unfortunate. Get the government out of it, and maybe we'll see some progress!!!

-- Sue Diederich (willow666@rocketmail.com), March 09, 2001.


March 19, 2001

Scare Helps Europe's Organic Food

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By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Filed at 1:23 a.m. ET

BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) -- The patrician gentleman in the navy blazer and ascot looks a little out of place in the newly opened Bio Square organic market, with its exposed brick and wooden beams, skylights and New Age background music.

``I'm not a freak about organic products,'' Michel Van der Kindere insists, a little defensively. But in regular stores ``there are things we are a little hesitant to buy.''

Like many Europeans confronted with one food scare after another -- mad cows, foot and mouth disease in sheep and pigs, dioxin-poisoned chickens and eggs -- Van der Kindere is shopping greener these days.

The result is a boom in organic farming, which shuns chemical fertilizers and insecticides and requires livestock be raised humanely, with chemical-free feed and no hormones or antibiotics.

Organic farms across Europe, while still relatively few, are spreading fast. Traditional health food stores are reporting runs on their stock and even big supermarkets are getting in on the act.

Whether back-to-nature breaks out of its tie-dyed niche for good depends on whether consumers will still stomach the higher prices of organically grown foods once the latest hysteria fades.

Regular beef sales in Italy, down 35 percent in January and February after the first mad cows were found there, are already starting to recover, food analysts note.

``The fear is slowly disappearing,'' says Dario Furnagalli of Deutsche Bank in Milan.

Yet others bet alarmist headlines and gruesome photos of burning farm animals will have a more lasting effect on the European psyche.

German Agriculture Minister Renate Kuenast, a Green Party member who was swept into office in the mad cow scare, wants to boost organic production levels in Germany to 20 percent over the next 10 years, from 2.5 percent today.

She has support from fellow Green Pecoraro Scanio, Italy's agriculture minister, as well as colleagues from Denmark and Sweden.

Also on board is Franz Fischler, the European Union farm commissioner, whose native Austria boosted organic production to almost 10 percent of agricultural output with the aid of government subsidies in the 1990s. But he warns that any reform of EU farm policy will be tough.

In Britain, ground-zero for both the mad-cow and foot-and-mouth disease outbreaks, the number of organic farmers has more than tripled since 1997, to 2,865 last year.

``Organic farming is one of the few bright spots in the depressed picture of U.K. agriculture,'' the House of Commons Agriculture Committee concluded in a report in January.

``It is clear that there is a huge opportunity for U.K. producers to expand still further into organic farming to meet a ready market.''

German wholesalers report demand this year is up between 40 percent and 60 percent, says Thomas Dosch, chairman of the Bioland association of 3,500 organic farmers in Germany. ``No one knows whether the boom will really last. But I think you can take advantage of today's heightened awareness to really expand the base.''

Part of the difference today is the major food retailers.

French food giant Groupe Carrefour, owner of Belgium's biggest supermarket chain, has logged stronger sales of organic products and is looking for more suppliers.

``Certainly the objective is to increase those products,'' says Genevieve Bruenseels, a company spokeswoman. ``For the moment, the choice is not very large.''

Delhaize, Belgium's No. 2 grocery chain, has gone one step further with its own green-and-orange ``bio'' label of organic foods.

What started in the 1980s with breads and fresh produce has exploded to encompass 300 items, from traditional ``health food'' items like whole grains and beans to french fries, frozen pizza, even wine.

Those products fill much of the shelf space at Bio Square, which has been doing healthy business since opening last week in the leafy Brussels district of Uccle.

Delhaize provided its ``bio'' label products along with logistics and marketing know-how to a local franchisee, who added hundreds more items from other suppliers to fill a corner shop.

The supermarket giant plans to open more organic shops around Belgium and possibly export the concept, including to the United States, where it owns the Food Lion, Kash n' Karry and Save 'n Pack chains.

``People are more and more concerned with what they're eating,'' says Xavier Ury, director of purchases development at Delhaize Belgium. ``Now is the moment.''

Delhaize is not alone.

``More and more of the supermarkets are focusing on organic and bringing out organic ranges,'' says Stephanie Wall, accounts director for Information Resources U.K., a consumer research firm in London.

Backers hope problems with spotty supply, especially of fresh produce and meat, will fade as the market expands.

That would leave price as the biggest hurdle.

A four-pack of ``bio'' yogurt with fruit at Delhaize costs $1.60 -- twice as much the store's regular line.

Ury argues, however, that the average price difference of 20-30 percent is not much more than the usual markup between store brands and national brands.

Gilbert Hallet, who was picking up some hot dogs from the nearly empty meat case before moving on to the dairy case, said he's willing to shell out.

``If it's quality, it's OK,'' he says. ``I'm trying to live better.''

^------

On the Net:

Organic-Resources site funded by the European Union and the German SOeL foundation:

http://www.organic-europe.net

-- Ken S. in WC TN (scharabo@aol.com), March 19, 2001.


The all-too-common perception that naturally-raised food is inferior in esthetic value is false. There are some products that are very difficult to raise without any chemicals (apples come to mind), to be sure, but most organic crops raised by intelligent, passionate growers are just as beautiful as the plastic varieties you find in the supermarket. Like Sue, I question the blanket statement about organics being more labor intensive and less productive. Organics take more BRAINS, more planning, more patience, and perhaps a big dose of FAITH in nature and the farmer's own intuition.

It is interesting to me that these politicians, etc, are yet again talking about distribution ad nauseum. Seems to me the model of shipping your product all over kingdom come is the source of many of the problems in agriculture,not the cure, whether its diseased animals, dirty vegetables, or GEO grain. The governments want to control the food supply, and in the process they mess up big time, over and over again.

-- Earthmama (earthmama48@yahoo.com), March 19, 2001.


It isn't the control of food so much as the control of money. The root of all evil. "They" want to make money..the corporations that make all the chemicals, etc. If people go organic "they" lose money, possible go out of business. With only a handful of corporations running everything in the US of course there is complicity with the Government. Imports are money too....do you really want to know what your shrimp from China is polluted with? A global market economy may make the corporations rich, but it isn't healthy for the populations.

-- Deborah Bauderer (bearwaoman@Yahoo.com), March 23, 2001.

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