News

 

Member States call for ‘new impact assessment’ on the Pesticides Regulation (SUR), delaying strict EU pesticide regulation

On 19 December, Member States1 voted in favour of requesting complementary data to the existing impact assessment the Commission carried…

EU pesticides regulation (SUR) under attacks from Member States & industry

The EU Pesticide Reduction proposal SUR has been under attack by lobbyists. They developed a strategy to delay and possibly…

Promoting recycled fertilizers in Europe: IFOAM Organics Europe position paper & outcomes policy workshop on closing the nutrients’ cycle

On 28 February, IFOAM Organics Europe has published a new position paper on the Commission’s Integrated Nutrients Management Action Plan…

November newsletter: SUR, GMO-free event, and more!

Two weeks ago, we published our November newsletter and it’s rich in updates and information on the hottest organic topics!…

Bold pesticide reduction plan faces attack on Saturday

BRUSSELS, 6 DECEMBER 2022 – EU plans to cut pesticide use and risk by half and protect the most sensitive…

Green claims: better methodologies to assess environmental performance of food & textiles products

BRUSSELS, 29 NOVEMBER 2022 – IFOAM Organics Europe welcomes news about the Commission’s decision to postpone the publication of the…

Press conference: EU pesticide reduction under fierce attack

In June 2022, the EU Commission presented a legislative proposal on the “sustainable use of plant protection products” (SUR), which…

Political Hotspot - November 2022

The legislative process of revising the EU’s pesticide legislation, the Sustainable Use of Pesticides Regulation (SUR), is full of hurdles,…

Welcome note November 2022

Dear reader,  I am happy to welcome you to this year’s last edition of our newsletter. I am proud to…

1 million EU citizens knock on EU’s door: No synthetic pesticides to save bees & farmers

Over 1 million EU citizens are asking to restore nature, provide healthy food, healthy soil and clean water. On Friday 25…

‘Way forward in organic plant health care strategies’ Conference, 17-18 November 2022, online

On 17 & 18 November, IFOAM Organics Europe, BÖLW and JKI Institüte organised an online conference on the ‘Way forward…
10/11/2022
Textiles

NGOs demand adequate methodologies in upcoming legal proposal on green claims– also for apparel & footwear 

The European Commission’s is working on an upcoming legislative proposal to help justify (‘substantiate’) green claims and prevent greenwashing. However,…

Commission's fertiliser communication, short term fixes, no long-term solutions

In its Communication on ensuring availability and affordability of fertilisers, the EU Commission postpones necessary changes to achieve more sustainable food systems by…

Organic movement asks for higher environmental ambition in the upcoming Fertiliser Communication & digitalization of pesticide use data in SAIO’s implementing act 

Upcoming Fertilizers Communication of the Commission  On 24 October, we co-signed a joint letter with 9 NGOs calling on the…

Sustainability labels, ”sustainable or not? That’s the question!” 

In the current food environment, labels are crucial to provide consumers with information to help them make the sustainable choice.…

Sustainability labelling for food: one day to understand all about it

The European Commission is expected to reveal their proposal for a Regulation on Substantiating Green Claims based on the Product…
29/09/2022
Labelling

New position paper on sustainability labelling & the Planet-score

IFOAM Organics Europe published its new position paper on “Sustainability labelling & the Planet-score”. Political context This position paper comes…

Updates on pesticides and recycled nutrients: Regulation (SUR), statistics and data

IFOAM Organics Europe welcomed the Commission’s proposal on the revision of the Sustainable Use of pesticides Regulation (SUR). It could…
25/08/2022
Textiles

New position paper on organic textiles in a context of strong political momentum 

IFOAM Organics Europe published its revised position paper Organic textiles – Protecting the credibility of the organic label. The publication…

Got pesticides in your body? It’s your last chance to find out

Pesticides threaten our food and farming systems.They kill pollinators like bees, reduce the quality of soils, endanger the health of…
24/06/2022
Textiles

The importance of an organic label for textiles

What is the issue with textiles?The organic textile market is rapidly growing and the textile industry may be victim of…
24/06/2022
Labelling

Sustainability labelling & the PEF – Closed event in the European Parliament

Green Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) Benoît Biteau, Claude Gruffat and Michèle Rivasi held an invitation-only event in the…

Contribute to the Commission’s consultation on the future EU integrated nutrient management action plan (INMAP)

The Commission is preparing an Integrated Nutrient Management Action Plan (INMAP) as announced in the EU Biodiversity and Farm to…

Environmental NGOs and organic movement call on Commission to develop a new indicator to measure progress towards the Farm to Fork pesticide reduction target

BRUSSELS, 9 JUNE 2022 – The organisers of the European Citizens’ Initiative Save Bees and Farmers (signed by 1.2 million…

Do you have pesticides in your body? Join the pesticide check-up and find out

Pesticides are a serious threat to our food and farming systems. On the field, they kill pollinators like bees and…

Agreement on agricultural statistics (SAIO)

On Thursday 2 June, the Council of the EU and the European Parliament reached an agreement on the new EU…

Alternatives to contentious input in organic - Heritage of RELACS project

The RELACS project developed and researched alternatives to contentious inputs in organic crop production – copper and mineral oils, nutrient…
16/05/2022
Textiles

EU strategy for sustainable and circular textiles: Shortcomings and promises

On 30 March, the European Commission published its strategy for sustainable and circular textiles. This strategy is part of the…

Wrapping up the RELACS project: Policy roadmaps, videos & other publications

The RELACS project, which aims at finding alternatives to contentious inputs in organic farming, came to an end on 29…

Sustainable nutrient management: our contribution to the European Commission’s public consultation

In Europe, surplus nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) in the environment are already exceeding safe planetary boundaries – for N…

Policy instruments & voluntary initiatives for reducing contentious inputs in organic farming

The RELACS project released a new scientific paper by Varga et al., 2022, analysing existing policy instruments and voluntary initiatives in…

Commission delays proposal for Regulation on the sustainable use of pesticides

On 23 March, the European Commission was supposed to publish a proposal for a Regulation on the Sustainable Use of…

Expert on recycled fertilisers? Join our Task Force on Recycled Fertilisers

IFOAM Organics Europe’s Board created a Task Force on Recycled Fertilisers. This decision comes in the context of the “Integrated…

Soil Health Law: Organic movement’s contribution to public consultation

60-70% of soils in the EU are not healthy and the EU still lacks a comprehensive soil protection policy. In…

EU organic movement calls on Member States to provide reliable data on organic and other Farm to Fork targets

BRUSSELS, 2 FEBRUARY 2022 – As the first trialogue on the Regulation on Statistics on Agricultural Inputs and Outputs (SAIO)…

Sustainability labelling: Product Environmental Footprint not suitable for agri-food products

Sustainability labelling has to be one of the major food-related political topics of 2022. As the think tank IDDRI outlines…

Trialogues on Regulation on Statistics on Agricultural Inputs and Outputs to start

On 10 December, the Council of the EU approved its mandate for negotiations on the Regulation on Statistics on Agricultural…

Revised Directive for a Sustainable Use of pesticides expected on 23 March

The indicative calendar of the European Commission for the first half of 2022 mentions the launch of a “Nature restauration…

Join pan-European testing for pesticide residues during #GoodFoodGoodFarming action month in October 2022

In the bodies of farm workers and city inhabitants, in people’s bedrooms and children’s playgrounds – pesticide residues at harmful…

RELACS project on track despite Covid-19: First digital annual meeting - 10-12 November, online

The RELACS project’s third annual meeting took place digitally 10-12 November. It demonstrated that research in all work packages is…

Replacement of copper in organic farming – First results of RELACS experiments conducted by ÖMKi

Copper is currently used as a plant protection product (PPP) and/or leaf fertilizer in organic and conventional farming in several…

Farm gate nutrient budgets in organic agriculture

The RELACS project partners issued practical guidelines informing farmers about assessing the main nutrient flows in and out of their…

Request for proposal: Conducting research on pesticide contamination in the environment and pesticide residues in organic food

IFOAM Organics Europe (IFOAM OE) is the European umbrella organisation for organic food and farming. We fight for the adoption…

Help us identifying the needs and knowledge gaps in organic fruit growing – Fill out BIOFRUITNET’s questionnaire

Plant protection against pests and diseases is a big issue for organic fruit growers, as fruit is a very sensitive…

How much and which natural inputs does the organic sector need? – A lively debate during BIOFACH 2020

A lively discussion on natural inputs suitable for organic farming as well as future obstacles and opportunities for the sector’s…

The organic movement and the International Biocontrol Manufacturers Association (IBMA) call for better regulation of natural origin plant protection technologies

IFOAM EU and the International Biocontrol Manufacturers Association (IBMA) published a five years roadmap for collaboration to promote the uptake of…
 
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