News
ECO-READY: Developing a European Observatory for short and long-term food and agriculture resilience strategies
The ECO-READY project aspires to identify climate-change drivers affecting food security and biodiversity across Europe. The comprehensive understanding of the EU…
20/04/2023
Food policy
Sustainable Public Procurement: strategic lever towards a more sustainable food system - new infographics
Sustainable public procurement has countless benefits that make it a strategic lever to trigger a change in the food system.…
Sustainable school meals as catalysts for food system change
On 22-23 March, during the conference titled ‘Small Farm to Fork Procurement’ and held at the ICLEI Brussels office, IFOAM…
The multiple benefits of organic for climate and biodiversity – visualised in our new infographic
The systemic approach of organic farming contributes to climate mitigation, supports the adaptation of farmers to the consequences of climate…
Political Hotspot March 2023
After a postponement in November 2022, on 22 March 2023 the European Commision’s proposal for a Directive on substantiation and…
Green claims: The fight against greenwashing must be based on methodologies promoting the transition towards more sustainable food systems
BRUSSELS, 22 MARCH 2023 – IFOAM Organics Europe welcomes the publication of the Substantiating Green Claims initiative by the Commission,…
EU organic movement warns against greenwashing
BRUSSELS, 13 FEBRUARY 2023 – IFOAM Organics Europe warns against the misuse of claims, labels, or communication initiatives about food…
23/12/2022
Food policy
Large share of EU funds available to promote sustainable agriculture in 2023
On 16 December 2022, the European Commission has adopted the 2023 Annual Work Programme on the promotion of agricultural products.…
22/12/2022
Biodiversity
What the Global Biodiversity Framework means for agriculture
Two years later than initially planned, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, world leaders adopted the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF).…
Agreement on new deforestation law
EU consumption is responsible for around 10% of global deforestation. In the beginning of December, the Council and European Parliament…
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…
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…
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.…
29/09/2022
Food policy
Political Hotspot - September 2022
September is the month of the first informal meeting of the Ministers of Agriculture in Prague, Czech Republic. The Czech…
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…
14/09/2022
Biodiversity
European Parliament adopts position on deforestation-free products
The European Parliament has voted on its position on the Commission proposal for a regulation on deforestation-free products. On 13…
23/06/2022
Food policy
Delving into public consultations: The sustainable food system framework initiative and the EU school scheme
July will be a hot month! In part because of deadlines to public consultations geared at transforming the European food…
They make it happen! Green public procurement in Copenhagen’s public kitchens
Organic contributes to promoting and delivering healthy and sustainable diets. This is part of our Vision 2030 set out and…
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
Food policy
Public consultation on the Sustainable Food System law: stakeholders invited to provide feedback!
On 28 April, the European Commission opened its public consultation for the sustainable food system framework initiative. All stakeholders, including…
IFOAM Organics Europe’s roundtable on organic canteens gathers torchbearers for fruitful exchanges
On 28 March, IFOAM Organics Europe organised a roundtable on organic canteens, bringing together relevant actors in the field to…
10/05/2022
Food policy
Opening of a public consultation on EU school fruit, vegetables, and milk scheme
On 5 May, the European Commission opened its public consultation for the revision of the EU school scheme, that supports…
06/05/2022
Food policy
European Commission’s promotion policies: 157 projects submitted in 2022
The European Commission has recently published the results of its call for tenders under the 2022 edition of the promotion…
04/05/2022
Food policy
European Parliament report on the organic action plan published
On 3 May, the European Parliament’s Plenary voted on its own initiative report on the Commission’s organic action plan (OAP).…
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…
EU Parliament AGRI Committee supports organic farming in vote on Organic Action Plan report
BRUSSELS, 31 MARCH 2022 – IFOAM Organics Europe welcomes ComAGRI’s vote on the Parliament’s Organic Action Plan (OAP) report. AGRI…
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…
14/03/2022
Food policy
Buy Better Food campaign wants to put sustainable food on all public plates
The time has come to make public food procurement a mainstream issue at European level. To this end, we participate…
The 7 key policy recommendations on sustainable food public procurement
The Food Policy Coalition’s policy recommendations on food procurement support procurement as a tool that contributes to the systemic transformation…
Latest IPCC report: Agroecological practices support food security
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has published its latest report Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. The…
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…
24/01/2022
Food policy
Have your say! European Commission public consultations on nutrition labelling & nutrient profiles
Until 7 March, the European Commission is consulting stakeholders on two public consultations: Revision of rules on information provided to…
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…
New tools and practices for organic dairy sector from the NEFERTITI project
Looking for inspiration for improving organic dairy farming? Check out the new videos from the NEFERTITI project that showcase tools…
19/01/2022
Animal welfare
Feedback to the public consultation on animal welfare
The European Commission launched a public consultation on the revision of the EU legislation on animal welfare. IFOAM Organics Europe…
Welcome note December 2021 newsletter
Dear readers, 2021 has been another turbulent year, again with great successes and challenges. Just like last year, I would…
14/12/2021
Food policy
Organic in sustainable food public procurement: numerous benefits for a low-hanging fruit
Recent European initiatives related to food policies, among which the Farm to Fork Strategy, Organic Action Plan, and new legislative…
Read our new leaflet on plant health care in organic farming
Have you ever heard of all the preventive plant protection measures implemented by organic farmers to produce food without using…
IFOAM Organics Europe Meets Business: Bridging business and EU policies, 7 December, online
On 7 December 2021, players from the whole (organic) supply chain – including processors, traders, retailers, and certifiers – joined the…
25/11/2021
Animal welfare
Public consultation revision EU legislation on Animal Welfare open until 21 January 2022
The European Commission launched a public consultation on the revision of the EU legislation on animal welfare, open until 21…
Addressing food & nutrition security at ATF-FEFAC event - Brussels, 18 November 2021
Nowadays, livestock and crop production are intensive and specialised with negative impact on the nutrient flows and environment. An efficient…
Political hotspot October 2021 newsletter
26 October marked the final day for final contributions to the Commission’s inception impact assessment (roadmap) on the Sustainable Food…
Over 1 million signatures demanding a restoration of biodiversity & support for farmers
Across Europe, more than 1 million citizens are calling for a reduction of 80% in the use of synthetic pesticides…
22/09/2021
Biodiversity
Sign ‘save bees and farmers’ before 30 September!
In case you have not signed the European Citizens’ Initiative to ‘Save bees and farmers’ yet, you can still do…
16/09/2021
Food policy
Read the leading initiatives for more sustainable foods in FAO's handbook
Sustainable food systems are critical to ensure that future generations have access to food and consume healthy meals. Many food…
Vote on European Parliament’s Farm to Fork Strategy report: mostly positive on organic
The Farm to Fork (F2F) strategy, published in May 2020 with a view of holistically transitioning towards more sustainable food…
How are cities engaging with food system transformation? FoodSHIFT webinar, 13 September, 15:00-16:00
City councils – either led by the city government itself or by citizens – are key to involve citizens and…
06/08/2021
Biodiversity
Only few days left to sign the European Citizens’ Initiative to save bees and farmers!
To those in our network who have not signed the European Citizens’ Initiative to ‘Save bees and farmers’ yet, you…
Have your say! IFOAM Organics Europe provided feedback to the Commission’s EU School Scheme roadmap
As announced in the Farm to Fork (F2F) strategy, the Commission will “review the EU school scheme to enhance its…
How can EU policies consider organic farming’s benefits for biodiversity?
IFOAM Organics Europe recently published a new report highlighting the contribution of organic farming to protecting Europe’s biodiversity. By setting…